Population-Level Changes in Folate Intake by Age, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity after Folic Acid Fortification

Objectives. We sought to quantify the impact of the 1998 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) folic acid fortification policy by estimating folate intake at the population level. Methods. We analyzed total folate intake levels (from food and supplements) according to gender, age, and race/ethnicity, using data from 2 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. We measured pre- and postfortification folate intake distributions, adjusted for measurement error, and examined proportions of the population who reached certain thresholds of daily total folate intake. Results. Mean daily food and total folate intake increased by approximately 100 μg/day after fortification. The proportion of women aged 15–44 years who consume more than 400 μg/day of folate has increased since fortification, but has not yet reached the FDA’s 50% target and varies by race/ethnicity from 23% to 33%. Among persons aged 65 years and older who may be at risk for masking a vita-μg/day (the min B(12) deficiency, the percentage who consume more than 1000 “tolerable upper intake level”) has at least doubled among Whites and Black men, but has remained less than 5% for all groups. Conclusions. Since fortification, folic acid intake among the US population has increased, and there are substantial variations by age, gender, and race/ethnicity

Cost-effectiveness of metal stents in pancreatic cancer.

260 Background: American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy guidelines recommend endoscopic metal stent placement for pancreatic carcinoma patients with biliary obstruction and estimated life expectancy of >6 months. Because life expectancy of many such patients has until now been <6 months, plastic stents are frequently placed. Recent phase III trials demonstrated that compared with current standards of care, treatment with chemotherapy regimens FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel significantly prolonged overall survival (OS) well beyond the 6-month range. Given this prolonged survival, we evaluated the cost effectiveness of initial metal versus plastic stent placement in pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients with biliary obstruction. Methods: A Markov cohort model was developed to project lifetime health-related outcomes, costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and cost effectiveness of metal compared with plastic stents. Patients entered the model with locally advanced cancer and underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with metal or plastic stent placement. Patients were at risk of complications, stent migration or occlusion with subsequent stent placement, progression to metastatic cancer, and death. Published sources were used to estimate clinical, cost, utility, and event rate inputs, and results were presented from the 3 rd party payer perspective in 2012 U.S. dollars/QALY. In sensitivity analyses, overall survival was varied from 6-24 months to assess the impact of uncertainty in estimates on model outcomes. Results: Patients with metal stents had lower costs and greater overall and quality-adjusted survival. Placement of metal stents saved approximately $1,500 per patient over a lifetime, improving OS by 0.07 months and quality-adjusted survival by 0.10 months. These findings were robust in sensitivity analyses varying the length of survival for patients with pancreatic cancer. Conclusions: This model demonstrates that placement of metal biliary stents at initial onset of obstructive jaundice in patients with stage III/IV pancreatic adenocarcinoma is cost saving and improves survival when compared with use of plastic stents

Real-world cardiovascular disease burden in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive systematic literature review

<p><b>Objective:</b> Based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) rates range between 9 and 15 events per 1000 person-years, ischemic stroke between 4 and 6 per 1000 person-years, CHD death rates between 5 and 7 events per 1000 person-years, and any major vascular event between 28 and 53 per 1000 person-years in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). We reviewed global literature on the topic to determine whether the real-world burden of secondary major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) is higher among ASCVD patients.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> We searched PubMed and Embase using MeSH/keywords including cardiovascular disease, secondary prevention and observational studies. Studies published in the last 5 years, in English, with ≥50 subjects with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) or on statins, and reporting secondary MACEs were included. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of each included study.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Of 4663 identified articles, 14 studies that reported MACE incidence rates per 1000 person-years were included in the review (NOS grades ranged from 8 to 9; 2 were prospective and 12 were retrospective studies). Reported incidence rates per 1000 person-years had a range (median) of 12.01–39.9 (26.8) for MI, 13.8–57.2 (41.5) for ischemic stroke, 1.0–94.5 (21.1) for CV-related mortality and 9.7–486 (52.6) for all-cause mortality. Rates were 25.8–211 (81.1) for composite of MACEs. Multiple event rates had a range (median) of 60–391 (183) events per 1000 person-years.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Our review indicates that MACE rates observed in real-world studies are substantially higher than those reported in RCTs, suggesting that the secondary MACE burden and potential benefits of effective CVD management in ASCVD patients may be underestimated if real-world data are not taken into consideration.</p