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Sukumaran P, Millington D, Blackburn A, Asin SN. The Relationship Between Pre-Pandemic Comorbidities With SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Hospitalizations in Black Versus White Military Service Members: A Retrospective Study. Mil Med 2024; 189:814-822. [PMID: 39160798 DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usae294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, asthma, and cardiovascular conditions have been reported to worsen the clinical progression of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and related hospitalizations. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the historically marginalized groups, i.e., Black, Hispanic, and Asian individuals have substantially higher rates of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, COVID-19 hospitalization, and death compared to White individuals. Despite these findings in civilian populations, the impact of comorbidities and race in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalizations in military populations is unknown. We evaluated the relationship of pre-selected pre-pandemic comorbidities and race with SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 hospitalizations in U.S. military service members (SMs). MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted a systematic review of Military Health System beneficiaries' records by accessing the Defense Medical Epidemiological Database. Our inclusion criteria were being an active duty SM and having at least one pre-COVID-19 pandemic comorbidity. Retired as well as uninfected healthy active duty SMs and beneficiaries were excluded from the study. A total population of 1.334 million active duty SM records was drawn from Defense Medical Epidemiological Database. The data were stratified, by race (primary outcome), as well as gender, age, and military service branches (secondary outcomes). RESULTS We found higher trends in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalization rates in Black compared to White SMs. This seamless inequality was also seen in other viral infections affecting SMs including human immunodeficiency virus and viral hepatitis. We hypothesized this disparity to some extent be associated with the presence of pre-pandemic comorbidities that is affecting this military subpopulation. Supporting our hypothesis, we found trends toward the higher pre-pandemic prevalence of diabetes mellitus, asthma, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease, in Black compared to White military SMs, especially in Black older male adults. CONCLUSION Our results highlight the role of pre-pandemic comorbidities and race likely enhancing the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 hospitalizations in military SMs. These preliminary findings underscore the need for future retrospective studies using additional Military Health System data bases reporting data on this military subpopulation, especially in the setting of future pathogens outbreaks or pandemics affecting military populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pramod Sukumaran
- Diabetes Center Of Excellence, Endocrinology Department, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, USA
| | - Donna Millington
- Science and Technology, 59 Medical Wing, US Air Force, JBSA-Lackland, San Antonio, TX 78236, USA
| | - August Blackburn
- Applied Technology & Genomics Division, US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine Public Health and Preventive Medicine Defense Center for Public Health-Dayton Wright-Patterson, AFB, OH 45433, USA
| | - Susana N Asin
- Center for Advanced Molecular Detection, 59th Medical Wing/Science & Technology, Joint Base San Antonio- Lackland, TX 78236, USA
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Awolope A, El-Sabrout H, Chattopadhyay A, Richmond S, Hessler-Jones D, Hahn M, Gottlieb L, Razon N. The Construction and Meaning of Race Within Hypertension Guidelines: A Systematic Scoping Review. J Gen Intern Med 2024:10.1007/s11606-024-08874-9. [PMID: 38954319 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-024-08874-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Professional society guidelines are evidence-based recommendations intended to promote standardized care and improve health outcomes. Amid increased recognition of the role racism plays in shaping inequitable healthcare delivery, many researchers and practitioners have critiqued existing guidelines, particularly those that include race-based recommendations. Critiques highlight how racism influences the evidence that guidelines are based on and its interpretation. However, few have used a systematic methodology to examine race-based recommendations. This review examines hypertension guidelines, a condition affecting nearly half of all adults in the United States (US), to understand how guidelines reference and develop recommendations related to race. METHODS A systematic scoping review of all professional guidelines on the management of essential hypertension published between 1977 and 2022 to examine the use and meaning of race categories. RESULTS Of the 37 guidelines that met the inclusion criteria, we identified a total of 990 mentions of race categories. Black and African/African American were the predominant race categories referred to in guidelines (n = 409). Guideline authors used race in five key domains: describing the prevalence or etiology of hypertension; characterizing prior hypertension studies; describing hypertension interventions; social risk and social determinants of health; the complexity of race. Guideline authors largely used race categories as biological rather than social constructions. None of the guidelines discussed racism and the role it plays in perpetuating hypertension inequities. DISCUSSION Hypertension guidelines largely refer to race as a distinct and natural category rather than confront the longstanding history of racism within and beyond the medical system. Normalizing race as a biological rather than social construct fails to address racism as a key determinant driving inequities in cardiovascular health. These changes are necessary to produce meaningful structural solutions that advance equity in hypertension education, research, and care delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Awolope
