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Disease-associated malnutrition has been identified as a prevalent condition, particularly for the elderly, which has often been overlooked in the U.S. healthcare system. The state-level burden of community-based disease-associated malnutrition is unknown and there have been limited efforts by state policy makers to identify, quantify, and address malnutrition. The objective of this study was to examine and quantify the state-level economic burden of disease-associated malnutrition. Direct medical costs of disease-associated malnutrition were calculated for 8 diseases: Stroke, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Coronary Heart Failure, Breast Cancer, Dementia, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Depression, and Colorectal Cancer. National disease and malnutrition prevalence rates were estimated for subgroups defined by age, race, and sex using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Health Interview Survey. State prevalence of disease-associated malnutrition was estimated by combining national prevalence estimates with states' demographic data from the U.S. Census. Direct medical cost for each state was estimated as the increased expenditures incurred as a result of malnutrition. Direct medical costs attributable to disease-associated malnutrition vary among states from an annual cost of $36 per capita in Utah to $65 per capita in Washington, D.C. Nationally the annual cost of disease-associated malnutrition is over $15.5 billion. The elderly bear a disproportionate share of this cost on both the state and national level. Additional action is needed to reduce the economic impact of disease-associated malnutrition, particularly at the state level. Nutrition may be a cost-effective way to help address high health care costs.

To compare the healthcare utilization (HCU) and costs for passive recharge burst Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and conventional medical management (CMM) cohorts in patients with chronic low back pain (LBP) to a matched real-world cohort of similar indication. The null hypothesis is that SCS is equally or less cost-effective than CMM in treating LBP. DISTINCT is a prospective, multi-center, randomized study. Data was collected during in-clinic visits at baseline, one, three, and six months. The DISTINCT \"completer cohort\" included 79 DISTINCT SCS patients and 55 DISTINCT CMM patients who completed the six-month visit. An external real-world cohort (n = 71) with similar characteristics to DISTINCT CMM patients was identified from a claims database (Optum's de-identified Market Clarity Data). Accessed data included healthcare resource utilization (HCU), pain-related medication usage, pain scale, and quality of life. HCU data covered physical therapy, chiropractic therapy, massage therapy, occupational therapy, acupuncture, injection treatments, radiofrequency ablation procedures, and opioid and anticonvulsant usage. The DISTINCT study demonstrated superior outcomes in pain relief, function, and other symptoms with SCS compared to CMM in the treatment of persistent (at least 6 months) low back pain. DISTINCT SCS patients utilized fewer healthcare resources and incurred lower costs than DISTINCT CMM patients. Real-world CMM patients exhibited higher utilization of certain therapies, suggesting potential pre-crossover bias. SCS resulted in significant cost savings and improved quality of life compared to CMM. Including device costs, cost-effectiveness could be achieved within 2.7 years based on DISTINCT data. The real-world CMM arm used more high-priced interventional therapies, suggesting a pre-crossover bias in the CMM cohort. This analysis supports the long-term benefits and cost-effectiveness of SCS in managing chronic LBP compared to CMM.

To calculate valid estimates of the costs and benefits of substance abuse prevention programs, selection effects must be identified and corrected. A supplemental comparison sample is typically used for this purpose, but in community-based program implementations, such a sample is often not available. We present an evaluation design and analytic approach that can be used in program evaluations of real-world implementations to identify selection effects, which in turn can help inform recruitment strategies, pinpoint possible selection influences on measured program outcomes, and refine estimates of program costs and benefits. We illustrate our approach with data from a multisite implementation of a popular substance abuse prevention program. Our results indicate that the program's participants differed significantly from the population at large.

China has the largest population of elderly citizens in the world, with 177 million adults aged 60 years or older. However, no national estimate of malnutrition in elderly Chinese adults exists. We estimated the prevalence and predictors of malnutrition in this population. Data from the second wave of the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) include interview and biomarker data for 6450 subjects aged 60 years or older from 448 different communities in twenty-eight provinces, allowing for nationally representative results. Malnutrition was identified based on the ESPEN (European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and Metabolism) criteria. We used multivariable regression to investigate the predictors of malnutrition, including demographic factors, marital status, self-reported health status, self-reported standard of living, health insurance status and education. China. Community-dwelling Chinese adults aged 60 years or older. The prevalence of malnutrition in elderly Chinese adults was 12·6 %. Malnutrition was most common among those who were older (OR=1·09; 95 % CI 1·07, 1·10), male (OR=1·41; 95 % CI 1·10, 1·79), lived in rural areas (v. urban: OR=0·75; 95 % CI 0·57, 1·00) or lacked health insurance (P<0·01). The burden of malnutrition on elderly Chinese adults is significant. Based on current population estimates, up to 20 million are malnourished. Malnutrition is strongly associated with demographic factors, shows a trend to association with health status and is not strongly associated with standard of living or education. A coordinated effort is needed to address malnutrition in this population.

