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Social Determinants of Health Needs More Likely for Patients With ED Encounters
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with emergency department encounters are more likely to screen positive for social determinants of health (SDOH) needs, according to a research letter published online Dec. 19 in JAMA Network Open.
Stacie Vilendrer, M.D., M.S.P.H., from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study to explore the characteristics of patients who are screened and screen positive for SDOH needs in different clinical settings in a large health system. Systemwide standardized SDOH screens were administered in Intermountain Healthcare primary care clinics and emergency departments between Sept. 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2020.
During the study period, 16.7 percent of 2,058,836 in-person primary care encounters, 8.0 percent of 389,789 virtual primary care encounters, and 0.2 percent of 383,596 emergency department encounters were screened. The researchers found that relative to all encounters, emergency department encounters were significantly more likely to reveal SDOH needs (51.6 versus 7.8 percent), despite significantly lower screening rates (0.2 versus 13.3 percent). Married marital status and chronic pulmonary disease or cancer diagnoses were significantly less likely to be associated with positive SDOH screening. Significant associations with having a positive SDOH screen were seen for Hispanic ethnicity, highest area deprivation index, and diagnosis of depression, drug use disorder, or obesity.
"Our study found that patients screened in the emergency department were more likely to screen positive for SDOH needs, which is not surprising given utilization patterns," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to Johnson & Johnson.
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Assisted Reproductive Technology Not Tied to Higher BMI in Childhood
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Being born after assisted reproductive technology (ART) is not associated with higher body mass index (BMI) at age 5 to 8 years, according to a study published online Dec. 19 in PLOS Medicine.
Kristina Laugesen, M.D., Ph.D., from Aarhus University in Denmark, and colleagues examined associations between different fertility treatments and BMI in children at age 5 to 8 years. The analysis included 327,301 Danish children born between 2007 and 2012 (13,675 born after ART and 7,728 born after ovulation induction with or without intrauterine insemination [OI/IUI]).
The researchers found that the crude prevalence of obesity was 1.9 percent in children born after ART, 2.0 percent in those born after OI/IUI, and 2.7 percent in those born after no fertility treatment. Children born after ART and OI/IUI had the same prevalence of being overweight (11 percent; prevalence odds ratio [POR], 1.00 [95 percent confidence interval (CI), 0.91 to 1.11]; P = 0.95) or obese (1.9 percent; POR, 1.01 [95 percent CI, 0.79 to 1.29]; P = 0.94) in adjusted analyses. A similar pattern was seen when comparing intracytoplasmic sperm injection with conventional in vitro fertilization (overweight: POR, 0.95 [95 percent CI, 0.83 to 1.07]; P = 0.39; obesity: POR, 1.16 [95 percent CI, 0.84 to 1.61]; P = 0.36). After frozen-thawed (2.7 percent) embryo transfer, obesity was more prevalent than after fresh embryo transfer (1.8 percent; POR, 1.54 [95 percent CI, 1.09 to 2.17]; P = 0.01).
"Our overall null results provide reassuring results for couples with infertility seeking help," the authors write.
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