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Background: Most studies estimate hepatitis C virus (HCV) disease prevalence from convenience samples. Consequently, screening policies may not include those at the highest risk for a new diagnosis., Methods: Clalit Health Services members aged 25-74 as of 31 December 2009 were included in the study. Rates of testing and new diagnoses of HCV were calculated, and potential risk groups were examined., Results: Of the 2 029 501 included members, those aged 45-54 and immigrants had lower rates of testing (12.5% and 15.6%, respectively), higher rates of testing positive (0.8% and 1.1%, respectively), as well as the highest rates of testing positive among tested (6.1% and 6.9%, respectively)., Discussion: In this population-level study, groups more likely to test positive for HCV also had lower rates of testing. Policy makers and clinicians worldwide should consider creating screening policies using on population-based data to maximize the ability to detect and treat incident cases., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background Optimal glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations to minimize large vessel complications and prolong life in diabetes patients are not well established. Design A retrospective cohort study from 2010 to 2012 using data from the Clalit Health Service (Clalit) integrated healthcare system's electronic data warehouse. Patients included had newly incident diabetes, had at least two HbA1c measurements during the 3 years prior to 1 January 2010 without any disruption(s) in Clalit membership between 2010 and 2014. Methods Time-dependent variables were utilized for HbA1c concentration exposure at three time periods. Diabetes control was evaluated taking average HbA1c measures per time period. Unadjusted and adjusted extended Cox regression analyses assessed the association between time-dependent average HbA1c level and acute myocardial infarction and all-cause mortality. Results Among our 61,971 participants, 2.0% experienced acute myocardial infarction and 6.9% died. Compared to patients with HbA1c 7.0 to < 7.5%, a higher risk of myocardial infarction was found with 8.5 to < 9.0% (hazard ratio (HR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-1.91) and ≥9.0% (HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.50-2.33) groups; a lower risk was found among <6.0% (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.59-0.93), 6.0 to < 6.5% (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.64-0.94) and 6.5 to < 7.0% (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.60-0.88) groups. The association with all-cause mortality was J-shaped, demonstrating a higher risk in those <6.0% (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06-1.34), 7.5 to < 8.0% (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.35), 8.0 to < 8.5% (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.16-1.64), 8.5 to < 9.0% (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.10-1.67) and ≥9.0% (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.49-2.04) groups. Conclusions HbA1c concentration below 6.0% may be associated with an excess risk for all-cause mortality. Clinicians must be aware of this association when treating individual patients.

Background: An organization-wide inequity-reduction quality improvement (QI) initiative was implemented in primary care clinics serving disadvantaged Arab and Jewish populations. Using the Chronic Care Model (CCM), this study investigated the types of interventions associated with success in inequity reduction., Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 80 staff members from 26 target clinics, and information about intervention types was coded by CCM and clinical domains (e.g. diabetes, hypertension and lipid control; performance of mammography tests). Relationships between type and number of interventions implemented and inequity reduction were assessed., Results: Target clinics implemented 454 different interventions, on average 17.5 interventions per clinic. Interventions focused on Decision support and Community linkages were positively correlated with improvement in the composite quality score (P < 0.05). Conversely, focusing on a specific clinical domain was not correlated with a higher quality score., Conclusions: Focusing on training team members in selected QI topics and/or tailoring interventions to meet community needs was key to the interventions' success. Such findings, especially in light of the lack of association between QI and a focus on a specific clinical domain, support other calls for adopting a systems approach to achieving wide-scale inequity reduction., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background Lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, in particular in the significant renal impairment range (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m 2 ), is associated with incident atrial fibrillation. This association is less established within the normal or mildly impaired estimated glomerular filtration rate range. Methods Using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) estimated glomerular filtration rate formula, we identified ambulatory adults (>22 years old) without rheumatic heart disease or prosthetic valves and with 60 ml/min/1.73 m 2 2 in their index visit, for incident, newly-diagnosed atrial fibrillation. We analyzed cohorts with and without prior cardiovascular disease. Results Over a mean follow-up of 104 months and >10 m patient-years of follow-up (∼75% <60 years old, ∼57% females), >65,000 individuals had ≥1 atrial fibrillation event (incident atrial fibrillation rate 5.1% and 5.8% excluding or including prior cardiovascular disease, or 49 and 55 per 10,000 patient-years, respectively). In both cohorts, individuals with versus without incident atrial fibrillation had lower mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (∼83 versus 95 ml/min/1.73 m 2 ). Adjusting for age, gender, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus, overall a 10 ml/min/1.73 m 2 decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate was independently associated with a mean increase in incident atrial fibrillation of 1.5% and 2.4% in the cohorts excluding or including prior cardiovascular disease, respectively ( p < 0.001 for both). However, a graded association between lower estimated glomerular filtration rate and atrial fibrillation was observed in the 90-130 ml/min/1.73 m 2 range, whereas a blunted association was observed in the 60-90 ml/min/1.73 m 2 range. Conclusion Within the 60 ml/min/1.73 m 2  < estimated glomerular filtration rate < 130 ml/min/1.73 m 2 range, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate is independently associated with incident non-valvular atrial fibrillation in adults without prior atrial fibrillation, mainly attributed to a graded association within the 90-130 ml/min/1.73 m 2 range.