Increasing educational attainment and mortality reduction: a systematic review and taxonomy.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the relationship between increasing educational attainment and mortality reduction has important policy and public health implications. This systematic review of the literature establishes a taxonomy to facilitate evaluation of the association between educational attainment and early mortality. METHODS: Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched Ovid Medline, Embase, PubMed and hand searches of references for English-language primary data analyses using education as an independent variable and mortality as a dependent variable. Initial searches were undertaken in February 2015 and updated in April 2016. RESULTS: One thousand, seven hundred and eleven unique articles were identified, 418 manuscripts were screened and 262 eligible studies were included in the review. After an iterative review process, the literature was divided into four study domains: (1) all-cause mortality (n = 68, 26.0%), (2) outcome-specific mortality (n = 89, 34.0%), (3) explanatory pathways (n = 51, 19.5%), and (4) trends over time (n = 54, 20.6%). These four domains comprise a novel taxonomy that can be implemented to better quantify the relationship between education and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: We propose an organizational taxonomy for the education-mortality literature based upon study characteristics that will allow for a more in-depth understanding of this association. Our review suggests that studies that include mediators or subgroups can explain part, but not all, of the relationship between education and early mortality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration # CRD42015017182 .

Obesity and the receipt of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a risk factor for inadequate receipt of recommended preventive care services. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between increasing body mass index and receipt of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations. A systematic review of the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases was conducted from January 1966 to May 2015 for cohort and cross-sectional studies that assessed the relationship between body mass index and the receipt of vaccinations for influenza and pneumococcus. Separate meta-analyses by obesity classification were performed using a random effects model. RESULTS: Six cross-sectional and three cohort studies were included. Average vaccine uptake was 50.4 % for influenza vaccination and 34.6 % for pneumococcal vaccination. Compared to normal weight patients, combined odds ratio (95 % confidence interval) for influenza vaccination was 1.11 (95 % CI 0.97-1.25) for obese (≥30 kg/m(2)) patients. When the outcome was reported by obesity class, combined odds ratios of influenza vaccination were 1.13 (95 % CI 1.02-1.24) for Class I (30-34.9 kg/m(2)) obesity, 1.21 (95 % CI 1.05-1.37) for Class II obesity (35-39.9 kg/m(2)), and 1.19 (95 % CI 0.95-1.42) for Class III obesity (≥40 kg/m(2)) patients. Compared to normal weight patients, combined odds ratio of pneumococcal vaccination were 1.20 (95 % CI 1.13-1.27) for obese patients. When the outcome was reported by obesity class, combined odds ratios were 1.08 (95 % CI 1.04-1.13) for Class I obesity patients, 1.13 (95 % CI 1.10-1.16) for Class II obesity patients, and 1.26 (95 % CI 1.15-1.38) for Class III obesity patients for pneumococcal vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: Combined findings from the current literature suggest that adults with obesity are more likely than non-obese peers to receive vaccination for influenza and pneumococcus. However, suboptimal vaccination coverage was observed across all body sizes, so future interventions should focus on improving vaccination rates for all adults.

Does Health Reform Change Femoral Neck Fracture Care? A Natural Experiment in the State of Massachusetts.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether hospital processes and hospital quality associated with the care of femoral neck fractures were significantly altered by the implementation of healthcare reform in Massachusetts. DESIGN: Pre-post retrospective study. SETTING: Massachusetts Statewide Inpatient Dataset (SID). PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Patients treated for femoral neck fracture (n = 23,485) in the periods prehealth (2003-06) and posthealth reform (2008-10). INTERVENTION: Differences in hospital processes for fracture care and quality measures were assessed for the periods before and after health reform. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Differences in hospital processes for fracture care (type of surgical intervention, length of stay, and discharge disposition) and quality metrics [mortality, complications, re-operation, and failure to rescue (FTR)] in the periods before and after health reform were assessed using regression techniques to adjust for differences in case mix and the type of surgical intervention. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the type of surgical intervention performed prereform and postreform (P = 0.27). After adjustment for case mix and surgical intervention, length of stay was significantly reduced {regression coefficient -0.07 [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.09 to -0.06]} as were the odds of FTR [odds ratio 0.73 (95% CI, 0.59-0.92)]. Discharges to skilled nursing facilities significantly increased in the postreform period [relative risk ratio 1.15 (95% CI, 1.03-1.30)]. Findings associated with FTR were driven by changes in the detection of surveillance sensitive complications. CONCLUSIONS: Health reform in Massachusetts led to no clinically meaningful differences in hospital processes for femoral neck fracture care. Although some differences in quality measures were noted, these cannot necessarily be attributed to health care reform.

Changes in the care of patients with cervical spine fractures following health reform in Massachusetts.

INTRODUCTION: There is a substantial concern among spine surgeons that healthcare reform efforts will alter the processes through which spinal care is delivered and decrease overall quality. We used the Statewide Inpatient Dataset for Massachusetts to evaluate changes in hospital processes and quality of care for patients with cervical fractures following the implementation of health reform. METHODS: This was a pre-post retrospective analysis of patients (n=9,387) treated for cervical fractures in Massachusetts between 2003-2006 and 2008-2010. Changes in hospital processes (surgical intervention, length of stay (LOS) and environment of care) and quality of care (mortality, complications, reoperation and failure to rescue (FTR)) were the outcomes of interest. FTR is a quality measure that evaluates a hospital's capacity to avoid mortality following the occurrence of a sentinel complication. Patients treated between 2003 and 2006 were considered the pre-reform group. The post-reform cohort consisted of those treated from 2008 to 2010. Baseline differences between cohorts were evaluated using chi-square or Mann-Whitney U tests. Unadjusted comparisons between the dependent variables and the onset of healthcare reform were performed, followed by regression techniques that adjusted for differences in case-mix and whether a surgical intervention was performed. Multivariable logistic regression was used for categorical variables and negative binomial regression was employed for continuous variables. RESULTS: The rates of surgical intervention remained unchanged pre- and post-reform (p=0.25). Hospital length of stay (RC: -0.18, 95% CI: -0.22, -0.14) and the FTR rate following surveillance insensitive complications (OR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.25, 0.94) were significantly reduced following health reform. Post-reform, academic centers experienced a 22% reduction in mortality (95% CI: 0.61, 0.99) a 40% decrease in FTR (95% CI: 0.40, 0.89), a 30% decrease in surveillance insensitive complications (95% CI: 0.51, 0.96) and a 67% reduction in FTR after surveillance insensitive morbidity (95% CI: 0.11, 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: In the period following Massachusetts healthcare reform, significant improvements were noted in hospital process and quality measures around the care of patients with cervical spine fractures. Such findings were particularly robust among academic centers. These results may forecast changes in the delivery of spine surgical care following other health reform initiatives. Level of Evidence III.