Faculty Bibliography

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:This study assessed associations of the use of statins for primary prevention with cardiovascular outcomes among adults ages ≥70 years. METHODS:In a retrospective population-based cohort study, new users of statins without cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus were stratified by ages ≥70 years and <70 years. Using a time-dependent approach, adherence to statins was evaluated according to the proportion of days covered: <25%, 25%-50%, 50%-75%, and ≥75%. We assessed associations of statin therapy with increased risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus and with decreased risks of major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. RESULTS:Of 42,767 new users of statins, 5970 (14%) were ages ≥70 years. The incident rates of major adverse cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, and new-onset diabetes mellitus in the highest to lowest proportion of days covered categories were 16.9%, 16.7%, and 9.4% and 6.3%, 1.7%, and 9.4%, respectively. For the older group, the adjusted hazard ratios of major adverse cardiovascular events and mortality were significantly decreased for the highest adherence group (proportion of days covered ≥75%): 0.71 (0.57-0.88) and 0.68 (0.54-0.84), respectively. The respective hazard ratios were less favorable for the younger group: 0.80 (0.68-0.93) and 0.74 (0.58-1.03). The risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus was increased for the younger but not the older group. CONCLUSIONS:Statin use for primary prevention was associated with cardiovascular benefit in adults ages ≥70 years without a significant risk for the development of diabetes. These data may support the use of statin therapy for primary prevention in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE:Data are sparse regarding the survival benefit of bariatric surgery on mortality among persons with diabetes. We aimed to investigate the association of bariatric surgery, compared with usual care, on all-cause mortality in individuals who underwent surgery and matched controls, stratified by the presence of diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS/METHODS:This retrospective cohort study utilized population-based electronic medical record data. Individuals who underwent one of three types of bariatric surgery during 2005-2014 were included. For each surgical patient, three non-surgical individuals were matched according to age, sex, body mass index, and diabetes status. The cohort comprised 9564 individuals with diabetes and 23,976 individuals without diabetes. RESULTS:During a median follow-up of 4.2 years, adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality for non-surgery vs. surgery were 2.38 (95%CI: 1.75, 3.26) and 1.73 (95%CI: 1.26, 2.36) among individuals with diabetes and individuals without diabetes, respectively. Considered separately, HRs for mortality for laparoscopic banding, gastric bypass, and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy were 2.83 (95%CI: 1.73, 4.63), 2.30 (95%CI: 1.25, 4.25), and 1.89 (95%CI: 1.1, 3.32) among patients with diabetes; and 1.74 (95%CI: 1.20, 2.52), 2.66 (0.81, 8.76), and 1.16 (0.51, 2.65) among patients without diabetes. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The survival advantage of bariatric surgery after a median follow-up of 4.2 years was greater among individuals with than without diabetes for the three types of surgery performed. Longer follow-up is needed to examine the effect on survival in individuals without diabetes who undergo bariatric surgery. These results suggest priority considerations for bariatric surgery candidates.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Despite its proven efficacy, low participation rates in cardiac prevention and rehabilitation programs (CPRPs) prevail worldwide, especially among ethnic minorities. This is strongly evident in Israel's Arab minority. Since psychological distress has been found to be associated with CPRP participation and minorities are subjected to higher levels of distress, it is plausible that distress may be an important barrier for CPRP participation among minority patients. The current prospective study assessed the contribution of depression and anxiety symptoms to participation in a CPRP after acute coronary syndrome, both in the enrollment phase and when considering adherence over time, among Jewish (majority) and Arab (minority) patients in Israel. METHODS:Patients were interviewed during hospitalization about their emotional status and at a 6-mo follow-up concerning participation in a CPRP. Analyses were performed on 397 patients. The Brief Symptom Inventory was used. Logistic regression modeling was applied. RESULTS:Symptoms of depression, but not anxiety, were frequently observed among Arab patients compared with their Jewish counterparts. In analyses adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, having symptoms of anxiety was associated with less participation in a CPRP, evident for both Jews and Arabs; this association was less evident for symptoms of depression. Multivariable adjusted models did not show a significant association of symptoms of anxiety or depression with adherence in a CPRP. Accounting for psychological distress did not reduce the sharp difference between Jews and Arabs in CPRP participation. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Symptoms of distress may serve as barriers to CPRP participation, regardless of ethnic origin.