Background and aims: As policy-makers assess the value of money spent on health care, research in the field of health economics is expanding rapidly. This review covers a period of 10 years and seeks to characterize the publication of papers at the intersection of health economics and nutrition. Methods: Relevant publications on nutrition care were identified in the medical literature databases using predetermined search criteria. These included nutritional interventions linked to health economic terms with inclusion criteria requiring original research that included clinical outcomes and cost analyses, subjects' ages [greater than or equal to]18 years, and publications in English between January 2004 and October 2014. Results: Of the 5,646 publications identified in first-round searches, 274 met the specified inclusion criteria. The number of publications linking nutrition to economic outcomes has increased markedly over the 10-year period, with a growing number of studies in both developed and developing countries. Most studies were undertaken in Europe (39%) and the USA and Canada (28%). The most common study setting was hospital (62%) followed by community/noninstitutional care (30%). Of all the studies, 12% involved the use of oral nutritional supplements, and 13% involved parenteral nutrition. The economic outcomes consistently measured were medical care costs (53% of the studies), hospital length of stay (48%), hospital readmission rates (9%), and mortality (25%). Conclusion: The number of publications focused on the economics of nutrition interventions has increased dramatically in recent years. Studies have demonstrated that malnutrition can increase the costs of care and length of hospital stay while corresponding studies show that nutrition interventions can help lower the cost of health care by decreasing the incidence of complications and speeding recovery. As populations age, policies that lead to wider adoption of screening, assessment, and treatment of malnutrition will be important to improve health economic outcomes. Keywords: economics of nutrition interventions, reducing health care costs through nutrition

Background Malnutrition, which is associated with increased medical complications in older hospitalized patients, can be attenuated by providing nutritional supplements. Objective This study evaluates the cost effectiveness of a specialized oral nutritional supplement (ONS) in malnourished older hospitalized patients. Methods We conducted an economic evaluation alongside a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial (NOURISH Study). The target population was malnourished older hospitalized patients in the USA. We used 90-day (base case) and lifetime (sensitivity analysis) time horizons. The study compared a nutrient-dense ONS, containing high protein and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate to placebo. Outcomes included health-care costs, measured as the product of resource use and per unit cost; quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) (90-day time horizon); life-years (LYs) saved (lifetime time horizon); and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). All costs were inflated to 2015 US dollars. Results In the base-case analysis, 90-day treatment group costs averaged US$22,506 per person, compared to US$22,133 for the control group. Treatment group patients gained 0.011 more QALYs than control group subjects, reflecting the treatment group’s significantly greater probability of survival through 90 days’ follow-up, as reported by the clinical trial. Hence, the 90-day follow-up period ICER was US$33,818/QALY. Assuming a lifetime time horizon, estimated treatment group life expectancy exceeded control group life expectancy by 0.71 years. Hence, the lifetime ICER was US$524/LY. The follow-up period for the trial was relatively short. Some of the patients were lost to follow-up, thus reducing collection of health-care utilization data during the clinical trial. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the investigative ONS cost-effectively extends the lives of malnourished hospitalized patients.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the impact of pre-existing malnutrition on survival and economic implications in elderly patients with diabetes.Research design and methodsA retrospective observational study was conducted to examine the impact of malnutrition with or without other significant health conditions on survival time and healthcare costs using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data from 1999 to 2014 for beneficiaries with a confirmed first date of initial diagnosis of diabetes (n=15 121 131). The primary outcome was survival time, which was analyzed using all available data and after propensity score matching. Healthcare utilization cost was a secondary outcome.ResultsA total of 801 272 beneficiaries were diagnosed with malnutrition. The analysis on propensity score-matched data for the effect of common conditions on survival showed that the risk for death in beneficiaries with diabetes increased by 69% in malnourished versus normo-nourished (HR, 1.69; 99.9% CI 1.64 to 1.75; P<0.0001) beneficiaries. Malnutrition increased the risk for death within each of the common comorbid conditions including ischemic heart disease (1.63; 1.58 to 1.68), chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (1.60; 1.55 to 1.65), stroke or transient ischemic attack (1.57; 1.53 to 1.62), heart failure (1.54; 1.50 to 1.59), chronic kidney disease (1.50; 1.46 to 1.55), and acute myocardial infarction (1.47; 1.43 to 1.52). In addition, the annual total spending for the malnourished beneficiaries was significantly greater than that for the normo-nourished beneficiaries ($36 079 vs 20 787; P<0.0001).ConclusionsMalnutrition is a significant comorbidity affecting survival and healthcare costs in CMS beneficiaries with diabetes. Evidence-based clinical decision pathways need to be developed and implemented for appropriate screening, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of malnourished patients, and to prevent malnutrition in normo-nourished patients with diabetes.

