Dataset Information

Cropland expansion in the United States produces marginal yields at high costs to wildlife.

ABSTRACT: Recent expansion of croplands in the United States has caused widespread conversion of grasslands and other ecosystems with largely unknown consequences for agricultural production and the environment. Here we assess annual land use change 2008-16 and its impacts on crop yields and wildlife habitat. We find that croplands have expanded at a rate of over one million acres per year, and that 69.5% of new cropland areas produced yields below the national average, with a mean yield deficit of 6.5%. Observed conversion infringed upon high-quality habitat that, relative to unconverted land, had provided over three times higher milkweed stem densities in the Monarch butterfly Midwest summer breeding range and 37% more nesting opportunities per acre for waterfowl in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Northern Great Plains. Our findings demonstrate a pervasive pattern of encroachment into areas that are increasingly marginal for production, but highly significant for wildlife, and suggest that such tradeoffs may be further amplified by future cropland expansion.

SUBMITTER: Lark TJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7481238 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cropland expansion in the United States produces marginal yields at high costs to wildlife.

Lark Tyler J TJ Spawn Seth A SA Bougie Matthew M Gibbs Holly K HK

Nature communications 20200909 1

Recent expansion of croplands in the United States has caused widespread conversion of grasslands and other ecosystems with largely unknown consequences for agricultural production and the environment. Here we assess annual land use change 2008-16 and its impacts on crop yields and wildlife habitat. We find that croplands have expanded at a rate of over one million acres per year, and that 69.5% of new cropland areas produced yields below the national average, with a mean yield deficit of 6.5%. ...[more]

PMID: 32908130

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Project description:STUDY DESIGN:A descriptive analysis of secondary data. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to estimate health care costs and opioid use for those with high-impact chronic spinal (back and neck) pain. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA:The US National Pain Strategy introduced a focus on high-impact chronic pain-that is, chronic pain associated with work, social, and self-care restrictions. Chronic neck and low-back pain are common, costly, and associated with long-term opioid use. Although chronic pain is not homogenous, most estimates of its costs are averages that ignore severity (impact). METHODS:We used 2003 to 2015 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) data to identify individuals with chronic spinal pain, their health care expenditures, and use of opioids. We developed prediction models to identify those with high- versus moderate- and low-impact chronic spinal pain based on the variables available in MEPS. RESULTS:We found that overall and spine-related health care costs, and the use and dosage of opioids increased significantly with chronic pain impact levels. Overall and spine-related annual per person health care costs for those with high-impact chronic pain ($14,661 SE: $814; and $5979 SE: $471, respectively) were more than double that of those with low-impact, but still clinically significant, chronic pain ($6371 SE: $557; and $2300 SE: $328). Those with high-impact chronic spinal pain also use spine-related opioids at a rate almost four times that of those with low-impact pain (48.4% vs. 12.4%), and on average use over five times the morphine equivalent daily dose (MEDD) in mg (15.3 SE: 1.4 vs. 2.7 SE: 0.6). Opioid use and dosing increased significantly across years, but the increase in inflation-adjusted health care costs was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION:Although most studies of chronic spinal pain do not differentiate participants by the impact of their chronic pain, these estimates highlight the importance of identifying chronic pain levels and focusing on those with high-impact chronic pain. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:3.

Project description:BackgroundRecurrent chest pain is common in patients with and without coronary artery disease. The prevalence and burden of these symptoms on healthcare is unknown.ObjectivesTo compare chest pain return visits (recidivism) in patients with unexplained chest pain (UCP) against reference group of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and estimate the annual cost of recurrent chest pain.MethodsIn a retrospective cohort study, a Veteran Affairs (VA) administrative and clinical database of Veterans who were deployed to or served in support of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan was queried for first disease specific ICD-9 code to form two cohorts (UCP or CAD). Patients were followed between 09/2001-09/2010 for the first and cumulative return visits for UCP or cardiac pain (ACS or angina) to clinic, emergency department or admission; or for all-cause death. Time to return was analyzed using Cox regression and negative binomial models and adjusted for age, gender, race, marital status, and risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, smoking and obesity). Direct total costs included inpatient, outpatient and fee basis (non-VA) costs.ResultsOf 749,036 patients, 20,521 had UCP and 5303 had CAD. UCP patients were young and had a lower burden of risk factors than CAD cohort (p <?.01). Yet, these patients were likely to return earlier with any chest pain (adjusted Hazard Ratio [aHR]?= 1.76; 95 % CI 1.65-1.88); or unexplained chest pain than CAD patients (aHR: 1.89; 95 % CI 1.77-2.01). UCP patients were also likely to return more frequently for any chest pain (aRate Ratio = 1.54; 95 % CI 1.43-1.64) or UCP than CAD patients (aRR =2.63; 95 % CI 2.43-2.87). Per 100 patients, the 1-year cumulative returns were 37 visits for reference group and 45 visits for UCP cohort. The annual costs for chest pain averaged $69,009 for CAD and $57,336 for UCP patients (log geometric mean ratio=1.25; 95 % CI 1.18-1.32).ConclusionChest pain recidivism is common and costly even in patients without known CAD. We need evidence-based guidelines for these patients to minimize returns.

Dataset Information

Cropland expansion in the United States produces marginal yields at high costs to wildlife.

Publications

Cropland expansion in the United States produces marginal yields at high costs to wildlife.

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