Refill-Based Medication Use Quality Measures in Kidney Transplant Recipients: Examination of Proportion of Days Covered and Medication Possession Ratio

Comparison of mental health outcomes of augmenting medications for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: A national veterans affairs study

RATIONALE

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent among veterans. Many veterans with PTSD respond well to serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs). Nonresponders may be prescribed augmenting medications, which are not as well-studied in PTSD.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

We used Veterans Health Administration electronic records to compare mental health outcomes (PTSD symptoms and rates of mental health hospitalizations and psychiatric emergency room visits) in patients with PTSD who were prescribed four different groups of augmenting medications (atypical antipsychotics, mirtazapine, prazosin or tricyclic antidepressants) in addition to SRIs-from the year before to the year after the start of the augmenting medication.

METHOD

We included data from 169,982 patients with a diagnosis of PTSD (excluding patients with comorbid bipolar or psychotic disorders) seen in Veterans Affairs care from 2007 to 2015 who were taking an SRI and filled a new prescription for one of the four augmenting medications for at least 60 days.

RESULTS

Patients evidenced minimal (<2%) reduction in PTSD symptoms and a larger reduction in psychiatric hospitalizations and psychiatric emergency room visits after receiving augmenting medications; this effect was largely similar across the four medication groups. Initiating augmenting medications was preceded by increases in PTSD symptoms, psychiatric hospitalizations and psychiatric emergency room visits. After initiating an augmenting medication, PTSD symptoms/hospitalizations/emergency room visits returned to baseline levels (before the start of the augmenting medication), but generally did not improve beyond baseline.

CONCLUSION

Importantly, these effects could be explained by regression to the mean, additional interventions or confounding. These findings should be further explored with placebo controlled randomized clinical trials.

Initial Glycemic Control and Care Among Younger Adults Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing among adults under age 45. Onset of type 2 diabetes at a younger age increases an individual's risk for diabetes-related complications. Given the lasting benefits conferred by early glycemic control, we compared glycemic control and initial care between adults with younger onset (21-44 years) and mid-age onset (45-64 years) of type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Using data from a large, integrated health care system, we identified 32,137 adults (aged 21-64 years) with incident diabetes (first HbA_1c ≥6.5% [≥48 mmol/mol]). We excluded anyone with evidence of prior type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes mellitus, or type 1 diabetes. We used generalized linear mixed models, adjusting for demographic and clinical variables, to examine differences in glycemic control and care at 1 year.

RESULTS

Of identified individuals, 26.4% had younger-onset and 73.6% had mid-age-onset type 2 diabetes. Adults with younger onset had higher initial mean HbA_1c values (8.9% [74 mmol/mol]) than adults with onset in mid-age (8.4% [68 mmol/mol]) (P < 0.0001) and lower odds of achieving an HbA_1c <7% (<53 mmol/mol) 1 year after the diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.70 [95% CI 0.66-0.74]), even after accounting for HbA_1c at diagnosis. Adults with younger onset had lower odds of in-person primary care contact (aOR 0.82 [95% CI 0.76-0.89]) than those with onset during mid-age, but they did not differ in telephone contact (1.05 [0.99-1.10]). Adults with younger onset had higher odds of starting metformin (aOR 1.20 [95% CI 1.12-1.29]) but lower odds of adhering to that medication (0.74 [0.69-0.80]).

CONCLUSIONS

Adults with onset of type 2 diabetes at a younger age were less likely to achieve glycemic control at 1 year following diagnosis, suggesting the need for tailored care approaches to improve outcomes for this high-risk patient population.