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Introduction:: Menthol cigarette smoking is more prevalent among Blacks than among other groups in the United States. This study examined associations between demographic, psychological, attitudinal, social, and cultural factors and menthol smoking among Black adults. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) whose disease activity is inadequately controlled with a platform therapy (interferon beta or glatiramer acetate [GA]) may switch to another platform therapy or escalate therapy to natalizumab or fingolimod, which were approved in the US in 2006 and 2010, respectively. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe treatment patterns in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States who were followed for 2 years after initiating a disease-modifying therapy (DMT). Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted to examine treatment patterns of initial DMT use (on initial therapy for 2 years with and without gaps of > 60 days, medication switching, and discontinuation) among patients with MS who initiated a platform therapy (interferon-β or glatiramer acetate) or natalizumab between January 1, 2007, and September 30, 2009; the first DMT claim was the index. Eligible patients were identified in the Market-Scan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental data-bases based on continuous enrollment for 6 months before (preindex period) and 24 months after their index date, with a diagnosis of MS and no claim for a previous DMT in the 6-month preindex period. Demographics at index and clinical characteristics during the preindex period were also analyzed. Results: A total of 6181 MS patients were included, with 5735 (92.8%) starting on platform therapy. Nata-lizumab initiators were more likely to stay on index therapy (32.3% vs 16.9%, P < 0.001) and have fewer treatment gaps of >60 days (44.8% vs 55.3%, P < 0.001) compared with platform initiators. In addition, natalizumab initiators were less likely to switch treatment (13.9% vs 19.1%, P = 0.007) and took longer to switch (400.9 days vs 330.7 days, P < 0.001) compared with platform initiators. Nearly 79% of platform initiators who switched went to another platform therapy. Ap-proximately two thirds of patients who switched to a third DMT (n = 130) switched to another platform therapy. A total of 9% of natalizumab and platform initiators discontinued DMT within the 2 years. Conclusions: Most MS patients initiating DMT started on platform therapy. Natalizumab initiators tended to stay on index therapy, have fewer treatment gaps, and switch less than platform initiators in the 2 years after treatment initiation. Switching between plat-form therapies is common despite evidence that MS patients on platform therapy may benefit from switch-ing to natalizumab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with schizophrenia (SZ) or bipolar disorder (BD) may have increased risk of complications from prescribed opioids, including opioid-induced respiratory depression. We compared prescription opioid pain medication dispensing for patients with SZ or BD versus controls over 5 years to assess dispensing trends., Methods: This retrospective, observational study analysed US claims data from the IBM® MarketScan® Commercial and Multi-State Medicaid databases for individuals aged 18-64 years with prevalent SZ or BD for years 2015-2019 compared with age- and sex-matched controls. Baseline characteristics, comorbidities, and medication use were assessed. Proportions of individuals dispensed prescription opioids chronically (ie, ≥70 days over a 90-day period or ≥ 6 prescriptions annually) or nonchronically (≥1 prescription, chronic definition not met) were assessed., Results: In 2019, the Commercial and Medicaid databases contained records for 4773 and 30,179 patients with SZ and 52,780 and 63,455 patients with BD, respectively. Patients with SZ or BD had a higher prevalence of comorbidities, including pain, versus controls in each analysis year. From 2015 to 2019, among commercially insured patients with SZ, chronic opioid-dispensing proportions decreased from 6.1% (controls: 2.7%) to 2.3% (controls: 1.2%) and, for patients with BD, from 11.4% (controls: 2.7%) to 6.4% (controls: 1.6%). Chronic opioid dispensing declined in Medicaid-covered patients with SZ from 15.0% (controls: 14.7%) to 6.7% (controls: 6.0%) and, for patients with BD, from 27.4% (controls: 12.0%) to 12.4% (controls: 4.7%). Among commercially insured patients with SZ, nonchronic opioid dispensing decreased from 15.5% (controls: 16.4%) to 10.7% (controls: 11.0%) and, for patients with BD, from 26.1% (controls: 17.5%) to 20.0% (controls: 12.2%). In Medicaid-covered patients with SZ, nonchronic opioid dispensing declined from 22.5% (controls: 24.4%) to 15.1% (controls: 12.7%) and, for patients with BD, from 32.3% (controls: 25.9%) to 24.6% (controls: 13.6%)., Conclusions: The proportions of individuals dispensed chronic or nonchronic opioid medications each year were similar between commercially and Medicaid-insured patients with SZ versus controls and were higher for patients with BD versus controls. From 2015 to 2019, the proportions of individuals who were dispensed prescription opioids chronically or nonchronically decreased for patients with SZ or BD and controls., (© 2024. The Author(s).)