- School of Medicine, University of California, Davis (UC Davis), Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Hannah El-Sabrout
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA
- School of Public Health, Joint Medical Program, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Stephen Richmond
- Primary Care and Population Health, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Danielle Hessler-Jones
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Family and Community Medicine and Social Interventions Research and Evaluation Network (SIREN), UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Monica Hahn
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Laura Gottlieb
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Family and Community Medicine and Social Interventions Research and Evaluation Network (SIREN), UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Na'amah Razon
- Department of Family & Community Medicine, UC Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
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Razon N, Hessler D, Bibbins-Domingo K, Gottlieb L. How Hypertension Guidelines Address Social Determinants of Health: A Systematic Scoping Review. Med Care 2021; 59:1122-1129. [PMID: 34779795 PMCID: PMC8597925 DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patient-level and community-level social and economic conditions impact hypertension risk and control. We examined adult hypertension management guidelines to explore whether and how existing guidelines refer to social care activities. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to explore how hypertension guidelines reference social care activities. RESEARCH DESIGN A systematic scoping review of clinical guidelines for adult hypertension management. We employed a PubMed search strategy to identify all hypertension guidelines published in the United States between 1977 and 2019. We reviewed all titles to identify the most updated versions focused on nonpregnant adults with hypertension. We extracted instances where guidelines referred to social determinants of health (SDH) or social care activities. The primary outcome was how guidelines covered social care activities, defined using a framework adapted from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). RESULTS Search terms yielded 126 guidelines. Thirty-six guidelines met the inclusion criteria. Of those, 72% (26/36) recommended social care activities as part of hypertension management; 58% recommended clinicians change clinical practice based on social risk information. These recommendations often lacked specific guidance around how to directly address social risk factors or reduce the impact of these risks on hypertension management. When guidelines referred to specific social factors, patient financial security was the most common. Over time, hypertension guidelines have included more references to SDH. CONCLUSION Information about SDH is included in many hypertension guidelines, but few guidelines provide clear guidance for clinicians or health systems on how to identify and address social risk factors in the context of care delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na'amah Razon
- Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies & Family and Community Medicine
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Whelton PK. Evolution of Blood Pressure Clinical Practice Guidelines: A Personal Perspective. Can J Cardiol 2019; 35:570-581. [PMID: 31030860 PMCID: PMC6494109 DOI: 10.1016/j.cjca.2019.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Revised: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Before the second half of the 20th century, most clinical decision making was based on expert opinion. By the 1960s, experience in actuarial and research cohort studies had provided strong evidence that blood pressure was an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The landmark 1967 and 1970 Veterans Administration Cooperative Study trials confirmed the value of antihypertensive drug therapy in preventing stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure in adults with high levels of diastolic blood pressure. They also provided an impetus to develop the first blood-pressure-related clinical practice guideline in 1977. In subsequent years, more structured and comprehensive blood-pressure guidelines have evolved to become a major resource in clinical and public health practice. Despite some limitations, these guidelines provide useful evidence-based guidance for diagnosis and management of high blood pressure. The core advice in most of the current comprehensive blood pressure guidelines is more similar than different. Modelling studies suggest that better adherence to guideline recommendations would result in a lower average blood pressure and substantial improvement in public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul K Whelton
- Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
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Zabler B, Tsai PY, Fendrich M, Cho Y, Taani MH, Schiffman R. Effect of a nurse case management intervention for hypertension self-management in low-income African Americans. Contemp Clin Trials 2018; 71:199-204. [PMID: 29909058 DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2018.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Revised: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bev Zabler
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, College of Nursing, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA.