Malnutrition has been related to prolonged hospital stays, and to increases in readmission and mortality rates. In the NOURISH (Nutrition effect On Unplanned Readmissions and Survival in Hospitalized patients) study, administering a high protein oral nutritional supplement (ONS) containing beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HP-HMB) to hospitalised older adult patients led to a significant improvement in survival compared with a placebo treatment. The aim of this study was to determine whether HP-HMB would be cost-effective in Spain. We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System using time horizons of 90 days, 180 days, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years and lifetime. The difference in cost between patients treated with HP-HMB and placebo was €332.75. With the 90 days time horizon, the difference in life years gained (LYG) between both groups was 0.0096, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of €34,700.62/LYG. With time horizons of 180 days, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years and lifetime, the respective ICERs were €13,711.68, €3377.96, €2253.32, €1127.34 and €563.84/LYG. This analysis suggests that administering HP-HMB to older adult patients admitted to Spanish hospitals during hospitalisation and after discharge could be a cost-effective intervention that would improve survival with a reduced marginal cost.

The prevention of central line-associated bloodstream infections in patients in hospital critical care units has been a target of efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since the 1960s. We developed a historical economic model to measure the net economic benefits of preventing these infections in Medicare and Medicaid patients in critical care units for the period 1990-2008-a time when reductions attributable to federal investment resulted primarily from CDC efforts-using the cost perspective of the federal government as a third-party payer. The estimated net economic benefits ranged from $640 million to $1.8 billion, with the corresponding net benefits per case averted ranging from $15,780 to $24,391. The per dollar rate of return on the CDC's investments ranged from $3.88 to $23.85. These findings suggest that investments in CDC programs targeting other health care-associated infections also have the potential to produce savings by lowering Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Sarcopenia is the natural age-associated loss of muscle mass/function, often occurring simultaneously with obesity, especially in older adults. Sarcopenia and obesity contribute to poor health outcomes and when occurring together as sarcopenic obesity (SO) can cause further health complications. Few studies have specifically considered these conditions across different racial/ethnic populations. This study examined the prevalence of sarcopenia and SO among U.S. adults by different age, sex, and racial/ethnic groups, using 1999-2004 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and its racial/ethnic subpopulation groupings. Sarcopenia was defined as low appendicular lean mass (adjusted for Body Mass Index (BMI) of <0.789 kg/ m2 for males, <0.512 kg/m2 for females) and self-reported functional limitation. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 with SO defined as those meeting criteria for both sarcopenia and obesity. The analysis included 4367 adult subjects; for each race/ethnic subpopulation, sarcopenia prevalence increased with age. Sarcopenia prevalence varied by sex and race/ ethnic subpopulation: Hispanic (26.8% male, 27.2% female); Non-Hispanic (NH) White (15.5% male, 15.1% female); NH Black (8.6% male, 1.6% female); and Other (16.5% male, 23.2% female). Sarcopenic obesity also increased with age and varied by sex and race/ethnic subpopulation: Hispanic (8.57% male, 8.87% female); NH White (6.48% male, 8.06% female); NH Black (3.95% male, 1.12% female); and Other (4.46% male, 0.0% female). Increased awareness of variability in sarcopenia/SO may help develop effective screenings/ care management and interventions/public health policies to maintain functionality and reduce health disparities among an increasingly diverse U.S. older adult population.