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Positive choices (PC), a brief sexual risk reduction intervention conducted with newly HIV-diagnosed men who have sex with men (MSM), was evaluated for preliminary efficacy. Participants were enrolled if they reported unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the three months prior to HIV diagnosis (n = 102). Three months after diagnosis, participants completed baseline assessments and were randomly assigned to receive the 3-session PC intervention or the comprehensive standard of care (C-SoC) at a community health center. Participants completed assessments at 3- (post intervention), 6-, and 9- months after baseline. Compared to C-SoC participants, PC participants significantly reduced the frequency of UAI with HIV serodiscordant (HIV negative or status unknown) partners over the 9-month follow-up period. No differences by condition were found in the frequency of UAI with all partners. The findings from this trial suggest that brief risk reduction approaches for newly-diagnosed MSM integrated into HIV care can benefit secondary HIV prevention efforts.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare psychophysiological and cortisol reactions to psychological stress in older depressed and nondepressed patients at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: Forty-eight depressed participants and 20 controls with elevated cardiovascular risk factors underwent a psychological stress test during which cardiovascular variables were measured. Salivary cortisol was collected after each test segment. Traditional (e.g., lipids) and atypical (e.g., C-reactive protein) CVD risk factors were also obtained. RESULTS: At baseline, the groups did not differ on lipid levels, flow-mediated vasodilation, body mass index, or asymmetric dimethylarginine. However, the depressed patients had significantly higher C-reactive protein levels. Contrary to our hypothesis, there were no differences in baseline cortisol levels or diurnal cortisol slopes, but depressed patients showed significantly lower cortisol levels during the stress test (p = .03) and less cortisol response to stress. Compared with nondepressed subjects, depressed subjects also showed lower levels of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA(TF)) during the stress test (p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: In this sample, older depressed subjects with elevated risk for CVD exhibited a hypocortisol response to acute stress. This impaired cortisol response might contribute to chronic inflammation (as reflected in the elevated C-reactive proteins in depressed patients) and in other ways increase CVD risk. The reduced RSA(TF) activity may also increase CVD risk in depressed patients through impaired autonomic nervous system response to cardiophysiological demands.

Background Patients with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of cardiovascular events, and there is an associated economic burden attached to this risk. We conducted a retrospective claims database analysis to evaluate incremental cardiovascular costs in diabetic versus non-diabetic patients hospitalized for a cardiovascular event. Methods Patients hospitalized for a cardiovascular event between January 1, 2001 and June 30, 2005 were identified from a large US managed-care population. Diabetic patients were identified by evidence of type 2 diabetes in the 12 months prior to the index hospitalization. Direct medical costs and resource use - including inpatient expenditures (for the index and first recurrent hospitalizations), as well as outpatient, laboratory, and pharmacy expenditures (during the 3-year follow-up period) - were determined for patients with or without diabetes. Results Of the 29,863 patients identified with a cardiovascular hospitalization, 5,501 patients (18.4%) had a history of diabetes in the pre-index period (mean age, 57.8 years; 42.1% female). The overall mean follow-up period was 22.8 months. The incidence of subsequent cardiovascular events in the first year of follow-up was significantly higher for patients with diabetes compared with non-diabetic patients for all types of cardiovascular events except angina. Compared with non-diabetic patients, patients with diabetes had similar mean direct medical costs per patient for the index cardiovascular hospitalization ($17,435 versus $16,917; P = 0.09), and the first recurrent cardiovascular hospitalization ($18,488 versus $17,481; P = 0.2), yet higher mean total direct medical costs per patient for cardiovascular events during follow-up years (Year 1: $8,805 versus $6,982; Year 2: $13,860 versus $10,056; Year 3: $16,149 versus $12,163; all P ≤ 0.0002). The cost difference between diabetic and non-diabetic patients remained significant after adjusting for age, gender and other potential confounders in multivariate regression analysis. The mean (SD) total period of inpatient cardiovascular hospitalization after 3 years of follow-up was 3.3 (12.4) days for patients with diabetes compared with 1.8 (5.8) days for non-diabetic patients (P < 0.0001). Conclusion Diabetic patients hospitalized for a cardiovascular event incur higher costs for cardiovascular care than their non-diabetic counterparts. This analysis of the incremental cardiovascular cost and resource use provides the basis for greater accuracy and precision when modeling the economic value of initiatives aimed at reducing cardiovascular morbidity in patients with diabetes mellitus.