Understanding the impact of insurance coverage across the cancer care continuum: Moving beyond fragmented systems and cross-sectional data to inform policy

Jennifer Tsui, Lindsay M. Sabik, Joel C. Cantor 04/27/2020

Understanding the impact of health insurance coverage on access to and quality of cancer care, as well as the implications for cancer outcomes, is critically important for informing practice and policy within the complex and changing health-care context. In this issue of the Journal, Yabroff et al. (1) conducted a systematic review of 29 studies, published between 1980 and 2019, evaluating health insurance coverage disruptions and cancer care and outcomes in the United States…

Importance of Activity Engagement and Neighborhood to Cognitive Function Among Older Chinese Americans

Fengyan Tang, Wei Zhang, Iris Chi, Mengting Li, Xin Qi Dong 04/08/2020

This study investigates the differential associations of activity engagement and perceived neighborhood characteristics (i.e., cohesion, disorder, sense of community) with cognitive measures …

Adolescent development of inhibitory control and substance use vulnerability: A longitudinal neuroimaging study

Alina Quach, Brenden Tervo-Clemmens, William Foran, Finnegan J. Calabro, Tammy Chung, Duncan B. Clark, Beatriz Luna 04/01/2020

Abstract: Previous research indicates that risk for substance use is associated with poor inhibitory control. However, it remains unclear whether at-risk youth follow divergent patterns of inhibitory control development. As part of the longitudinal National Consortium on Adolescent Neurodevelopment and Alcohol study, participants (N = 113, baseline age: 12–21) completed a rewarded antisaccade task during fMRI, with up to three time points…

Artificial intelligence with multi-functional machine learning platform development for better healthcare and precision medicine

Zeeshan Ahmed, Khalid Mohamed, Saman Zeeshan, XinQi Dong 03/17/2020

Introduction: Over the centuries, quests for answers have led us to take giant leaps. It was only in the last century that the discovery of antibiotics freed us from many of the dreaded diseases of the past …

Artificial intelligence with multi-functional machine learning platform development for better healthcare and precision medicine

Zeeshan Ahmed, Khalid Mohamed, Saman Zeeshan, Xin Qi Dong 03/17/2020

Precision medicine is one of the recent and powerful developments in medical care, which has the potential to improve the traditional symptom-driven practice of medicine …

Parent-adult child relations of chinese older immigrants in the United States: Is there an optimal type?

Man Guo, Meredith Stensland, Mengting Li, Xinqi Dong 03/09/2020

Objectives: This study aims to identify (a) different types of parent-child relations among Chinese older immigrants, (b) predictors of each relation type, and (c) the most “optimal” …

Analyzing functional status and its correlates in Chinese centenarians: A cross-sectional study

Zhaoyong Huang, Yuzhu Chen, Weiwen Zhou, Xiaopeng Li, Qiulan Qin, Yunqing Fei, Xinqi Dong, Fang Yu 03/05/2020

Factors affecting independence in basic and instrumental activities of daily living have been established in older adults, but not centenarians. The purpose of this study …

Elder mistreatment across diverse cultures

Mengting Li, Ruijia Chen, Xin Qi Dong 03/01/2020

Elder mistreatment, a pervasive public health issue, is of growing concern. Interpersonal relationships are culturally constructed, and attempts to understand elder mistreatment …

The effect of SMS behavior change techniques on event-level desire to get drunk in young adults

Brian Suffoletto, James Huber, Levent Kirisci, Duncan Clark, Tammy Chung 03/01/2020

Abstract: Text messaging (SMS) interventions incorporating a combination of behavior change techniques can assist reductions in alcohol consumption among young adult hazardous drinkers, but mechanisms of action remain unknown. In this secondary analysis, we test the hypothesis that desire to get drunk (DD) recorded prior to drinking episodes would mediate SMS intervention effects on the likelihood of event-level heavy drinking (4+/5+ drinks for women/men)…

Mobile assessment of acute effects of marijuana on cognitive functioning in young adults: Observational study

Tammy Chung, Sang Won Bae, Eun Young Mun, Brian Suffoletto, Yuuki Nishiyama, Serim Jang, Anind K. Dey 03/01/2020

Background: Mobile assessment of the effects of acute marijuana on cognitive functioning in the natural environment would provide an ecologically valid measure of the impacts of marijuana use on daily functioning. Objective: This study aimed to examine the association of reported acute subjective marijuana high (rated 0-10) with performance on 3 mobile cognitive tasks measuring visuospatial working memory (Flowers task), attentional bias to marijuana-related cues (marijuana Stroop), and information processing and psychomotor speed (digit symbol substitution task [DSST])…

Drinking beyond the binge threshold in a clinical sample of adolescents

Kasey G. Creswell, Tammy Chung, Carillon J. Skrzynski, Rachel L. Bachrach, Kristina M. Jackson, Duncan B. Clark, Christopher S. Martin 01/27/2020

Background and aims: Nearly all the research conducted on high-intensity drinking has focused on college and school-based samples, with recent calls for research to understand this risky drinking pattern in non-school-based samples and across time. This study aimed to characterize predictors and consequences of non-binge drinking, age- and gender-adjusted binge drinking (level I) and drinking at levels representing two or more times (level II) and three or more times the level I binge threshold (level III) in a clinical sample of adolescents followed into young adulthood…

Change in Marijuana Use and Related Problems among Adolescents in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: The Mediating Effects of Alcohol Consumption

Suzanne Spinola, Dezarie Moskal, Stephen A. Maisto, Aesoon Park, Allison K. Labbe, Tammy A. Chung 01/21/2020

