BackgroundInnovative models of care are required to cope with the ever-increasing number of patients on antiretroviral therapy in the most affected countries. This study, in Khayelitsha, South Africa, evaluates the effectiveness of a group-based model of care run predominantly by non-clinical staff in retaining patients in care and maintaining adherence.Methods and FindingsParticipation in “adherence clubs” was offered to adults who had been on ART for at least 18 months, had a current CD4 count >200 cells/ml and were virologically suppressed. Embedded in an ongoing cohort study, we compared loss to care and virologic rebound in patients receiving the intervention with patients attending routine nurse-led care from November 2007 to February 2011. We used inverse probability weighting to estimate the intention-to-treat effect of adherence club participation, adjusted for measured baseline and time-varying confounders. The principal outcome was the combination of death or loss to follow-up. The secondary outcome was virologic rebound in patients who were virologically suppressed at study entry. Of 2829 patients on ART for >18 months with a CD4 count above 200 cells/µl, 502 accepted club participation. At the end of the study, 97% of club patients remained in care compared with 85% of other patients. In adjusted analyses club participation reduced loss-to-care by 57% (hazard ratio [HR] 0.43, 95% CI = 0.21–0.91) and virologic rebound in patients who were initially suppressed by 67% (HR 0.33, 95% CI = 0.16–0.67).DiscussionPatient adherence groups were found to be an effective model for improving retention and documented virologic suppression for stable patients in long term ART care. Out-of-clinic group-based models facilitated by non-clinical staff are a promising approach to assist in the long-term management of people on ART in high burden low or middle-income settings.

Background: The presence of comorbidity affects the care of cancer patients, many of whom are living with multiple comorbidities. The prevalence of cancer comorbidity, beyond summary metrics, is not well known. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of comorbid conditions among cancer patients in England, and describe the association between cancer comorbidity and socioeconomic position, using population-based electronic health records. Methods: We linked England cancer registry records of patients diagnosed with cancer of the colon, rectum, lung or Hodgkin lymphoma between 2009 and 2013, with hospital admissions records. A comorbidity was any one of fourteen specific conditions, diagnosed during hospital admission up to 6 years prior to cancer diagnosis. We calculated the crude and age-sex adjusted prevalence of each condition, the frequency of multiple comorbidity combinations, and used logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression to estimate the adjusted odds of having each condition and the probability of having each condition as a single or one of multiple comorbidities, respectively, by cancer type. Results: Comorbidity was most prevalent in patients with lung cancer and least prevalent in Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Up to two-thirds of patients within each of the four cancer patient cohorts we studied had at least one comorbidity, and around half of the comorbid patients had multiple comorbidities. Our study highlighted common comorbid conditions among the cancer patient cohorts. In all four cohorts, the odds of having a comorbidity and the probability of multiple comorbidity were consistently highest in the most deprived cancer patients. Conclusions: Cancer healthcare guidelines may need to consider prominent comorbid conditions, particularly to benefit the prognosis of the most deprived patients who carry the greater burden of comorbidity. Insight into patterns of cancer comorbidity may inform further research into the influence of specific comorbidities on socioeconomic inequalities in receipt of cancer treatment and in short-term mortality.

Background Adrenal tumors are commonly discovered on abdominal imaging. The majority of adrenal tumors are classified as “non-functional” and considered to pose no health risk, whereas a minority will be considered “functional” because they secrete hormones that increase risk for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Objective To evaluate the hypothesis that “non-functional” adrenal tumors (NFAT) increase risk for developing cardiometabolic outcomes when compared with having no adrenal tumor. Design Cohort study. Setting Integrated hospital system. Participants Exposed participants with benign NFAT (n=242) and unexposed participants with no adrenal tumor (n=1237). Measurements Medical records were reviewed from the time of abdominal imaging for development of incident outcomes (hypertension, composite diabetes [pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes], hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular events, chronic kidney disease) (mean 7.7 years). Primary analyses evaluated independent associations between exposure status and incident outcomes using adjusted generalized linear models. Secondary analyses evaluated relationships between NFAT and cortisol physiology. Results NFAT were associated with significantly higher risk for incident composite diabetes when compared with no adrenal tumor (adjusted RR=1.87, 95% CI: 1.17, 2.98; absolute risk: 30/110 vs. 72/615, 15.6%). No significant associations between NFAT and other outcomes were observed. Higher “normal” post-dexamethasone cortisol levels (<1.8 mcg/dL) associated with larger NFAT size and a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Limitations Potential bias in the selection of participants and ascertainment of outcomes. Conclusions Participants with NFAT had a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes when compared to participants without adrenal tumors. These results prompt a re-assessment of whether the classification of benign adrenal tumors as “non-functional” adequately reflects the continuum of hormone secretion and metabolic risk they may harbor.