Patterns of black and white hysterectomy incidence among reproductive aged women

Predictive model for postpartum hemorrhage requiring hysterectomy in a minority ethnic region

BACKGROUND

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal mortality, and hysterectomy is an important intervention for managing intractable PPH. Accurately predicting the need for hysterectomy and taking proactive emergency measures is crucial for reducing mortality rates.

AIM

To develop a risk prediction model for PPH requiring hysterectomy in the ethnic minority regions of Qiandongnan, China, to help guide clinical decision-making.

METHODS

The study included 23490 patients, with 1050 having experienced PPH and 74 who underwent hysterectomies. The independent risk factors closely associated with the necessity for hysterectomy were analyzed to construct a risk prediction model, and its predictive efficacy was subsequently evaluated.

RESULTS

The proportion of hysterectomies among the included patients was 0.32% (74/23490), representing 7.05% (74/1050) of PPH cases. The number of deliveries, history of cesarean section, placenta previa, uterine atony, and placenta accreta were identified in this population as independent risk factors for requiring a hysterectomy. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the prediction model showed an area under the curve of 0.953 (95% confidence interval: 0.928-0.978) with a sensitivity of 90.50% and a specificity of 90.70%.

CONCLUSION

The model demonstrates excellent predictive power and is effective in guiding clinical decisions regarding PPH in the ethnic minority regions of Qiandongnan, China.

The relationship between socioeconomic status and perinatal outcomes in in vitro fertilization conceptions

BACKGROUND

In vitro fertilization is the most used assisted reproductive technology in the United States that is increasing in efficiency and in demand. Certain states have mandated coverage that enable individuals with low income to undergo in vitro fertilization treatment.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate if socioeconomic status has an impact on the perinatal outcomes in in vitro fertilization pregnancies. We hypothesized that with greater coverage there may be an alleviation of the financial burden of in vitro fertilization that can facilitate the application of evidence-based practices.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a retrospective, population-based, observational study that was conducted in accordance with the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample database over the 6-year period from 2008 to 2014 during which period 10,000 in vitro fertilization deliveries were examined. Maternal outcomes of interest included preterm prelabor rupture of membranes, preterm birth (ie, before 37 weeks of gestation), placental abruption, cesarean delivery, operative vaginal delivery, spontaneous vaginal delivery, maternal infection, chorioamnionitis, hysterectomy, and postpartum hemorrhage. Neonatal outcomes included small for gestational age neonates, defined as birthweight <10th percentile, intrauterine fetal death, and congenital anomalies.

RESULTS

Our study found that the socioeconomic status did not have a statistically relevant effect on the perinatal outcomes among women who underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive after adjusting for the potential confounding effects of maternal demographic, preexisting clinical characteristics, and comorbidities.

CONCLUSION

The literature suggests that in states with mandated in vitro fertilization coverage, there are better perinatal outcomes because, in part, of the increased use of best in vitro fertilization practices, such as single-embryo transfers. Moreover, the quality of medical care in states with coverage is in the highest quartile in the country. Therefore, our findings of equivalent perinatal outcomes in in vitro fertilization care irrespective of socioeconomic status possibly suggests that a lack of access to quality medical care may be a factor in the health disparities usually seen among individuals with lower socioeconomic status.

Ethnoracial Differences in Premenopausal Hysterectomy: The Role of Symptom Severity

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether greater symptom severity can explain higher hysterectomy rates among premenopausal non-Hispanic Black compared with White patients in the U.S. South rather than potential overtreatment of Black patients.

METHODS

Using electronic health record data from 1,703 patients who underwent hysterectomy in a large health care system in the U.S. South between 2014 and 2017, we assessed symptom severity to account for differences in hysterectomy rates for noncancerous conditions among premenopausal non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, and Hispanic patients. We used Poisson generalized linear mixed modeling to estimate symptom severity (greater than the 75th percentile on composite symptom severity scores of bleeding, bulk, or pelvic pain) as a function of race-ethnicity. We calculated prevalence ratios (PRs). We controlled for factors both contra-indicating and contributing to hysterectomy.

RESULTS

The overall median age of non-Hispanic White (n=1,050), non-Hispanic Black (n=565), and Hispanic (n=158) patients was 40 years. The White and Black patients were mostly insured (insured greater than 95%), whereas the Hispanic patients were often uninsured (insured 58.9%). White and Black patients were mostly treated outside academic medical centers (nonmedical center: 63.7% and 58.4%, respectively); the opposite was true for Hispanic patients (nonmedical center: 34.2%). Black patients had higher bleeding severity scores compared with Hispanic and White patients (median 8, 7, and 4 respectively) and higher bulk scores (median 3, 1, and 0, respectively), but pain scores differed (median 3, 5, and 4, respectively). Black and Hispanic patients were disproportionately likely to have severe symptoms documented on two or more symptoms (referent: not severe on any symptoms) (adjusted PR [Black vs White] 3.02, 95% CI 2.29-3.99; adjusted PR [Hispanic vs White] 2.61, 95% CI 1.78-3.83). Although Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to experience severe symptoms, we found no racial and ethnic differences in the number of alternative treatments attempted before hysterectomy.