As the number of adolescents seeking treatment for marijuana use increases, it is important to identify factors that mediate marijuana treatment outcomes. Alcohol consumption is highly prevalent in clinical samples of adolescents but has been neglected as a potential mediator of marijuana use treatment outcomes. In this study, we sought to examine alcohol consumption as a mediator of both marijuana use frequency (number of use days) and negative consequences related to marijuana use in a longitudinal study of 159 adolescents (Mage = 16.69 years; 35% female; 87% White; 70% marijuana as a preferred drug) enrolled in intensive outpatient substance use disorder (SUD) treatment…

Medicaid Utilization and Spending among Homeless Adults in New Jersey: Implications for Medicaid-Funded Tenancy Support Services

Joel C. Cantor, Sujoy Chakravarty, Jose Nova, Taiisa Kelly, Derek Delia, Emmy Tiderington, Richard W. Brown 01/20/2020

Abstract: Policy Points Large numbers of homeless adults gained Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, increasing policymaker interest in strategies to improve care and reduce avoidable hospital costs for homeless populations. Compared with nonhomeless adult Medicaid beneficiaries, homeless adult beneficiaries have higher levels of health care needs, due in part to mental health issues and substance use disorders. Homeless adults are also more likely to visit the emergency department or require inpatient admissions…

Attentional and approach biases to alcohol cues among young adult drinkers: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Brian Suffoletto, Matt Field, Tammy Chung 01/20/2020

Alcohol-specific attentional biases (AttB) and approach biases (AppB) are postulated to play a role in alcohol use disorders but their association with drinking in young adults remains unknown. A subsample of young adults with risky alcohol use (N = 296) enrolled in a randomized trial, testing different text message interventions completed weekly tasks via a mobile app for up to 14 weeks: Alcohol Stroop was used to measure AttB and Approach-Avoidance Task was used to measure AppB…

Public and private religious involvement and initiation of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in Black and White adolescent girls

Carolyn E. Sartor, Alison E. Hipwell, Tammy Chung 01/11/2020

Purpose: This longitudinal study aimed to identify variation by race in the associations between religious involvement and initiation of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, including distinctions by substance or type of religious involvement, in Black and White adolescent girls. Methods: Data were drawn from interviews conducted at ages 11 through 17 with 2172 Pittsburgh Girls Study participants (56.8% Black; 43.2% White)…

Control Versus Administrative Discretion in Negotiating Voluntary P4P Networks: The Case of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations

Frank J. Thompson, Joel C. Cantor, Rob Houston 01/01/2020

Abstract: Government sponsored pay-for-performance systems (P4P) have emerged in many contexts, including those featuring third-party federalism such as Medicaid. In this vein, voluntary networks called Medicaid accountable care organizations (ACOs) seek to achieve health care savings while boosting the quality of care. Drawing on evidence from four states, this study probes how collaborative governance strategies that downplay formal democratic controls and enhance administrative flexibility shaped the response to two implementation problems. We find that administrative flexibility, combined with signals of support from political principals, helped galvanize ACO formation but undermined efforts to tailor performance metrics to the needs of Medicaid enrollees…

The Perfect Storm: Stakeholder Perspectives on Factors Contributing to Hospital Admissions for Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis

Maya N. Clark-Cutaia, Olga F. Jarrín, Charlotte Thomas-Hawkins, Karen B. Hirschman 01/01/2020

Abstract: Patients living with end stage renal disease (ESRD) who are undergoing hemodialysis experience frequent hospitalizations associated with complications of care and exacerbations of illness. Efforts to reduce hospitalizations have had limited success. The purpose of this study was to explore why hospitalizations occur from the perspectives of patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment, their caregivers, and health care providers. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with 21 patients living with ESRD, 10 caregivers, and three focus groups with health care professionals…

Validity of Race and Ethnicity Codes in Medicare Administrative Data Compared with Gold-standard Self-reported Race Collected during Routine Home Health Care Visits

Olga F. Jarrín, Abner N. Nyandege, Irina B. Grafova, Xinqi Dong, Haiqun Lin 01/01/2020

Background:Misclassification of Medicare beneficiaries’ race/ethnicity in administrative data sources is frequently overlooked and a limitation in health disparities research.Objective:To compare the validity of 2 race/ethnicity variables found in Medicare administrative data [enrollment database (EDB) and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) race] against a gold-standard source also available in the Medicare data warehouse: the self-reported race/ethnicity variable on the home health Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS)…

A Community-Based Study Identifying Metabolic Biomarkers of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Ali Yilmaz, Ilyas Ustun, Zafer Ugur, Sumeyya Akyol, William T. Hu, Massimo S. Fiandaca, Mark Mapstone, Howard Federoff, Michael Maddens, Stewart F. Graham 01/01/2020

ackground: Currently, there is no objective, clinically available tool for the accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). There is a pressing need for a novel, minimally invasive, cost friendly, and easily accessible tool to diagnose AD, assess disease severity, and prognosticate course. Metabolomics is a promising tool for discovery of new, biologically, and clinically relevant biomarkers for AD detection and classification…

Baseline Results: The Association between Cardiovascular Risk and Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology (ASCEND) Study

Veena V. Kumar, Hanfeng Huang, Liping Zhao, Danielle D. Verble, Alexandra Nutaitis, Sonum D. Tharwani, Alexandra L. Brown, Henrik Zetterberg, William Hu, Ryan Shin, Patrick G. Kehoe, Arshed Quyyumi, Joe Nocera, Andrea Kippels, Whitney Wharton 01/01/2020

Background: The rate of AD for African Americans (AAs) is 64% higher than for non-Hispanic White Americans (Whites). It is hypothesized that poor peripheral vascular function, in combination with genetics, stress, and inflammation may directly contribute to the accumulation of AD pathologic biomarkers. These risk factors may disproportionately affect AAs.