Importance:Bariatric surgery is an effective and safe approach for weight loss and short-term improvement in metabolic disorders such as diabetes. However, studies have been limited in most settings by lack of a nonsurgical group, losses to follow-up, missing data, and small sample sizes in clinical trials and observational studies. Objective:To assess the association of 3 common types of bariatric surgery compared with nonsurgical treatment with mortality and other clinical outcomes among obese patients. Design, Setting, and Participants:Retrospective cohort study in a large Israeli integrated health fund covering 54% of Israeli citizens with less than 1% turnover of members annually. Obese adult patients who underwent bariatric surgery between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2014, were selected and compared with obese nonsurgical patients matched on age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and diabetes, with a final follow-up date of December 31, 2015. A total of 33 540 patients were included in this study. Exposures:Bariatric surgery (laparoscopic banding, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, or laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy) or usual care obesity management only (provided by a primary care physician and which may include dietary counseling and behavior modification). Main Outcomes and Measures:The primary outcome, all-cause mortality, matched and adjusted for BMI prior to surgery, age, sex, socioeconomic status, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and smoking. Results:The study population included 8385 patients who underwent bariatric surgery (median age, 46 [IQR, 37-54] years; 5490 [65.5%] women; baseline median BMI, 40.6 [IQR, 38.5-43.7]; laparoscopic banding [n = 3635], gastric bypass [n = 1388], laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy [n = 3362], and 25 155 nonsurgical matched patients (median age, 46 [IQR, 37-54] years; 16 470 [65.5%] women; baseline median BMI, 40.5 [IQR, 37.0-43.5]). The availability of follow-up data was 100% for all-cause mortality. There were 105 deaths (1.3%) among surgical patients during a median follow-up of 4.3 (IQR, 2.8-6.6) years (including 61 [1.7%] who underwent laparoscopic banding, 18 [1.3%] gastric bypass, and 26 [0.8%] sleeve gastrectomy), and 583 deaths (2.3%) among nonsurgical patients during a median follow-up of 4.0 (IQR, 2.6-6.2) years. The absolute difference was 2.51 (95% CI, 1.86-3.15) fewer deaths/1000 person-years in the surgical vs nonsurgical group. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality among nonsurgical vs surgical patients were 2.02 (95% CI, 1.63-2.52) for the entire study population; by surgical type, HRs were 2.01 (95% CI, 1.50-2.69) for laparoscopic banding, 2.65 (95% CI, 1.55-4.52) for gastric bypass, and 1.60 (95% CI, 1.02-2.51) for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Conclusions and Relevance:Among obese patients in a large integrated health fund in Israel, bariatric surgery using laparoscopic banding, gastric bypass, or laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, compared with usual care nonsurgical obesity management, was associated with lower all-cause mortality over a median follow-up of approximately 4.5 years. The evidence of this association adds to the limited literature describing beneficial outcomes of these 3 types of bariatric surgery compared with usual care obesity management alone.

Background Optimal glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations to minimize large vessel complications and prolong life in diabetes patients are not well established. Design A retrospective cohort study from 2010 to 2012 using data from the Clalit Health Service (Clalit) integrated healthcare system's electronic data warehouse. Patients included had newly incident diabetes, had at least two HbA1c measurements during the 3 years prior to 1 January 2010 without any disruption(s) in Clalit membership between 2010 and 2014. Methods Time-dependent variables were utilized for HbA1c concentration exposure at three time periods. Diabetes control was evaluated taking average HbA1c measures per time period. Unadjusted and adjusted extended Cox regression analyses assessed the association between time-dependent average HbA1c level and acute myocardial infarction and all-cause mortality. Results Among our 61,971 participants, 2.0% experienced acute myocardial infarction and 6.9% died. Compared to patients with HbA1c 7.0 to < 7.5%, a higher risk of myocardial infarction was found with 8.5 to < 9.0% (hazard ratio (HR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-1.91) and >/=9.0% (HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.50-2.33) groups; a lower risk was found among <6.0% (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.59-0.93), 6.0 to < 6.5% (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.64-0.94) and 6.5 to < 7.0% (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.60-0.88) groups. The association with all-cause mortality was J-shaped, demonstrating a higher risk in those <6.0% (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06-1.34), 7.5 to < 8.0% (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.35), 8.0 to < 8.5% (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.16-1.64), 8.5 to < 9.0% (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.10-1.67) and >/=9.0% (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.49-2.04) groups. Conclusions HbA1c concentration below 6.0% may be associated with an excess risk for all-cause mortality. Clinicians must be aware of this association when treating individual patients.

Importance: International guidelines recommend treatment with statins for patients with preexisting ischemic heart disease to prevent additional cardiovascular events but differ regarding target levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Trial data on this question are inconclusive and observational data are lacking. Objective: To assess the relationship between levels of LDL-C achieved with statin treatment and cardiovascular events in adherent patients with preexisting ischemic heart disease. Design, Setting, and Participants: Population-based observational cohort study from 2009 to 2013 using data from a health care organization in Israel covering more than 4.3 million members. Included patients had ischemic heart disease, were aged 30 to 84 years, were treated with statins, and were at least 80% adherent to treatment or, in a sensitivity analysis, at least 50% adherent. Patients with active cancer or metabolic abnormalities were excluded. Exposures: Index LDL-C was defined as the first achieved serum LDL-C measure after at least 1 year of statin treatment, grouped as low (