The economic burden of depression among adults with rheumatoid arthritis in the United States

Aims: Depression is the most frequent comorbidity reported among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Comorbid depression negatively impacts RA patients’ health-related quality-of-life, physical function, mental function, mortality, and experience of pain and symptom severity. The objective of this study was to assess healthcare utilization, expenditures, and work productivity among patients with RA with or without depression.

Materials and methods: Data from adult patients who had at least two visits each related to RA and depression over a 1-year period were extracted from the Truven Health MarketScan research databases. Outcomes comprised healthcare resource utilization, work productivity loss, and direct healthcare costs comparing patients with RA with depression (n?=?3,478) vs patients with RA without depression (n?=?43,222).

Results: Patients with RA and depression had a significantly greater relative risk of hospitalization and number of all-cause and RA-related hospitalizations, utilization of emergency services, days spent in the hospital, physician visits, and RA-related surgeries compared with RA patients without depression. Patients with RA and depression had a higher risk of and experienced more events and days of short-term disability compared with patients without depression. The incremental adjusted annual all-cause and RA-related direct costs were $8,488 (95% CI = $6,793–$10,223) and $578 (95% CI = –$98–$1,243), respectively, when comparing patients with RA and depression vs RA only.

Limitations: The current analysis is subject to the known limitations of retrospective studies based on administrative claims data.

Conclusions: This study suggested increased healthcare utilization, work productivity loss, and economic burden among RA patients due to comorbid depression. These findings emphasize the importance of managing depression and including depression as a factor when devising treatment algorithms for patients with RA.     

基于社会服务的示范性高职院校师资队伍建设——以广东农工商职业技术学院为例

服务是高职院校的第一宗旨,而社会服务能力的高低关键在于示范院校师资队伍建设。该文从广东农工商职业技术学院社会服务能力的实际情况出发,分析了该院师资队伍建设存在的问题,认为,首先应通过体制创新,提高教师社会服务意识;其次通过不同途径打造"双师型"教师团队,从而提升教师社会服务能力。     

食用菌无公害、经济型保鲜技术研究进展

该文从食用菌保鲜的机理出发,对各种保鲜技术从有无公害、是否经济有效的角度进行了对比研究,以求得到既经济有效又无残留的食用菌保鲜技术,并对无公害食用菌发展的前景进行了分析。     

“三国演义”，麈战纺织

9月5日中国与欧盟经过长达48小时的唇枪舌战，终于达成协议，圆满解决了中欧纺织品贸易的滞港争端。9月1日紧急进行的中美纺织品第四轮磋商依然未果，“拉锯战”被拖至9月下旬，而且前途未卜，恰似给美国造成巨大损失的“卡特里娜”飓风，近期内依然“挥之不去”，令业内人士揪心。     

中国要向日本学习什么?--谈"节约型经济"与"中国世纪"

“中国世纪”的挑战先说中国目前面临的挑战。现在国际国内都有许多人正在谈论“中国世纪”。其实,中国的世纪仍然是一种想象。中国正在崛起,但世界上从来没有任何一个国家像崛起的中国那样感受到资源困窘的压力。如果中国不能克服前进道路上的矛盾,不能转变增长方式,就谈不上会有真正的“中国的世纪”。对于中国资源的困窘可从供需两方面来看。在供应方面,中国并非地大物博,中国的人均资源相当稀缺;而在需求方面,中国经济高速发展,国民对能源、水、土地等自然资源的需求正急剧增长,并将持续增长。众所周知,就大部分重要资源的人均占有水平…     

浅议资产评估行业执业责任保险及职业风险基金

为规避和降低资产评估行业职业风险,现阶段绝大多数评估机构都按照中评协有关规定从业务收入中计提职业风险基金.随着资产评估业务的拓展和执业环境的变化,仅以一种途径来防范职业风险已不能满足行业发展的需要.本文借鉴评估行业参加执业责任保险的情况,提出了存在问题及改进意见.     

关于开展航海职业教育扶贫工作的探讨

建设新农村的核心环节是提高农民收入。对贫困地区进行扶贫是党和政府解决贫困地区农民问题的重要手段之一,其中心工作是提高农民收入。通过开展航海职业教育扶贫工作可以有效地帮助转移农村富余劳动力,提高农民综合素质,增加农民收入,增强农民自身的造血功能,彻底改变贫穷的面貌;同时也有利于促进航运业和航海职业教育的发展。开展航海职业教育扶贫工作是一个多方合作共赢的过程。     

中国银行业跨国并购的同心圆战略

当前的全球银行跨国并购浪潮，是在第五次全球企业并购浪潮下产生的，中国银行业要抓住这一历史机遇，通过实施“同心圆”战略，从企业竞争上升到产业竞争的高度去整合全球金融资源，建立起自己的产业价值链优势，在国际金融博弈中获得先发优势。     

A consumer education programme based on the Transtheoretical Model of Change

MONEY 2000? is a successful consumer education programme that was implemented by Cooperative Extension personnel in over two dozen states of the USA between 1996 and 2002. One of the unique features of this programme is that it was based on the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), a framework that has been widely used to study health‐related behaviour changes such as smoking cessation. This paper first describes how the MONEY 2000? programme was developed around major constructs contained within the TTM. Findings are reported from a survey conducted with participants in the first two states that delivered the programme. The findings suggest that several change processes used by MONEY 2000? participants are associated with specific stages of change. In addition, there may be differences in behavioural changes between participants who increased their savings and those who reduced their debts.     

Effectiveness and Effects of China’s Capital Controls

I. IntroductionNations at every stage of development and in every region of the world are more closelylinked through trade in goods and services, through flows of funds and investments ineach others’ economies than ever before. But in sharp contrast to more and more nationsloosening restrictions on international trade, controls over capital flows are still substantialnearly everywhere except in the most developed economies. This is certainly the case inChina, where restrictions on movements …