Medicaid prescription cap policies and acute care use and mortality among enrollees with opioid use disorder.

Background: Twelve state Medicaid programs limit the monthly number of covered prescriptions. Such cap policies may force enrollees to forego essential medications with important health consequences. We aimed to determine the impact of cap policies on acute care use and all-cause mortality among enrollees with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Genetically determined body mass index is associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in polygenic and Mendelian randomization analyses.

Obesity has been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but the evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between genetically determined adiposity and four common NHL subtypes: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and marginal zone lymphoma, using eight genome-wide association studies of European ancestry (N = 10,629 cases, 9505 controls) and constructing polygenic scores for body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI). Higher genetically determined BMI was associated with an increased risk of DLBCL [odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation (SD) = 1.

Missouri College Students' Intentions Towards Initiating or Changing Cannabis Use in a Shifting Legal Landscape.

Background: With cannabis legal in nearly half of U.S. states, important concerns about the public health impact remain, particularly for states yet to legalize.

Incorporating preprints in systematic reviews: a preliminary study of a novel method for rapid evidence synthesis.

Objectives: By October 1, 2024, over 450,000 COVID-19 manuscripts were published, with 10% posted as unreviewed preprints. While they accelerate knowledge sharing, their inconsistent quality complicates systematic studies.

Materials And Methods: We propose a 2-stage method to include preprints in meta-analyses.

Daily Cannabis Use: Do Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking Predict Negative Cannabis Related Consequences?

Objective: Cannabis use can result in negative cannabis-related consequences (NCRC), particularly among individuals high in impulsivity and sensation seeking. Continued research is necessary to determine if these associations generalize to community adults with daily legal cannabis use. We hypothesized that impulsivity and sensation seeking would positively predict NCRC.

Association of Private Equity and Hospital Consolidation and Negotiated Prices of Radiologic Services.

Purpose: The consolidation of radiology practices by hospitals and private equity (PE) firms has accelerated in recent years, reshaping the landscape of radiology practice ownership. There is limited systematic evidence on the growing prevalence of hospital and PE ownership in radiology and its association with negotiated prices for imaging services. The aim of this study was to examine how commercial insurance negotiated prices for radiologic services vary by practice ownership structure, including independent, hospital, and PE-affiliated radiology practices.

The National Dementia Workforce Study: Development of Questionnaires for Home Care, Assisted Living, and Nursing Home Settings.

The growing aging population and rising prevalence of dementia are driving increased demand for long-term care services and supports in the United States. People with dementia require substantial support and care, often from direct care workers in private homes, assisted living communities, and nursing homes. Despite their crucial role, these workers receive highly variable training, particularly in dementia care, and face significant work-related challenges including stress, injury, and burnout.

Integrating HIV prevention services into care settings for people with opioid use disorder (OUD): a study protocol for implementation strategy development and modeling.

Background: The overlapping epidemics of opioid use disorder (OUD) and HIV present a critical public health challenge. Although people with OUD frequently engage with healthcare settings, uptake of HIV prevention services such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains low. Integrating HIV prevention into routine OUD care could reduce new infections, but scalable, evidence-based strategies are lacking.

The National Dementia Workforce Study: Overview.

Meeting the care needs of people with dementia is a major public health and societal challenge. In 2020, over 6 million Americans had Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia, and this is projected to increase to 14 million by 2060. Their care needs incur nearly $30,000 more in mean annual costs per person compared to peers without dementia, and overall costs are expected to rise to $1.

Xylazine Awareness and Suspected Presence in the Illicit Drug Supply Among People Who Used Stimulants in an Overdose Hotspot, 2023.

Background: Xylazine is harmful to humans and detected in the United States fentanyl supply and sometimes in stimulants. Awareness of xylazine among people who use stimulants (PWUS) is underexplored.

Methods: In 2023, 59 PWUS in Brockton, Massachusetts, were surveyed about their past 30-day substance use and xylazine awareness.

Association of Eliminating Waiting Periods for the Children's Health Insurance Program with Children's Enrollment.

Objectives: Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), over two-thirds of states mandated that children had to be uninsured for set periods of time before enrolling in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), referred to as waiting periods. The ACA required that waiting periods could not exceed 90 days, leading states to reduce and eliminate waiting periods in response. This study aimed to examine the association between state waiting period elimination under the ACA with children's enrollment in CHIP.

