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Background and Objectives: Schools of medicine in the United States may overstate the placement of their graduates in primary care. The purpose of this project was to determine the magnitude by which primary care output is overestimated by commonly used metrics and identify a more accurate method for predicting actual primary care output. Methods: We used a retrospective cohort study with a convenience sample of graduates from US medical schools granting the MD degree. We determined the actual practicing specialty of those graduates considered primary care based on the Residency Match Method by using a variety of online sources. Analyses compared the percentage of graduates actually practicing primary care between the Residency Match Method and the Intent to Practice Primary Care Method. Results: The final study population included 17,509 graduates from 20 campuses across 14 university systems widely distributed across the United States and widely varying in published ranking for producing primary care graduates. The commonly used Residency Match Method predicted a 41.2% primary care output rate. The actual primary care output rate was 22.3%. The proposed new method, the Intent to Practice Primary Care Method, predicted a 17.1% primary care output rate, which was closer to the actual primary care rate. Conclusions: A valid, reliable method of predicting primary care output is essential for workforce training and planning. Medical schools, administrators, policy makers, and popular press should adopt this new, more reliable primary care reporting method.

Background Reduced access to maternity care in rural areas of the United States presents a significant burden to pregnant persons and infants. The objective of this study was to estimate the impact of family physicians (FPs) on access to maternity care in rural United States hospitals, especially where other providers may not be available. Methods We administered a survey to 216 rural hospitals in 10 US states inquiring about the number of babies delivered from 2013 to 2017, the types of delivering physicians, and the maternity services offered. We calculated the percentage of rural hospitals in our sample where FPs performed vaginal deliveries, cesareans, and vaginal births after cesarean (VBACs), and the percentage of all babies delivered by FPs. We estimated the distance patients would have to travel for care if FPs were not providing care locally. Results The final study population consisted of 185 rural hospitals. FPs delivered babies in 67% of these hospitals and were the only physicians who delivered babies in 27% of these hospitals. FPs provided VBAC at 18% and cesarean birth services at 46% of the rural hospitals, but with wide geographic differences. Many patients would have to drive an average of 86 miles round‐trip to access care if those FPs were to stop delivering. Conclusions Family physicians are essential providers of maternity care in the rural United States. Family Medicine residency programs should ensure that trainees who intend to practice in rural locations have adequate maternity care training to maintain and expand access to maternity care for rural patients and their families.

Objective To determine whether body mass index (BMI) and leptin were longitudinally associated over 10 years with neuropsychological performance (NP) among middle-aged women with HIV (WWH) versus without HIV. Methods Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) participants (301 WWH, 113 women without HIV from Brooklyn, New York City and Chicago had baseline and 10-year BMI (kg/m2) and fasting plasma leptin levels using commercial ELISA (ng/mL); and demographically-adjusted NP T-scores (attention/working memory, executive function (EF), processing speed, memory, learning, verbal fluency, motor function, global) at 10-year follow-up. Multivariable linear regression analyses, stratified by HIV-serostatus, examined associations between BMI, leptin, and NP. Results Over 10 years, women (baseline age 39.8+/-9.2 years, 73% Black, 73% WWH) transitioned from average overweight (29.1+/-7.9 kg/m 2) to obese (30.5+/-7.9 kg/m 2) BMI. Leptin increased 11.4+/-26.4 ng/mL (p<0.0001). Higher baseline BMI and leptin predicted poorer 10-year EF among all women (BMI B=-6.97, 95%CI(-11.5, -2.45) p=0.003; leptin B=-1.90, 95%CI(-3.03, -0.76), p=0.001); higher baseline BMI predicted better memory performance (B=6.35, 95%CI(1.96, 10.7), p=0.005). Greater 10-year leptin increase predicted poorer EF (p=0.004), speed (p=0.029), verbal (p=0.021) and global (p=0.005) performance among all women, and WWH. Greater 10-year BMI increase predicted slower processing speed (p=0.043) among all women; and among WWH, poorer EF (p=0.012) and global (p=0.035) performance. Conclusions In middle-aged WIHS participants, 10-year increases in BMI and leptin were associated with poorer performance across multiple NP domains among all and WWH. Trajectories of adiposity measures over time may provide insight into the role of adipose tissue in brain health with aging.

