Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research
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Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition in the United States. Medical providers often have many active issues when treating a patient, and do not always have time for a thorough psychiatric evaluation. The Patient Health Questionnaire 2, a two-question binary (yes/no) screening tool, has been developed to address these issues in the identification of unipolar depression. ⋯ Our study seeks to develop a three-question, comprehensive, binary screening tool for anxiety and related disorders such that these patients can be easily identified and connected to treatment. Our pilot data shows promising results for our three-question binary Rapid Anxiety Screen (the RAS). Future studies will look to confirm these preliminary data and determine the sensitivities and specificities of the RAS with a larger data set.
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The association between insulin resistance (IR) and heart rate recovery index (HRRI) has been reported previously, but the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profile of the subjects was unclear in these studies. Therefore, we evaluated the association between IR and HRRI in apparently healthy individuals without metabolic syndrome who had a low-to-moderate CVD risk profile. A total of 182 eligible subjects were retrospectively included in the study. ⋯ HOMA-IR (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.57; confidence interval (CI) = 1.10-2.23; p = 0.013) and maximum heart rate during exercise (OR = 0.95; CI = 0.91-0.99; p = 0.013) as independent variables of abnormal HRRI. The HOMA-IR value of 2.82 was identified as an effective cutoff point for the prediction of abnormal HRRI (area under the curve: 0.658; CI: 0.570-0.746; p = 0.001). In this study, it was shown that IR without metabolic syndrome reduces HRRI in healthy individuals with a low-to-moderate CVD risk profile.
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Sickle cell disease (SCD) life expectancy has increased in high-income countries, approaching the fifth decade in the United States. Aging in SCD has raised concerns about chronic organ damage due to adaptative and maladaptive cardiac remodeling. This study aims to assess the prevalence and predictors of non-rheumatic valvular heart disease (NRVHD) in SCD patients using the United States National Inpatient Sample database from 2016 and 2017. ⋯ NRVHDs, especially MI and TI, are comorbidities in SCD. Literature is scarce on this topic. The predictors found for its occurrence could help address modifiable factors that can positively affect patients with SCD who, due to the natural history of the disease, are at risk of developing NRVHD.