PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study examines political contributions made by physicians

2014-06-02
(Press-News.org) Bottom Line: The percentage of physicians making campaign contributions in federal elections increased to 9.4 percent in 2012 from 2.6 percent in 1991, and during that time physician contributors shifted away from Republicans toward Democrats, especially in specialties dominated by women or those that are traditionally lower paying such as pediatrics.

Author: Adam Bonica, Ph.D., of Stanford University, California, and colleagues.

Background: Few analyses have been done regarding the political behavior of American physicians, especially as the numbers of women physicians has increased and the number of solo practionioners has decreased. Information on campaign contributions in federal elections is publicly available.

How the Study Was Conducted: The authors analyzed campaign contributions made by physicians from 1991 through the 2012 election cycle to Republican and Democratic candidates in presidential and congressional races and to partisan organizations, including party committees and super political action committees (Super PACs).

Results: Physician contributions increased to $189 million from $20 million during the study period. Male physicians were more likely to donate to Republicans than female physicians. Since 1996, the percentage of physicians contributing to Republicans decreased, to less than 50 percent in the 2007-2008 election cycle and again in the 2011-2012 election cycle. Most of this shift away from the Republicans resulted from an influx of new donors more likely to support Democratic candidates than prior donors, including an increased percentage of female physicians and decreased percentage of physicians in solo and small practices. In the 2011-2012 election cycle, contributions to Republicans were more prevalent among men than women (52.3 percent vs. 23.6 percent); physicians practicing in for-profit vs. nonprofit organizations (53.2 percent vs. 25.6 percent); and surgeons vs. pediatricians (70.2 percent vs. 22.1 percent).

Discussion: "Between 1991 and 2012, the political alignment of physicians in the United States changed dramatically. A profession once firmly allied with Republicans is now shifting toward the Democrats. Indeed, the variables driving this change – sex, employment type and specialty – are likely to continue to be active forces and to drive further changes."

(JAMA Intern Med. Published online June 2, 2014. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.2105. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

Commentary: Physicians and Politics In a related commentary, Arnold S. Relman, M.D., retired from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, writes: "This is an interesting study, although the results are largely predictable."

"The authors are careful not to extrapolate much beyond their findings. Their data show a recent shift toward the Democrats in the traditional physician support of Republicans, and they believe that this shift is likely to continue," Relman writes.

"However, these data may not be representative of the rank and file physicians. The authors consider only contributions to individual candidates or party-connected organizations that total $200 or more over an election cycle, the threshold for reporting to the Federal Election Commission," the author notes.

(JAMA Intern Med. Published online June 2, 2014. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.509. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

INFORMATION: Media Advisory: To contact corresponding author David J. Rothman, Ph.D., call Karin Eskenazi at 212-342-0508 or email ket2116@cumc.columbia.edu. To contact commentary author Arnold S. Relman, M.D. email arnoldrelman@gmail.com. A podcast with the authors will be available on the JAMA Internal Medicine website http://bit.ly/IZGqPC when the embargo lifts.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

One in 8 American children estimated to experience maltreatment by age 18

2014-06-02
Bottom Line: One in 8 American children (12.5 percent) is estimated to experience a confirmed case of maltreatment before age 18, and the cumulative prevalence is highest for black children (1 in 5) and Native American children (1 in 7). Author: Christopher Wildeman, Ph.D., of Yale University, New Haven, Conn., and colleagues. Background: Childhood maltreatment (the neglect and physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children) is associated with negative physical, mental and social outcomes. A disparity exists between estimates of the prevalence based on retrospective ...

No sign of 'obesity paradox' in obese patients with stroke

2014-06-02
Bottom Line: Researchers found no evidence of an "obesity paradox" (some studies have suggested overweight or obese patients have lower mortality rates than underweight or normal weight patients) in patients with stroke. Author: Christian Dehlendorff, M.S., Ph.D., of the Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues. Background: Obesity often is associated with increased health related complications and death. But some studies have suggested an obesity paradox that may cause some to question striving for a normal weight. How the Study ...

Expanded health coverage may improve cancer outcomes in young adults, study suggests

2014-06-02
BOSTON -- Young adults who lack health care insurance are more likely to be diagnosed in advanced stages of cancer and have a higher risk of death, according to a study from Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) and Harvard Medical School. Consequently, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, may improve cancer outcomes in young adults as it expands coverage to many who have been uninsured, said first author Ayal Aizer, MD, MHS, of the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program and senior author Paul Nguyen, MD, of Radiation Oncology at DF/BWCC in a report ...

