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Chiles, Daniel Et Al
Chiles, Daniel Et Al
org
GYNECOLOGY
Initiation and continuation of long-acting reversible
contraception in the United States military healthcare
system
Daniel P. Chiles, DO, MPH; Timothy A. Roberts, MD, MPH; David A. Klein, MD, MPH
BACKGROUND: Long-acting reversible contraception is more effec- stable (41.7e50.1/1000 women/year) for intrauterine methods, although
tive for pregnancy prevention than shorter-acting contraceptive methods the rate for subdermal implants increased from 6.1e23.0/1000 women/
and has the potential to reduce healthcare disparities and costs. However, year. In analysis of women who selected intrauterine contraceptives,
long-acting reversible contraception is underused in the United States. 61.2% continued their method at 36 months, and 48.8% continued at
One population of interest is beneficiaries of the United States military 60 months. Among women who selected the implant, 32.0% continued
healthcare system who have access to universal healthcare, including their method at 36 months; however, 45.8% continued until 33 months
no-cost, no-copay contraception with unlimited method switching, and (ie, 3 months before the currently recommended expiration date).
comprise a large, actual use cohort. Efforts to increase long-acting Compared with intrauterine contraceptive users, implant users were more
reversible contraception initiation and continuation in this population likely to discontinue their method during the 36 months after insertion
may improve health outcomes and mitigate the profound consequences of (hazard ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.56e1.62; P < .001).
unintended or mistimed pregnancy on readiness and cost to the military. Adolescents aged 14-19 years were the least likely age group to
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine long-acting reversible contra- discontinue the implant before 36 months; women aged 35-40 years were
ception initiation and continuation rates among the diverse population with the least likely to discontinue an intrauterine contraceptive before 60
universal healthcare who are enrolled in the US military healthcare system. months. In multivariable analysis that controlled for demographic factors
STUDY DESIGN: This study is a retrospective cohort of >1.7 million and contraceptive type, early contraceptive method discontinuation was
women, aged 14e40 years, who were enrolled in the US military most likely among women aged 20-24 years, implant users, and women
healthcare system, TRICARE Prime, between October 2009 and with method initiation in military clinics.
September 2014. Individuals were assessed for long-acting reversible CONCLUSION: In the US military healthcare system, TRICARE Prime,
contraception initiation and continuation with the use of medical billing the initiation of long-acting reversible contraception is low but increasing,
records. Method continuation and factors that were associated with early and continuation rates are high. This evidence supports long-acting
method discontinuation were evaluated with the Kaplan-Meier estimator reversible contraception as first-line recommendations for women of all
and Cox proportional hazard models. ages who seek contraception.
RESULTS: During the study dates, 188,533 women initiated
long-acting reversible contraception. Of these, 74.6% women selected Key words: continuation, contraception, intrauterine device, LARC,
intrauterine contraceptives. Method initiation rates remained relatively long-acting reversible contraception, subdermal implant
contraceptives appear to be continued provided at military treatment facilities or Cu-IUD), the type was noted as
by 33e55% of users.14,22 The wide or contracted through civilian providers unknown.
ranges may be due to signicant differ- for all active-duty service members, Only the rst instance of a CPT
ences in study methods and sample military retirees under the age of 65 insertion code was captured per partici-
populations.14,17,22 years, and members of the national pant. Women who had subsequent CPT
The extent to which members of the guard and reserve who have been called codes that documented a removal and
US military, military retirees, and their up to active duty. Family members of insertion of the same LARC method
family members initiate and continue these individuals, which include spouses during that month were counted as a
LARC is largely unknown. Approxi- and dependent children under the age of method continuation. Women who had
mately 350,000 women of reproductive 26 years, are also eligible for care in this CPT code 11983, which documented
age currently serve in the US militarys healthcare plan. We used the Military implant removal and replacement and
active duty or selected reserve force, and Health System Management Analysis appeared as the rst episode of LARC
1 million others have a parent or spouse and Reporting Tool (M2) to review insertion during the study period, were
currently serving in one of these capac- medical and pharmacy billing records of counted as a rst insertion. Subsequent
ities.26 These women have access to enrolled women during the study time occurrences of this or another implant
universal healthcare, including no-cost period. Records were entered into this insertion code after an initial episode
contraception with unlimited method data repository monthly and reect of implant insertion were counted as a
switching. Despite these advantages, >7 enrollment status and healthcare use method continuation.
