Background and Purpose—This scientific statement provides an overview of the evidence on vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia. Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment ...

Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association

ContextHealth literacy is a measure of patients' ability to read, comprehend,
and act on medical instructions. Poor health literacy is common among racial
and ethnic minorities, elderly persons, and patients with chronic conditions,
particularly in public-sector settings. Little is known about the extent to
which health literacy affects clinical health outcomes.ObjectivesTo examine the association between health literacy and diabetes outcomes
among patients with type 2 diabetes.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsCross-sectional observational study of 408 English- and Spanish-speaking
patients who were older than 30 years and had type 2 diabetes identified from
the clinical database of 2 primary care clinics of a university-affiliated
public hospital in San Francisco, Calif. Participants were enrolled and completed
questionnaires between June and December 2000. We assessed patients' health
literacy by using the short-form Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults
(s-TOFHLA) in English or Spanish.Main Outcome MeasuresMost recent hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level. Patients
were classified as having tight glycemic control if their HbA1c
was in the lowest quartile and poor control if it was in the highest quartile.
We also measured the presence of self-reported diabetes complications.ResultsAfter adjusting for patients' sociodemographic characteristics, depressive
symptoms, social support, treatment regimen, and years with diabetes, for
each 1-point decrement in s-TOFHLA score, the HbA1c value increased
by 0.02 (P = .02). Patients with inadequate health
literacy were less likely than patients with adequate health literacy to achieve
tight glycemic control (HbA1c ≤7.2%; adjusted odds ratio [OR],
0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32-1.00; P
= .05) and were more likely to have poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥9.5%;
adjusted OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.11-3.73; P = .02) and
to report having retinopathy (adjusted OR, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.19-4.57; P = .01).ConclusionsAmong primary care patients with type 2 diabetes, inadequate health
literacy is independently associated with worse glycemic control and higher
rates of retinopathy. Inadequate health literacy may contribute to the disproportionate
burden of diabetes-related problems among disadvantaged populations. Efforts
should focus on developing and evaluating interventions to improve diabetes
outcomes among patients with inadequate health literacy.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/195143/JOC12049.pdf

Association of health literacy with diabetes outcomes.

Article abstract—Objective: To update the 1994 practice parameter for the diagnosis of dementia in the elderly. Background: The AAN previously published a practice parameter on dementia in 1994. New research and clinical developments warrant an update of some aspects of diagnosis. Methods: Studies published in English from 1985 through 1999 were identified that addressed four questions: 1) Are the current criteria for the diagnosis of dementia reliable? 2) Are the current diagnostic criteria able to establish a diagnosis for the prevalent dementias in the elderly? 3) Do laboratory tests improve the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of dementing illness? 4) What comorbidities should be evaluated in elderly patients undergoing an initial assessment for dementia? Recommendations: Based on evidence in the literature, the following recommendations are made. 1) The DSM-III-R definition of dementia is reliable and should be used (Guideline). 2) The National Institute of Neurologic, Communicative Disorders and Stroke‐AD and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 3rd edition, revised (DSM-IIIR) diagnostic criteria for AD and clinical criteria for Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (CJD) have sufficient reliability and validity and should be used (Guideline). Diagnostic criteria for vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia may be of use in clinical practice (Option) but have imperfect reliability and validity. 3) Structural neuroimaging with either a noncontrast CT or MR scan in the initial evaluation of patients with dementia is appropriate. Because of insufficient data on validity, no other imaging procedure is recommended (Guideline). There are currently no genetic markers recommended for routine diagnostic purposes (Guideline). The CSF 14-3-3 protein is useful for confirming or rejecting the diagnosis of CJD (Guideline). 4) Screening for depression, B12 deficiency, and hypothyroidism should be performed (Guideline). Screening for syphilis in patients with dementia is not justified unless clinical suspicion for neurosyphilis is present (Guideline). Conclusions: Diagnostic criteria for dementia have improved since the 1994 practice parameter. Further research is needed to improve clinical definitions of dementia and its subtypes, as well as to determine the utility of various instruments of neuroimaging, biomarkers, and genetic testing in increasing diagnostic accuracy.

https://n.neurology.org/content/neurology/56/9/1143.full.pdf

Practice parameter: Diagnosis of dementia (an evidence-based review) Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology

Objective
To determine the validity of a two-question case-finding instrument for depression as compared with six previously validated instruments.

/pdf/case-finding-instruments-for-depression-two-questions-are-as-2ho8dmcp85.pdf

Case-Finding Instruments for Depression: Two Questions Are as Good as Many

Exercise treatment for depression : Efficacy and dose response

Screening for depression in well older adults: Evaluation of a short form of the CES-D

Inhospital outcome of acute myocardial infarction in patients with prior coronary artery bypass surgery