Addressing public health and health system challenges in Greece: reform priorities in a changing landscape.

Health systems are under growing pressure from ageing populations, chronic diseases, and financial constraints, compounded by challenges, such as COVID-19 and climate change. In Greece, these pressures have converged in the past 15 years, exposing structural weaknesses and testing the health system's resilience. Despite successive reforms targeting funding, care delivery, and public health, persistent structural weaknesses, poor planning, and limited monitoring have undermined progress.

Rehab and Death: Improving End-Of-Life Care for Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Beneficiaries.

Hospitalized older adults with serious illness may be discharged to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) with the hope of improving strength to live independently and receive further disease-directed treatment, or because it is one of the few insurance-covered options for care that provides room and board coverage. For those that do not improve, discharge to a SNF can begin a cycle of costly care transitions between hospital, home with home health care, SNFs, and long-term care facilities, leading to fragmented care and missed opportunities for discussions about preferences for care, illness understanding, and to address distressing symptoms. It can also lead to dying in the emergency room and other locations that are not consistent with patient wishes.

Reprint of: The effects of switching to the standardized research electronic cigarette in people with HIV who smoke in the United States.

Objective: People with HIV (PWH) who smoke and report ambivalence about quitting may benefit from switching to non-combusted nicotine products. This pilot study examined the effects of providing the NIDA standardized research electronic cigarette (SREC) on smoking behaviors and inflammatory biomarkers in PWH.

Methods: Thirty-five participants in the United States were enrolled from April 2022 to January 2024 (Mean age 54.

Patterns of Life-Sustaining Treatment Preferences Among Seriously Ill Veterans.

Background: Goals of care conversations and documentation of life-sustaining treatment (LST) preferences through durable, portable medical orders are critical for aligning care with patient values. The stability of patient preferences over time remains uncertain, particularly among community-dwelling adults. The Department of Veterans Affairs Life-Sustaining Treatment Decisions Initiative provides a unique opportunity to examine preference trajectories among seriously ill Veterans using longitudinal real-world data.

The systemic toxicity of intravitreally injected gold nanorods in mice: Effects of size, surface conjugation, and post-injection period.

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) are promising for remote neuronal activation via photothermal effects, but their systemic toxicity when delivered ocularly is unclear. We assessed the systemic safety of intravitreally injected AuNRs in mice over 32 days, testing three formulations: 25-nm diameter Thy-1 conjugated AuNRs (default), 10-nm diameter Thy-1 conjugated AuNRs (effect of size), and 25-nm diameter bare AuNRs (effect of surface chemistry). Thy-1 conjugation aimed to target retinal neurons specifically.

Associations between Interpersonal Communication, Perceived Norms, and E-Cigarette Use: The Moderating Role of Social Network Size.

Background: Prior studies have found that e-cigarette-related interpersonal communication and perceived norms are associated with young adults' e-cigarette use. However, it is unclear whether social network size moderates these relationships. This study examined the relationship between interpersonal discussions, perceived norms, and e-cigarette use outcomes (i.

Multilevel Syndemic Profiles Impacting Optimal ART Adherence among Trans Women Living with HIV in Mumbai and New Delhi, India: A Latent Class Analysis.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence is essential for maintaining viral suppression and reducing HIV transmission risk. However, data on adherence rates among trans women living with HIV in India are scarce, hindering effective intervention efforts. Understanding multilevel syndemic factors, including harmful drinking, depressive symptoms, HIV, and trans women-related stigma, and access to gender-affirmative care, is crucial for improving HIV treatment outcomes in this population.

Cost and Budget Impact of Layering Depression Care Onto Existing HIV and Noncommunicable Disease Care Services in Western Kenya.

Objectives: The World Health Organization Mental Health Action Plan aims to increase mental healthcare coverage by half, by 2030. Reaching this target requires context-specific financial assessments. We estimated the cost and budget impact of integrating depression care into HIV, diabetes, and hypertension care programs in county-level health facilities in Kenya.

'I Wanna Know What I'm Putting in My Body': Perceptions of Drug Checking Services and Supply Information Among People Who Use Drugs in Rhode Island.

Introduction: Drug checking services are emerging in the United States as a response to the rapidly changing drug supply. To inform the expansion of these services, it is critical to understand people who use drugs' perceptions of these programs and technologies. We explored perceptions of multiple drug checking technologies and supply communication among people who use drugs in Rhode Island.