Data on Pregnancy Reported by Researchers at Johns Hopkins University (Use of Pharmacotherapies for Smoking Cessation Analysis of Pregnant and…

Data on Pregnancy Reported by Researchers at Johns Hopkins University (Use of Pharmacotherapies for Smoking Cessation Analysis of Pregnant and Postpartum Medicaid Enrollees)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Women's Health Weekly -- Data detailed on Women's Health have been presented. According to news reporting originating from Columbia, Maryland, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "The Affordable Care Act requires state Medicaid programs to cover pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation without cost sharing for pregnant women. Little is known about use of these pharmacotherapies among Medicaid-enrolled women."

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Johns Hopkins University, "To describe the prevalence of prescription fills for smoking-cessation pharmacotherapies during pregnancy and postpartum among Medicaid-enrolled women and to examine whether certain pregnancy complications or copayments are associated with prescription fills. Insurance claims data for women enrolled in a Medicaid managed care plan in Maryland and who used tobacco during pregnancy from 2003 to 2010 were obtained (N = 4,709) and analyzed in 2014. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the prevalence of smoking-cessation pharmacotherapy use during pregnancy and postpartum. Generalized estimating equations were employed to examine the relationship of pregnancy complications and copayments with prescription fills of smoking-cessation pharmacotherapies during pregnancy and postpartum. Few women filled any prescription for a smoking-cessation pharmacotherapy during pregnancy or postpartum (2.6% and 2.0%, respectively). Having any smoking-related pregnancy complication was positively associated with filling a smoking-cessation pharmacotherapy prescription during pregnancy (OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.08, 2.65) but not postpartum. Copayments were associated with significantly decreased odds of filling any prescription for smoking-cessation pharmacotherapies in the postpartum period (OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.22, 0.66). Smokingrelated pregnancy complications and substance use are predictive of filling a prescription for pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation during pregnancy."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Low use of pharmacotherapies during pregnancy is consistent with clinical guidelines; however, low use postpartum suggests an unmet need for cessation aids in Medicaid populations."

For more information on this research see: Use of Pharmacotherapies for Smoking Cessation Analysis of Pregnant and Postpartum Medicaid Enrollees. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2015;48(5):528-534. American Journal of Preventive Medicine can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, 360 Park Ave South, New York, NY 10010-1710, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; American Journal of Preventive Medicine - www.elsevier.com/wps/product/cws_home/600644)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting M.P. Jarlenski, Johns Hopkins University, Center Maternal & Fetal Med, Dept. of Gynecol & Obstet, Columbia, MD, United States. Additional authors for this research include M.S. Chisolm, S. Kachur, D.M. Neale and W.L. Bennett (see also Women's Health).

Keywords for this news article include: Smoking, Columbia, Maryland, Pregnancy, Obstetrics, United States, Women's Health, Pharmacotherapy, North and Central America

Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2015, NewsRx LLC