Background. An important part of delivering high-quality, patient-centered care is making sure patients are informed about decisions regarding their health care. The objective was to examine whether patients' perceptions about how informed they were about common medical decisions are related to their ability to answer various knowledge questions. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted November… Continue reading How does feeling informed relate to being informed? the DECISIONS survey
Keyword: Cross-Sectional Studies
Age patterns in the prevalence of DSM-IV depressive/anxiety disorders with and without physical co-morbidity
BACKGROUND: Physical morbidity is a potent risk factor for depression onset and clearly increases with age, yet prior research has often found depressive disorders to decrease with age. This study tests the possibility that the relationship between age and mental disorders differs as a function of physical co-morbidity. METHOD: Eighteen general population surveys were carried… Continue reading Age patterns in the prevalence of DSM-IV depressive/anxiety disorders with and without physical co-morbidity
Depression-anxiety relationships with chronic physical conditions: results from the World Mental Health Surveys
BACKGROUND: Prior research on the association between affective disorders and physical conditions has been carried out in developed countries, usually in clinical populations, on a limited range of mental disorders and physical conditions, and has seldom taken into account the comorbidity between depressive and anxiety disorders. METHODS: Eighteen general population surveys were carried out among… Continue reading Depression-anxiety relationships with chronic physical conditions: results from the World Mental Health Surveys
Cervical cancer deaths among older women: implications for prevention
Race, ethnicity, and shared decision making for hyperlipidemia and hypertension treatment: The DECISIONS survey
Background. Racial/ethnic differences in shared decision making about cardiovascular risk-reduction therapy could affect health disparities. Objective. To investigate whether patient race/ethnicity is associated with experiences discussing cardiovascular risk-reduction therapy with health care providers. Setting. National sample of US adults identified by random-digit dialing. Design. Cross-sectional survey conducted in November 2006 to May 2007. Participants. Among… Continue reading Race, ethnicity, and shared decision making for hyperlipidemia and hypertension treatment: The DECISIONS survey
The value of follicle-stimulating hormone concentration and clinical findings as markers of the late menopausal transition
CONTEXT: The Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop proposed bleeding and hormonal criteria for the menopausal transition, but operational definitions of hormone parameters were not specified. OBJECTIVE: This paper investigates the longitudinal relationship of annual serum FSH levels with four proposed bleeding criteria for the late menopausal transition in two cohort studies. The goal is to… Continue reading The value of follicle-stimulating hormone concentration and clinical findings as markers of the late menopausal transition
Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of neighborhood characteristics with inflammatory markers: Findings from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis
We investigated cross-sectional associations of neighborhood deprivation, problems, safety, and cohesion with circulating levels of fibrinogen, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein (n=5370) and longitudinal associations with changes in IL-6 over a 3-4 year period (n=946). In cross-sectional analyses, higher levels of neighborhood deprivation and problems were associated with higher levels of all three inflammatory markers, whereas… Continue reading Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of neighborhood characteristics with inflammatory markers: Findings from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis
The influence of persistent pathogens on circulating levels of inflammatory markers: A cross-sectional analysis from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Background: Systemic inflammation is linked to cardiovascular risk, but the influence of persistent pathogens, which are conventionally dichotomously categorized, on circulating levels of inflammatory markers is not clear. Antibody levels of pathogens have not been examined in relation to inflammation. Methods. Using data from a subsample of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, we examined circulating… Continue reading The influence of persistent pathogens on circulating levels of inflammatory markers: A cross-sectional analysis from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Neighborhood stressors and race/ethnic differences in hypertension prevalence (the Multi-Ethnic Study of atherosclerosis)
BackgroundThe reasons for racial/ethnic disparities in hypertension (HTN) prevalence in the United States are poorly understood.MethodsUsing data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), we investigated whether individual- and neighborhood-level chronic stressors contribute to these disparities in cross-sectional analyses. The sample consisted of 2,679 MESA participants (45-84 years) residing in Baltimore, New York, and North… Continue reading Neighborhood stressors and race/ethnic differences in hypertension prevalence (the Multi-Ethnic Study of atherosclerosis)