Center for Epidemiological Studies Short Depression Scale

Abstract Purpose The optimal duration of first-line trastuzumab (T) treatment for de novo stage IV HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients after complete response (CR) is not known. Methods A retrospective cohort study of de novo stage IV HER2-positive MBC patients who had trastuzumab included in their initial treatment ( n = 69), 1999–2018, was conducted with follow-up for CR, progressive disease (PD), vital status, and disease-specific survival (DSS). Statistics included Kaplan–Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards models. Results Mean trastuzumab treatment time was 4.1 years (range 0.1–15). 54% of patients experienced CR at average time 9 months on treatment ( n = 37). Eight CR patients discontinued T treatment after 18 months average post-CR time (range 0–86) and twenty-nine stayed on T treatment post CR [average 65 months (range 10–170)]. Average follow-up was 6 years, range 1–15 years. 5-year DSS was 92% for CR on T patients ( N = 29); 88% CR off T ( n = 8); 73% No CR on T ( n = 14); and 29% No CR off T ( n = 18) ( p &lt; 0.001). In forward Cox proportional hazards modeling, CR = yes [HzR = 0.31, (95% CI 0.14, 0.73), p = 0.007], continuous T treatment &gt; 2 years [HzR = 0.24, (95% CI 0.10, 0.62), p = 0.003], and age &lt; 65 [HzR = 0.29, (95% CI 0.11, 0.81), p = 0.018] were significantly associated with better DSS. Conclusion Maximum trastuzumab treatment time to CR was 27 months with 2 or more years trastuzumab treatment independently associated with better survival. Survival comparisons and hazard modeling both indicate as good or better survival associated with continuous trastuzumab treatment regardless of CR status. Word count ( n = 250). 

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10549-022-06678-1.pdf

Trastuzumab therapy duration in HER2-positive de novo metastatic breast cancer: 1999–2018


 Objective: Identify changes in breast cancer detection method, stage at diagnosis and treatment prior to, during and after stay-at-home orders and restricted health care access due to COVID-19.
 Methods: Statistical comparison of detection method (patient (PtD), mammography (MamD) or other), Anatomic TNM Stage 8 (0-IV) and invasive BC treatment change over time by three time periods (time 1: 2019+Q1 2020; time 2: Q2-Q4 2020; time 3: 2021) using chi-square analysis in an institutional retrospective cohort of first primary breast cancer (BC) patients (n=1799), years 2019-2021.
 Results: In the years prior to the study, 2016-2019, there was no difference in detection method or stage at diagnosis by year with 682 to 733 newly diagnosed BC annually (p=.462). In 2020 (n=535) and 2021 (n=582) annual diagnosed cases dropped 22% and 15% from 2019 levels. Compared to time 1, time 2 MamD BC dropped significantly (64% to 58%) with a subsequent increase in MamD BC to 70% in time 3 (p < .001) creating a U-shaped curve for MamD over time. PtD BC increased in time 2 from 30% to 36% but declined in time 3 to 25% (p <.001). Concurrently, stage at diagnosis shifted from time 1 to time 2 with stage 0 and I declining [stage 0: 21% to 16%, stage I: 40% to 38%] and stage II and IV increasing [stage II: 28% to 33%, stage IV: 2% to 4% stage IV] (p<.001). Subsequently in 2021 stage shifted again with an increase in stage 0 to 22% and stage I to 45% and a decline in stage II (33% to 24%), III (9% to 7%) and IV (4% to 2%) (p<.001). Combining stage 0 and I, the percentage of lower stage BC declined from 61% to 54% and increased to 67% in time 3 (2021) when health services became more readily accessible.
 There was no change in type of surgery for invasive breast cancer (stage I-III, n=1386) with equivalent numbers of breast conserving surgery (58%), subcutaneous mastectomy (24%) and mastectomy (18%) over the time period. Chemotherapy treatment rates for invasive BC did not change (38%). Radiation therapy increased from 66% (time 1: 2019+Q1 2020) to 73% (time 2: Q2-Q4 2020) then back to 64% in time 3: 2021 (p=.007) independent of surgery type but concordant with an increase in stage IA and stage IIB BC among invasive breast cancer cases in time 2: Q2-Q4 2020 (p<.001). Likewise, neoadjuvant therapy increased and then declined from 33% to 38% to 29% from time 1 to time 3 (p<.001).
 Conclusions: Number of diagnosed BC cases fell after the first quarter of 2020 during the time of COVID-19 related shut downs and decreased access to health services. During the Q2-Q4 2020 time period mammography detected BC declined with a relative increase in patient detected breast cancer. When mammography detection declined, BC stage at diagnosis shifted to higher stage concurrent with increased rates of radiation and neoadjuvant therapy. In 2021, the relative increase in mammography detected BC indicates a return to more normal screening patterns with a catch up for screening lost in the prior year due to access limitations. In the third time period: 2021, with the return to prior levels of mammography detected breast cancer, stage shifted back to pre-pandemic expected distribution and the excess treatment with radiation and neoadjuvant therapy declined to previously observed levels. Although the changes in detection method, stage and treatment did not persist they were statistically significant and could represent a need for re-establishing pre-pandemic screening behavior.
 Table 1 Detection Method by COVID Pandemic Diagnosis Time Periods: 2019-2021 (N=1799).
 Citation Format: Judith A. Malmgren, Mary Atwood, Henry Kaplan. Change in breast cancer detection method, stage at diagnosis and treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 2019-2021 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-05-21.

Judith A. Malmgren

Papers

Screening for depression in well older adults: Evaluation of a short form of the CES-D

Inhospital outcome of acute myocardial infarction in patients with prior coronary artery bypass surgery

Center for Epidemiological Studies Short Depression Scale

Trastuzumab therapy duration in HER2-positive de novo metastatic breast cancer: 1999–2018

Abstract P1-05-21: Change in breast cancer detection method, stage at diagnosis and treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 2019-2021