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae contributes considerably to the burden of pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), with the effectiveness of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) for preventing all-cause pneumonia still undetermined. The aim of this study was to control for common biases and confounders associated with previous observational studies and to assess PPSV23 vaccine effectiveness in preventing IPD and the most resource-intensive type of community-acquired pneumonia, hospital-treated pneumonia (HTP)., Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study nested in a population-based cohort, with age-, sex-, and risk-matched controls as the base case. Demographic information, laboratory data, and diagnoses were extracted from the chronic disease registry and from inpatient and outpatient records in the Clalit Health Services database. Vaccine effectiveness for PPSV23 was assessed using multivariable conditional logistic regression. Subgroup, sensitivity, and secondary analyses were conducted to validate findings., Results: A total of 470 070 individuals aged ≥65 years were members of Clalit Health Services during the study period (1 January 2007 through 31 December 2010). The case cohort consisted of 212 participants with IPD and 23 441 with HTP. The adjusted association between vaccination and IPD was protective (odds ratio [OR], 0.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], .41-.81), whereas there was no demonstrated protective effect between vaccination and HTP (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, .97-1.04). The sensitivity analysis and all but 1 subgroup analysis provided consistent results to the base case., Conclusions: The PPSV23 vaccine is effective against the most severe invasive forms of pneumococcal disease, but the lack of effectiveness of PPSV23 in protecting against all-cause HTP should be considered for future vaccine policies., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Context: Low serum calcidiol has been associated with multiple comorbidities and mortality but no "safe" range has been found for the upper concentration., Objective: We aim to establish the upper threshold of serum calcidiol, beyond which there is an increased risk for acute coronary syndrome and/or mortality., Design, Setting, and Participants: We extracted data for 1,282,822 Clalit Health Services members aged >45 between July 2007 and December 2011. Records of mortality or acute coronary syndrome were extracted during the follow-up period. Kaplan-Meier analysis calculated time to episode and Cox regression models generated adjusted hazard ratios for episode by calcidiol group (<10, 10.1-20, 20.1-36, and >36.1 ng/mL)., Outcome Measures: Acute coronary syndrome subsuming all-cause mortality., Results: During the 54-month study period, 422,822 Clalit Health Services members were tested for calcidiol, of which 12,280 died of any cause (905 with acute coronary syndrome) and 3933 were diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. Compared to those with 20-36 ng/mL, the adjusted hazard ratios among those with levels of <10, 10-20, and >36 ng/mL were 1.88 (confidence interval [CI]: 1.80-1.96), 1.25 (CI: 1.21-1.30), and 1.13 (CI: 1.04-1.22) (P < .05), respectively., Limitations: The study cohort comprised only 30% of the population, those tested for vitamin D. The small sample size of those with calcidiol >36 ng/mL prevented further analysis of this group., Conclusions: Vitamin D in the 20-36 ng/mL range was associated with the lowest risk for mortality and morbidity. The hazard ratio below and above this range increases significantly.

Background: A universal increase in the incidence of renal replacement therapy (RRT) was reported in developed countries during the 1990s, especially among the elderly and diabetic patients. We studied trends in RRT incidence and mortality in Israel between 1989 and 2001-2005., Methods: The end-stage renal disease (ESRD) registry holds data on all RRT patients in Israel. Age-adjusted incidence rate ratios (RRs) were estimated comparing 2001-2005 with 1989. We compared incidence data between Israel and elsewhere using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). Survival analysis was conducted by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's proportional hazards regression was used to compare survival of diabetic with non-diabetic ESRD patients., Results: The mean incidence rates per million population increased from 99 in 1989-1991 to 179 in 2003-2005. In 2000, Israel was the second leading country for incidence of RRT. Age-adjusted incidence rates increased by 67% [95% confidence interval (CI): 49-87%], from 1989 to 2001, but the trend was attenuated between 2002 and 2005. The increase in incidence was positively associated with age, the largest increase being among the elderly aged > or = 75 years (RR: 3.18, 95%CI: 2.72-3.70). Diabetes accounted for 41% of RRT in 2001 vs only 19% in 1989. There was no increase in 1-year survival between the beginning and the end of the study period. Patients with diabetes-associated RRT had 57% increased risk of 1-year mortality (adjusted HR: 1.57 95% CI: 1.51-1.63)., Conclusions: Despite a similar proportion of RRT attributed to diabetes in Israel and other countries, the age-adjusted incidence in Israel is considerably higher than most countries.