Pharmacoepidemiology News and Research

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The science of pharmacoepidemiology can answer a range of questions regarding how, why, when, where, and by whom a medicine is being used. It is a way of finding out the impact of a medicine as well as the usage results in a large, well-defined population. Also, it can help provide some indication as to how a particular drug is benefitting society and how it may be having a negative impact. Pharmacoepidemiology can be carried out both before and after a medicine is taken to market.

Antidepressant medications during pregnancy linked with increased rates of preterm birth

Antidepressant medications taken by pregnant women are associated with increased rates of preterm birth. This finding reinforces the notion that antidepressants should not be used by pregnant women in the absence of a clear need that cannot be met through alternative approaches, say researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Vanderbilt University, MetroWest Medical Center, and Tufts Medical Center.

28 Mar 2014

New AAA screening program reduces number of undiagnosed at-risk men by more than 50%

A screening program for abdominal aortic aneurysms, integrated into an electronic health record, dramatically reduced the number of unscreened at-risk men by more than 50 percent within 15 months, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in the aorta, which - if ruptured - can result in death.

10 Feb 2014

Use of insulin to treat type 2 diabetes has trebled in the UK, shows study

The use of insulin to treat type 2 diabetes has trebled in the UK over the last 20 years, a new study has revealed. In a study published in the Journal of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, a team of academics from Cardiff University and the University of Bristol reviewed Clinical Practice Research Data (CPRD) to estimate the prevalence of insulin use in the UK population.

6 Feb 2014

Study: CIEDs used by physicians today were approved as supplements to premarket approved models

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ensures that high-risk medical devices, such as implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and pacemakers, are safe and effective through its premarket approval (PMA) pathway, during which manufacturers must collect preclinical and clinical data before the device is approved.

From Medtronic 22 Jan 2014

Overweight men diagnosed with prostate cancer more likely to die from the disease

Men who are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to die from the disease than men who are of healthy weight, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice. In patients with more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, the researchers also found an even stronger correlation between obesity and mortality.

30 Oct 2013

DPP-4 inhibitors may reduce risk of autoimmune diseases

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors commonly used to control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes may also reduce the risk of autoimmune diseases in these patients, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego.

28 Oct 2013

Study shows low uptake of HPV vaccination among patients with autoimmune diseases

The number of children and young adults with autoimmune diseases receiving the HPV vaccination is profoundly low despite studies showing the vaccine to be safe and effective, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego. Given the increased incidence of HPV in people with autoimmune diseases, this research suggests that increased public health efforts are needed.

28 Oct 2013

Deloitte announces upcoming release of PopulationMiner to improve access to patient care

Deloitte today is announcing the upcoming release of PopulationMiner, a real-world, data-analytics solution for gleaning insights and relationships among drugs and diseases across broad patient populations over time and spanning multiple therapeutic and clinical areas.

16 Oct 2013

Non-Hispanic black, Hispanic patients less likely to experience metabolic syndrome remission

The impact of bariatric surgery on risk factors for cardiovascular disease depends on a variety of factors, including the type of surgery, sex of the patient, ethnic background, and pre-surgery body mass index, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in Annals of Surgery.

16 Oct 2013

Patients who receive automated telephone calls are more likely to have controlled hypertension

Patients who received automated telephone calls inviting them to get their blood pressure checked at a walk-in clinic were more likely to have controlled hypertension than patients who did not receive calls, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension.

17 Sep 2013

Reformulated OxyContin®: an interview with Dr. Paul Coplan, Executive Director, Risk Management and Epidemiology, Purdue Pharma

OxyContin contains oxycodone, which is an opioid agonist. It is used for the management of moderate to severe pain when a constant opioid analgesic is needed for a prolonged period of time.

29 Aug 2013

Boehringer signs agreement with Brigham to conduct long-term study program on oral anticoagulants

Boehringer Ingelheim, a research-based, global pharmaceutical company, today announced a multi-year agreement with Brigham and Women's Hospital, an internationally recognized teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School known for its excellence in patient care, medical research and training of outstanding young health professionals.

17 Aug 2013

Boys more likely to receive HPV4 vaccine if their mothers receive flu shots, study finds

Boys are more likely to receive the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine if their mothers receive flu shots or Pap screenings, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

19 Jul 2013

Penn Medicine's Brian L. Strom named 2013 Career Distinguished Investigator

Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH, the executive vice dean for Institutional Affairs in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, was recently presented with a National Award for Career Achievement and Contribution to Clinical and Translational Science at the Translational Science 2013 meeting in Washington, D.C.

30 Apr 2013

$Study: Primary medication nonadherence can lead to increased risk of bone fractures$

Study: Primary medication nonadherence can lead to increased risk of bone fractures

Nearly 30 percent of women failed to pick up their bisphosphonate prescriptions, a medication that is most commonly used to treat osteoporosis and similar bone diseases, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published this week in the journal Osteoporosis International.

19 Apr 2013

Pharmacological study shows interactions between drugs can be detected with minute doses

Clinical pharmacologists at Heidelberg University Hospital have achieved major progress for improving the reliability of drugs. In a pharmacological study, they showed for the first time that interactions between drugs can be detected with minute doses in the range of nanograms.

15 Apr 2013

Patients with diabetes at no increased risk of complications after total knee replacement

Patients with diabetes who undergo total knee replacement surgery do not have increased risk of surgical complications compared to those patients without diabetes, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

28 Feb 2013

National Birth Defects Prevention Network honors BU researcher with Godfrey P. Oakley, Jr., Award

Allen A. Mitchell, MD, a professor of public health (epidemiology) and professor of pediatrics at the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine, recently received the Godfrey P. Oakley, Jr., Award at the annual meeting of the National Birth Defects Prevention Network. Mitchell, who is also the director of Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC), was recognized for his significant lifetime contributions to the field of birth defects.

28 Feb 2013

Survey: Medical students still receive free meals and gifts from pharmaceutical companies

A first-of-its kind national survey of medical students and residents finds that despite recent efforts by medical schools and academic medical centers to restrict access of pharmaceutical sales representatives to medical trainees, medical students and residents still commonly receive meals, gifts, and industry-sponsored educational materials.

27 Feb 2013

Study finds high ADHD diagnosis rates among non-Hispanic children between 2001 and 2010

The rate of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder rose dramatically between 2001 and 2010 with non-Hispanic white children having the highest diagnosis rates, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics (formerly Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine).

22 Jan 2013