| | - Pei-Yun Tsai
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, College of Nursing, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA
| | - Michael Fendrich
- University of Connecticut, School of Social Work, 38 Prospect Street, Hartford, CT 06103-2814, USA
| | - Young Cho
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA
| | - Murad H Taani
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, College of Nursing, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA
| | - Rachel Schiffman
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, College of Nursing, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA
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Benjamin EJ, Virani SS, Callaway CW, Chamberlain AM, Chang AR, Cheng S, Chiuve SE, Cushman M, Delling FN, Deo R, de Ferranti SD, Ferguson JF, Fornage M, Gillespie C, Isasi CR, Jiménez MC, Jordan LC, Judd SE, Lackland D, Lichtman JH, Lisabeth L, Liu S, Longenecker CT, Lutsey PL, Mackey JS, Matchar DB, Matsushita K, Mussolino ME, Nasir K, O'Flaherty M, Palaniappan LP, Pandey A, Pandey DK, Reeves MJ, Ritchey MD, Rodriguez CJ, Roth GA, Rosamond WD, Sampson UKA, Satou GM, Shah SH, Spartano NL, Tirschwell DL, Tsao CW, Voeks JH, Willey JZ, Wilkins JT, Wu JH, Alger HM, Wong SS, Muntner P. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2018 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2018; 137:e67-e492. [PMID: 29386200 DOI: 10.1161/cir.0000000000000558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4513] [Impact Index Per Article: 752.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Stavropoulos K, Imprialos KP, Doumas M. Abnormal blood pressure dipping in diabetic kidney disease: A black-race nightmare? J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2017; 19:1336-1338. [DOI: 10.1111/jch.13078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Konstantinos Stavropoulos
- 2nd Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; Thessaloniki Greece
| | - Konstantinos P. Imprialos
- 2nd Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; Thessaloniki Greece
| | - Michael Doumas
- 2nd Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; Thessaloniki Greece
- VAMC and George Washington University; Washington DC USA
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Benjamin EJ, Blaha MJ, Chiuve SE, Cushman M, Das SR, Deo R, de Ferranti SD, Floyd J, Fornage M, Gillespie C, Isasi CR, Jiménez MC, Jordan LC, Judd SE, Lackland D, Lichtman JH, Lisabeth L, Liu S, Longenecker CT, Mackey RH, Matsushita K, Mozaffarian D, Mussolino ME, Nasir K, Neumar RW, Palaniappan L, Pandey DK, Thiagarajan RR, Reeves MJ, Ritchey M, Rodriguez CJ, Roth GA, Rosamond WD, Sasson C, Towfighi A, Tsao CW, Turner MB, Virani SS, Voeks JH, Willey JZ, Wilkins JT, Wu JH, Alger HM, Wong SS, Muntner P. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2017 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2017; 135:e146-e603. [PMID: 28122885 PMCID: PMC5408160 DOI: 10.1161/cir.0000000000000485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6083] [Impact Index Per Article: 869.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Puckrein GA, Egan BM, Howard G. Social and Medical Determinants of Cardiometabolic Health: The Big Picture. Ethn Dis 2015; 25:521-4. [PMID: 26673674 DOI: 10.18865/ed.25.4.521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiometabolic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, account for >12 million years of life lost annually among Black adults in the United States. Health disparities are geographically localized, with ~80% of health disparities occurring within ~6000 (16%) of all 38,000 US ZIP codes. Socio-economic status (SES), behavioral and environmental factors (social determinants) account for ~80% of variance in health outcomes and cluster geographically. Neighborhood SES is inversely associated with prevalent diabetes and hypertension, and Blacks are four times more likely than Whites to live in lowest SES neighborhoods. In ZIP code 48235 (Detroit, 97% Black, 16.2% unemployed, income/capita $18,343, 23.6% poverty), 1082 Medicare fee-for service (FFS) beneficiaries received care for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary artery disease (CAD) in 2012. Collectively, these beneficiaries had 1082 inpatient admissions and 839 emergency department visits, mean cost $27,759/beneficiary and mortality 2.7%. Nationally in 2011, 236,222 Black Medicare FFS beneficiaries had 213,715 inpatient admissions, 191,346 emergency department visits, mean cost $25,580/beneficiary and 2.4% mortality. In addition to more prevalent hypertension and T2D, Blacks appear more susceptible to clinical complications of risk factors than Whites, including hypertension as a contributor to stroke. Cardiometabolic health equity in African Americans requires interventions on social determinants to reduce excess risk prevalence of risk factors. Social-medical interventions to promote timely access to, delivery of and adherence with evidence-based medicine are needed to counterbalance greater disease susceptibility. Place-based interventions on social and medical determinants of health could reduce the burden of life lost to cardiometabolic diseases in Blacks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brent M Egan
- 2. Care Coordination Institute, Greenville Health System, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville, South Carolina
| | - George Howard
- 3. University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health, Birmingham, Alabama
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Norris KC, Brown AF. The Highs and Lows of Blood Pressure Targets in Elderly Adults and Other High-Risk Populations. J Am Geriatr Soc 2015; 63:2139-41. [PMID: 26480976 DOI: 10.1111/jgs.13699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Keith C Norris
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Arleen F Brown
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
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