A Weighty Consequence
Battle of the Sexes
lower 30-day mortality rates : 11.07 % vs . 11.49 % ( p < 0.001 )
lower 30-day readmission rates : 15.02 % vs . 15.57 % ( p < 0.001 )
You Heard It Hear First
Overall , more patients with anemia developed hearing loss , compared with the general population :
3.4 % vs .
1.6 %
That translates to a 2.4-times higher risk of developing hearing loss for patients with anemia ( odds ratio = 2.41 ; p < 0.001 ).
Data Stream
A Weighty Consequence
Excess weight increases the risk that a benign blood disorder ( monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance [ MGUS ]) will transform into a malignant blood disorder ( multiple myeloma [ MM ]), according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute .
Researchers identified 7,878 patients from a U . S . Department of Veterans Affairs database who were diagnosed with MGUS : 39.8 % were overweight ( body mass index [ BMI ] = 25.0-29.9 ) and 33.8 % were obese ( BMI = 30.0-39.9 ).
Compared with normal-weight patients ( BMI = 18.5-24.9 ), rates of developing MM were :
Battle of the Sexes
In a study that is sure to aggravate male doctors , researchers found that older hospitalized patients cared for by female doctors fared better than those treated by men . The study ’ s authors estimate “ approximately 32,000 fewer patients would die if male physicians could achieve the same outcomes as female physicians every year .”
This cross-sectional study of more than 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries ≥65 years who were treated by general internists between January 1 , 2011 , and December 31 , 2014 , found that , compared with patients treated by male physicians , patients treated by female physicians in the same hospital had :
lower 30-day mortality rates : 11.07 % vs . 11.49 % ( p < 0.001 )
lower 30-day readmission rates : 15.02 % vs . 15.57 % ( p < 0.001 )
Source : Tsugawa Y , Jena AB , Figueroa JF . Comparison of hospital mortality and readmission rates for Medicare patients treated by male vs female physicians . JAMA Intern Med . 2016 December 19 . [ Epub ahead of print ]
OBESE :
4.3 % ( after a median of 5.9 years )
You Heard It Hear First
OVERWEIGHT :
4.6 % ( after a median of 5.75 years )
NORMAL WEIGHT :
3.5 % ( after a median of 5.2 years )
Source : Chang SH , Luo S , Thomas TS , et al . Obesity and the transformation of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance to multiple myeloma : a population-based cohort study . J Natl Cancer Inst . 2016 December 31 . [ Epub ahead of print ]
Iron deficiency anemia may be linked to hearing loss , according to a retrospective cohort study of more than 300,000 U . S . adults , between 21 and 90 years old .
Overall , more patients with anemia developed hearing loss , compared with the general population :
0 . 5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
3.4 % vs .
1.6 %
( p < 0.001 )
That translates to a 2.4-times higher risk of developing hearing loss for patients with anemia ( odds ratio = 2.41 ; p < 0.001 ).
“ Further understanding of the association between iron deficiency anemia and all types of hearing loss in U . S . adults may help to open new possibilities for early identification and appropriate treatment ,” the authors concluded .
Source : Schieffer KM , Chuang CH , Connor J . Association of iron deficiency anemia with hearing loss in US adults . JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg . 2016 December 29 . [ Epub ahead of print ]
14 ASH Clinical News March 2017