Publications

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether childhood adversity is associated with depressive symptoms, suicide attempts, or psychiatric hospitalization.

METHODS

History of seven childhood adversities (physical neglect, verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental death, parental incarceration, and child welfare system placement) was gathered through in-person interviews. Multivariate models examined associations between history of childhood adversities and moderate to severe depressive symptoms, lifetime history of suicide attempt, or lifetime history of psychiatric hospitalization. The study enrolled 350 homeless adults, aged 50 and older, in Oakland, California, using population-based sampling methods. Moderate to severe depressive symptoms were measured on a Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (≥22), self-reported lifetime history of suicide attempt, and self-reported lifetime history of psychiatric hospitalization.

RESULTS

Participants with exposure to one childhood adversity had elevated odds of reporting moderate to severe depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-3.7) and lifetime history of suicide attempt (AOR: 4.6; 95% CI: 1.0-21.6) when compared with those who had none; the odds of these two outcomes increased with exposure to additional childhood adversities. Participants with four or more childhood adversities had higher odds of having a lifetime history of psychiatric hospitalization (AOR: 7.1; 95% CI: 2.8-18.0); no increase with fewer adversities was found.

CONCLUSION

Childhood adversities are associated with poor mental health outcomes among older homeless adults. Clinicians should collect information about childhood adversities among this high-risk population to inform risk assessment and treatment recommendations.

BACKGROUND

Current US guidelines recommend the Asthma Control Test (ACT) for assessing disease control and selecting treatment.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to prospectively assess the ACT and its component questions for their utility in predicting the risk of severe asthma exacerbations.

METHODS

Individuals were participants in the Study of Asthma Phenotypes and Pharmacogenomic Interactions by Race-Ethnicity, and those included in the current analysis had the following characteristics: age 18 years or more, physician-diagnosed asthma, and longitudinal care received at a large health system in southeastern Michigan. Study participants underwent a baseline evaluation, which included answering the ACT. A severe asthma exacerbation was defined as one requiring oral steroids, an emergency department visit, or inpatient admission. Receiver-operator characteristic curves were used to measure and compare the predictive utility of the ACT and its component questions for severe asthma exacerbations.

RESULTS

Of 1180 participants, 354 (30.0%) experienced a severe asthma exacerbation within 6 months of their baseline evaluation. When compared with the individual questions that composed the ACT, the composite score was significantly better at predicting severe exacerbations with 1 exception; the composite ACT score and the question assessing rescue medication use were not significantly different (P = .580). Pharmacy-based records of metered-dose inhaler short-acting beta-agonist use and asthma severity were also not significantly different from the composite ACT score.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrates that although the ACT is modestly predictive for exacerbations, the composite score may not be superior to assessing rescue medication use alone for predicting the risk of severe asthma exacerbations.

We report here the largest study to date of adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) tested for measurable residual disease (MRD) at the time of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (auto-HCT). Seventy-two adult patients who underwent transplantation between 2004 and 2013 at a single academic medical center (University of California San Francisco) were eligible for this retrospective study based on availability of cryopreserved granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF)-mobilized autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) leukapheresis specimens ("autografts"). Autograft MRD was assessed by molecular methods (real-time quantitative PCR [RQ-PCR] for Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) alone or a multigene panel) and by multiparameter flow cytometry (MPFC). WT1 RQ-PCR testing of the autograft had low sensitivity for relapse prediction (14%) and a negative predictive value of 51%. MPFC failed to identify MRD in any of 34 autografts tested. Combinations of molecular MRD assays, however, improved prediction of post-auto-HCT relapse. In multivariate analysis of clinical variables, including age, gender, race, cytogenetic risk category, and CD34 cell dose, only autograft multigene MRD as assessed by RQ-PCR was statistically significantly associated with relapse. One year after transplantation, only 28% patients with detectable autograft MRD were relapse free, compared with 67% in the MRD-negative cohort. Multigene MRD, while an improvement on other methods tested, was however suboptimal for relapse prediction in unselected patients, with specificity of 83% and sensitivity of 46%. In patients with known chromosomal abnormalities or mutations, however, better predictive value was observed with no relapses observed in MRD-negative patients in the first year after auto-HCT compared with 83% incidence of relapse in the MRD-positive patients (hazard ratio, 12.45; P = .0016). In summary, increased personalization of MRD monitoring by use of a multigene panel improved the ability to risk stratify patients for post-auto-HCT relapse. WT1 RQ-PCR and flow cytometric assessment for AML MRD in autograft samples had limited value for predicting relapse after auto-HCT. We demonstrate that cryopreserved autograft material presents unique challenges for AML MRD testing because of the masking effects of previous GCSF exposure on gene expression and flow cytometry signatures. In the absence of information regarding diagnostic characteristics, sources other than GCSF-stimulated PBSC leukapheresis specimens should be considered as alternatives for MRD testing in AML patients undergoing auto-HCT.

BACKGROUND

Postpartum depression is common and adversely affects children of afflicted mothers; postpartum depression recognition and treatment may improve outcomes. Hospitalization represents a potential health encounter for expanding screening and intervention.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess for postpartum depression at infant hospitalization and examine postpartum depression risk factors in this population.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

We conducted a prospective observational study of 310 English- or Spanish-speaking women with an infant aged 2 weeks to 1 year admitted to a pediatric hospitalist service at a large urban freestanding children's hospital.

MEASUREMENTS

Mothers completed demographic questionnaires, a maternal-infant bonding scale, and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS). Mothers with an EPDS score of 10 or higher (positive screen) received counseling and mental health referrals. Postenrollment calls followed trends in EPDS score and resource utilization. Multivariate logistic regression assessed relationships among risk factors and positive screens.

RESULTS

Eighty-seven mothers (28%) were EPDS+. Only 14.6% reported appropriate prior depression screening. Maternal factors associated with EPDS+ were poor social support (4.40, interquartile range [IQR] = 2.27-8.53) and history of psychiatric diagnoses (5.02, IQR = 2.49-10.15). Having an infant with neurodevelopmental comorbidities was associated with EPDS+ screens (2.78, IQR = 1.03-7.52). Of 21 initially EPDS+ mothers reached by phone, 8 (38%) utilized their doctor or referral resource, resulting in lower EPDS scores (F(1,19) = 5.743, P < 0.05) compared to those not seeking help.

CONCLUSION

Postpartum depression screening during infant hospitalizations captures women previously unscreened. Low social support, past psychiatric diagnoses, or having infants with neurodevelopmental problems may increase postpartum depression risk. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2015;11:840-846. © 2015 Society of Hospital Medicine.