Nearly 1 in 8 American children are maltreated before age 18

2014-06-02
By the time they reach age 18, about 12% of American children experience a confirmed case of maltreatment in the form of neglect, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, according to a new study by researchers at Yale University. The numbers are even more sobering for black and Native American children, with one in five black children and one in seven Native American children experiencing maltreatment during the time period studied. The results are published in the June 2 issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The authors estimated the cumulative prevalence of confirmed ...

Study finds risk of recurrence low in smallest HER2+ breast cancer tumors

2014-06-02
OAKLAND, Calif. June 2, 2014 – Patients with specific HER2+ breast cancer tumors had a low risk of the cancer recurring five years after diagnosis, even without chemotherapy or treatment with a common antibody, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Researchers reviewed 16,975 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in Kaiser Permanente patients between 2000 and 2006. They found that for patients with the smallest HER2+ tumors (0.5 centimeters or less) who did not receive treatment with the antibody trastuzumab or chemotherapy, ...

The betrayal of the aphids

The betrayal of the aphids
2014-06-02
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Aphids are devastating insect pests and cause great losses to agriculture worldwide. These sap-feeding plant pests harbor in their body cavity bacteria, which are essential for the aphids' fecundity and survival. Buchnera, the bacterium, benefits also because it cannot grow outside the aphid. This mutually beneficial relationship is sabotaged, however, by the bacterium which proceeds to betray the aphid, a research team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside has found. "Although this betrayal is unintentional, it nevertheless ...

First survey of ACOs reveals surprising level of physician leadership

2014-06-02
LEBANON, NH (June 2, 2014) – In spite of early concerns that hospitals' economic strengths would lead them to dominate the formation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), a new study published in the June issue of Health Affairs reveals the central role of physician leadership in the first wave of ACOs. "The broad reach of physician leadership in ACOs has important implications for the future of health care reform", said Carrie Colla, PhD, lead investigator of the study. "A central role for physicians in the leadership of ACOs is likely to have a powerful influence ...

Decomposing logs show local factors undervalued in climate change predictions

2014-06-02
A new Yale-led study challenges the long-held assumption that climate is the primary driver of how quickly organic matter decomposes in different regions, a key piece of information used in formulating climate models. In a long-term analysis conducted across several sites in the eastern United States, a team of researchers found that local factors — from levels of fungal colonization to the specific physical locations of the wood — play a far greater role than climate in wood decomposition rates and the subsequent impacts on regional carbon cycling. Because decomposition ...

Resveratrol supplements cause pancreatic problems in developing fetus

2014-06-02
PORTLAND, Ore. — A widely available dietary supplement that had been considered safe — and that some claim provides anti-aging and other health benefits — caused significant developmental abnormalities in the pancreas of offspring of pregnant monkeys who were given the supplement, according to a study published today in the FASEB Journal, from the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology. Because of the results, authors of the study strongly recommend that pregnant women or women who might get pregnant avoid taking the supplement. The supplement contains ...

JCI online ahead of print table of contents for June 2, 2014

2014-06-02
Mucin concentration contributes to a sticky situation in cystic fibrosis Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) accumulate thick, sticky mucus in the lungs that clogs the airways and leads to life-threatening lung infections. It has recently been proposed that differing concentrations of mucin with in mucus layers of the CF lung contribute to decreased mucus clearance; however, it has been challenging to accurately access mucin concentration. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Mehmet Kesimer and colleagues at the University of North Carolina applied size ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

U.S. uterine cancer incidence and mortality rates expected to significantly increase by 2050

Public take the lead in discovery of new exploding star

What are they vaping? Study reveals alarming surge in adolescent vaping of THC, CBD, and synthetic cannabinoids

ECMWF - delivering forecasts over 10 times faster and cutting energy usage by 1000

Brazilian neuroscientist reveals how viral infections transform the brain through microscopic detective work

Turning social fragmentation into action through discovering relatedness

Cheese may really be giving you nightmares, scientists find

Study reveals most common medical emergencies in schools

Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks

Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems

Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions

Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing

New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

[Press-News.org] Study examines political contributions made by physicians