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Introduction: A relationship between hyperglycemia and outcomes in patients with COVID-19 has been proposed, however there is a paucity of literature on this. In this study, we examined the effect of admission glucose in diabetics and non-diabetics on outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Our study uniquely examines this association in a largely African American cohort, a population disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed all adults admitted with COVID-19 to a designated COVID hospital in Brooklyn, NY from March 1 to May 15, 2020. Diabetics were compared to non-diabetics, and were further stratified based on admission glucoses of 140 and 180 mg/dL. Diagnosis of diabetes was based on history and/or Hba1c > 6.5%. Univariate, multiple and logistic regressions were used for analyses, examining outcomes of mortality, intubation, ICU admission, acute kidney injury (AKI), and length of stay based on admission glucose levels, while controlling for age, gender, lab values (serum creatinine and WBC), and comorbidities including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Outcomes are presented as an adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: 708 patients were analyzed; 54% diabetics, 83.5% non-Hispanic Blacks, 51% male with a mean age of 68, BMI of 29 kg/m2 and crude mortality rate of 40%. The length of hospital stay was greater in diabetics than non-diabetics, (13±26 days vs 9.5±18.5 days, p<0.05). Diabetics with an admission glucose > 140 mg/dL (vs<140 g/dL) had a 2.4-fold increased odds of both intubation and ICU admission (95% CI: 1.2, 4.5; 1.3, 4.6). Diabetics with admission glucoses > 180 mg/dL (vs <180 g/dL) had a 1.8-fold increased mortality (95% CI: 1.2, 2.9). Non-diabetics with admission glucoses >140 mg/dL (vs<140 g/dL) had a two-fold increased mortality (95% CI: 1.2, 3.5), 3.5-fold increased odds of ICU admission (95% CI: 1.8,6.6) and a 2.3-fold increased odds of both intubation and AKI (95% CI: 1.3, 4.2; 1.3,4.2). Non-diabetics with a glucose >180 mg/dL (vs <180 g/dL) had a four-fold increased mortality (95% CI: 1.8, 8.8), 2.7-fold increased odds of intubation (95% CI: 1.3, 5.6) and 2.9-fold increased odds of ICU admission (95% CI: 1.3, 6.2). Conclusion: Our results show hyperglycemia portends worse outcomes in diabetics and non-diabetics with COVID-19. Elevated admitting glucoses >180 mg/dL increased odds of mortality four-fold in non-diabetics and 1.8- fold in diabetics. In COVID-19, diabetic patients had a 37% greater length of hospital stay than non-diabetics. Whether hyperglycemia is a marker or a cause of more severe COVID-19 is unknown. These findings suggest that patients presenting with hyperglycemia require closer observation and more aggressive therapies. This raises the testable hypothesis that intensive glucose control may improve outcomes in patients with COVID-19.

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IntroductionThe purpose of this study is to examine the effect of admission glucose in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with and without diabetes mellitus in a largely African American cohort.Design and methodsThis study included 708 adults (89% non-Hispanic Black) admitted with COVID-19 to an urban hospital between 1 March and 15 May 2020. Patients with diabetes were compared with those without and were stratified based on admission glucose of 140 and 180 mg/dL. Adjusted ORs were calculated for outcomes of mortality, intubation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, acute kidney injury (AKI), and length of stay based on admission glucose levels.ResultsPatients with diabetes with admission glucose >140 mg/dL (vs <140 g/dL) had 2.4-fold increased odds of intubation (95% CI 1.2 to 4.6) and 2.1-fold increased odds of ICU admission (95% CI 1.0 to 4.3). Patients with diabetes with admission glucose >180 mg/dL (vs <180 g/dL) had a 1.9-fold increased mortality (95% CI 1.2 to 3.1). Patients without diabetes with admission glucose >140 mg/dL had a 2.3-fold increased mortality (95% CI 1.3 to 4.3), 2.7-fold increased odds of ICU admission (95% CI 1.3 to 5.4), 1.9-fold increased odds of intubation (95% CI 1.0 to 3.7) and 2.2-fold odds of AKI (95% CI 1.1 to 3.8). Patients without diabetes with glucose >180 mg/dL had 4.4-fold increased odds of mortality (95% CI 1.9 to 10.4), 2.7-fold increased odds of intubation (95% CI 1.2 to 5.8) and 3-fold increased odds of ICU admission (95% CI 1.3 to 6.6).ConclusionOur results show hyperglycemia portends worse outcomes in patients with COVID-19 with and without diabetes. While our study was limited by its retrospective design, our findings suggest that patients presenting with hyperglycemia require closer observation and more aggressive therapies.