CONCLUSION

We did not find evidence of overtreatment of Black patients. Our findings suggest potential undertreatment of Black and Hispanic patients with uterine-sparing alternatives earlier in their disease progression.

Hysterectomy With and Without Oophorectomy, Tubal Ligation, and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in the Nurses' Health Study II

Background: Hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and tubal ligation are common surgical procedures. The literature regarding cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk after these surgeries has focused on oophorectomy with limited research on hysterectomy or tubal ligation. Materials and Methods: Participants in the Nurses' Health Study II (n = 116,429) were followed from 1989 to 2017. Self-reported gynecologic surgery was categorized as follows: no surgery, hysterectomy alone, hysterectomy with unilateral oophorectomy, and hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy. We separately investigated tubal ligation alone. The primary outcome was CVD based on medical-record confirmed fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease, or fatal and nonfatal stroke. Our secondary outcome expanded CVD to include coronary revascularization (coronary artery bypass graft surgery, angioplasty, stent placement). Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and were adjusted a priori for confounding factors. We investigated differences by age at surgery (≤50, >50) and menopausal hormone therapy usage. Results: At baseline, participants were on average, 34 years old. During 2,899,787 person-years, we observed 1,864 cases of CVD. Hysterectomy in combination with any oophorectomy was associated with a greater risk of CVD in multivariable-adjusted models (HR hysterectomy with unilateral oophorectomy:1.40 [95% CI: 1.08-1.82]; HR hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy:1.27 [1.07-1.51]). Hysterectomy alone, hysterectomy with oophorectomy, and tubal ligation were also associated with an increased risk of combined CVD and coronary revascularization (HR hysterectomy alone: 1.19 [95% CI: 1.02-1.39]; HR hysterectomy with unilateral oophorectomy: 1.29 [1.01-1.64]; HR hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy: 1.22 [1.04-1.43]; HR tubal ligation: 1.16 [1.06-1.28]). The association between hysterectomy/oophorectomy and CVD and coronary revascularization risk varied by age at gynecologic surgery, with the strongest association among women who had surgery before age 50 years. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that hysterectomy, alone or in combination with oophorectomy, as well as tubal ligation, may be associated with an increased risk of CVD and coronary revascularization. These findings extend previous research finding that oophorectomy is associated with CVD.

Analysis of the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Incidence of Hysterectomy Using Data of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES)

Hysterectomy remains a frequent gynecologic surgery, although its rates have been decreasing. The aim of this study was to investigate whether socioeconomic status affected the risk of hysterectomy in Korean women. This prospective cohort study used epidemiologic data from 2001 to 2016, from the Korean Genomic and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the association between household income or education level and hysterectomy. Among 5272 Korean women aged 40−69 years, 720 who had a hysterectomy and 4552 controls were selected. Variable factors were adjusted using logistic regression analysis (adjusted model). Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for insurance type and hysterectomy were not statistically significant. The aOR was 1.479 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.018−2.146, p < 0.05) for women with education of high school or lower compared to college or higher. Women whose monthly household income was <KRW 4,000,000 had a higher risk of undergoing hysterectomy than women whose monthly household income was ≥KRW 4,000,000 (aOR: 2.193, 95% CI: 1.639−2.933, p < 0.001). Overall, the present study elucidated that lower socioeconomic status could increase the incidence of hysterectomy. Our results indicate that the implementation of stratified preventive strategies for uterine disease in those with low education and low income could be beneficial.

Disparities in Reproductive Aging and Midlife Health between Black and White women: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN)

This paper reviews differences in the experience of the menopause transition and midlife health outcomes between Black and White women who participated in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a 25-year, longitudinal, multi-racial/ethnic cohort study. We identify health disparities, i.e., instances in which Black women's outcomes are less favorable than those of White women, and consider whether structural racism may underlie these disparities. Although SWAN did not explicitly assess structural racism, Black women in SWAN grew up during the Jim Crow era in the United States, during which time racism was legally sanctioned. We consider how we might gain insight into structural racism by examining proxy exposures such as socioeconomic characteristics, reports of everyday discrimination, and a range of life stressors, which likely reflect the longstanding, pervasive and persistent inequities that have roots in systemic racism in the US. Thus, this paper reviews the presence, magnitude, and longitudinal patterns of racial disparities observed in SWAN in six areas of women's health - menopause symptoms, sleep, mental health, health related quality of life, cardio-metabolic health, and physical function -and elucidates the contextual factors that are likely influencing these disparities. We review the strengths and weaknesses of SWAN's design and approach to analysis of racial disparities and use this as a springboard to offer recommendations for future cohort studies.