Publications

In the last few years, interest in the optical diagnosis of colorectal polyps has increased among gastroenterologists. Several studies have shown that the optical diagnosis of small colorectal polyps is safe and feasible in routine clinical practice and is comparable to histopathology. The Narrow-band Imaging International Colorectal Endoscopic Classification provides a validated criterion for the classification of neoplastic and nonneoplastic polyps as well as polyps with deep submucosal invasion using narrow band imaging during real-time colonoscopy. The aim of the present review is to assess the current evidence for and limitations of optical diagnosis and to propose a systematic approach for transferring research findings to patient care.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery is a highly effective treatment for obesity but negatively affects the skeleton. Studies of skeletal effects have generally examined areal bone mineral density (BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), but DXA may be inaccurate in the setting of marked weight loss. Further, as a result of modestly sized samples of mostly premenopausal women and very few men, effects of RYGB by sex and menopausal status are unknown. We prospectively studied the effects of RYGB on skeletal health, including axial and appendicular volumetric BMD and appendicular bone microarchitecture and estimated strength. Obese adults (N = 48; 27 premenopausal and 11 postmenopausal women, 10 men) with mean ± SD body mass index (BMI) 44 ± 7 kg/m were assessed before and 6 and 12 months after RYGB. Participants underwent spine and hip DXA, spine QCT, radius and tibia HR-pQCT, and laboratory evaluation. Mean 12-month weight loss was 37 kg (30% of preoperative weight). Overall median 12-month increase in serum collagen type I C-telopeptide (CTx) was 278% (p < 0.0001), with greater increases in postmenopausal than premenopausal women (p = 0.049). Femoral neck BMD by DXA decreased by mean 5.0% and 8.0% over 6 and 12 months (p < 0.0001). Spinal BMD by QCT decreased by mean 6.6% and 8.1% (p < 0.0001); declines were larger among postmenopausal than premenopausal women (11.6% versus 6.0% at 12 months, p = 0.02). Radial and tibial BMD and estimated strength by HR-pQCT declined. At the tibia, detrimental changes in trabecular microarchitecture were apparent at 6 and 12 months. Cortical porosity increased at the radius and tibia, with more dramatic 12-month increases among postmenopausal than premenopausal women or men at the tibia (51.4% versus 18.3% versus 3.0%, p < 0.01 between groups). In conclusion, detrimental effects of RYGB on axial and appendicular bone mass and microarchitecture are detectable as early as 6 months postoperatively. Postmenopausal women are at highest risk for skeletal consequences and may warrant targeted screening or interventions. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

BACKGROUND

genetic variants confer an increased risk for kidney disease. Their associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are less certain. We aimed to compare the prevalence of subclinical CVD and incidence of atherosclerotic CVD and heart failure by genotypes among self-identified black participants of MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Cross-sectional associations of genotypes (high-risk=2 alleles; low-risk=0 or 1 allele) with coronary artery calcification, carotid-intimal media thickness, and left ventricular mass were evaluated using logistic and linear regression. Longitudinal associations of genotypes with incident myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary heart disease, and congestive heart failure were examined using Cox regression. We adjusted for African ancestry, age, and sex. We also evaluated whether hypertension or kidney function markers explained the observed associations. Among 1746 participants with genotyping (mean age 62 years, 55% women, mean cystatin C-based estimated glomerular filtration rate 89 mL/min per 1.73 m, 12% with albuminuria), 12% had the high-risk genotypes. We found no difference in prevalence or severity of coronary artery calcification, carotid-intimal media thickness, or left ventricular mass by genotypes. The high-risk group was 82% more likely to develop incident heart failure compared with the low-risk group (95% confidence interval, 1.01-3.28). Adjusting for hypertension (hazard ratio, 1.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-3.24) but not markers of kidney function (hazard ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-3.35) slightly attenuated this association. The high-risk genotypes were not significantly associated with other clinical CVD outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Among blacks without baseline CVD, the high-risk variants may be associated with increased risk for incident heart failure but not subclinical CVD or incident clinical atherosclerotic CVD.

OBJECTIVE

Primary care-mental health integration (PC-MHI) aims to increase access to general mental health specialty (MHS) care for primary care patients thereby decreasing referrals to non-primary care-based MHS services. It remains unclear whether new patterns of usage of MHS services reflect good mental health care. This study examined the relationship between primary care clinic engagement in PC-MHI and use of different MHS services.

METHODS

This was a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 66,638 primary care patients with mental illnesses in 29 Southern California Veterans Affairs clinics (2008-2013). Regression models used clinic PC-MHI engagement (proportion of all primary care clinic patients who received PC-MHI services) to predict relative rates of general MHS visits and more specialized MHS visits (for example, visits for serious mental illness services), after adjustment for year and clinic fixed effects, other clinic interventions, and patient characteristics.

RESULTS

Patients were commonly diagnosed as having depression (35%), anxiety (36%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (22%). For every 1 percentage point increase in a clinic's PC-MHI engagement rate, patients at the clinic had 1.2% fewer general MHS visits per year (p<.001) but no difference in more specialized MHS visits. The reduction in MHS visits occurred among patients with depression (-1.1%, p=.01) but not among patients with psychosis; however, the difference between the subsets was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary care clinics with greater engagement in PC-MHI showed reduced general MHS use rates, particularly for patients with depression, without accompanying reductions in use of more specialized MHS services.