unintended pregnancies a year occur for during the previous month. Billing LARC continuation rates were
every 100 active-duty service women, records from military clinics were drawn assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis,
and more than one-half of all pregnan- directly from the militarys electronic which measured the time in months
cies among active-duty service women medical record; information from between initiation and discontinuation.
are unintended.27,28 These unintended civilian network clinics and pharmacies Participants were followed until they
pregnancies have a physical and was collected from billing statements. reached 1 of 3 endpoints: method
emotional impact on both the mother The institutional review board of Brooke discontinuation, disenrollment from
and infant and degrade military readi- Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Hous- TRICARE Prime, or the end of the study
ness. Efforts to increase LARC initiation ton, Texas, approved this study. period. Continuation rates were calcu-
may improve health outcomes for this The primary outcome of interest was lated over the rst 36 months for all
population and mitigate the profound time from insertion to discontinuation methods and over the rst 60 months
consequences on readiness and cost to of individual LARC methods, which for intrauterine contraceptives, and were
the military.29 included the Cu-IUD, the 52-mg LNG- further characterized by examination of
Previous studies on long-term IUS, and the implant. Of note, the demographic characteristics at the time
continuation of LARC are limited in 13.5-mg, 3-year LNG-IUS was approved of insertion, which included age, mili-
that they entailed regional sampling, for use in 2013 and was used infre- tary duty status, type of clinic where the
random assignment of participants into quently in military treatment facilities in method was inserted, and method type.
contraceptive method types, or contin- 2014; therefore, cases were not distin- The 36- and 60-month analyses repre-
uation rates of 1 year.10,14-16,22 This guished from the 52 mg model and were sents the Federal Drug Administrations
study was designed to avoid these limi- excluded from analysis of continuation approved duration of use for the implant
tations and provide additional evidence beyond 36 months. and the 52-mg LNG-IUS, respectively. In
on long-term continuation of LARC. Records were assessed for initiation addition, both study durations allow for
The primary objectives of this study were and discontinuation of LARC methods comparisons with previously established
to (1) determine initiation and long- using Current Procedural Terminology benchmarks for method continuation.
term continuation rates of LARC in a (CPT) codes. We identied episodes of Statistical analyses were conducted
large, diverse population with universal LARC insertion using the following CPT with SPSS software (version 22; IBM
healthcare and (2) understand LARC codes: 11981, 11983, 11975, and 11977 Corporation, Armonk, NY). Descriptive
usage patterns in the US military for the implant, and 58300 insertion of statistics were used for demographic
healthcare system. an intrauterine contraceptive. Episodes characteristics at the time of LARC
of LARC discontinuation were identied initiation: age (14e19, 20e24, 25e29,
Materials and Methods by the use of CPT codes 11976, 11982, or 30e34, and 35e40 years), eligibility
This study is a retrospective cohort of 58301. We attempted to identify the status (service members vs family
>1.7 million women, ages 14e40 years, specic type of intrauterine contracep- members and retirees), and clinic type
who were enrolled in the military tive inserted using pharmacy records and used. The chi-square test and indepen-
healthcare insurance program, TRI- associated Healthcare Common Proce- dent samples t-tests were used to assess
CARE Prime, between October 1, 2009 dure Codes (J7300, J7302, and S4981). If the relationship between the subject
and September 30, 2014. TRICARE we were unable to determine the specic demographics and LARC type selected.
Prime covers medical care that is intrauterine method used (LNG-IUS The Kaplan-Meier estimator was used to
TABLE 1
Baseline characteristics of women initiating long-acting reversible contraception, stratified by age, military duty
status, clinic type, and contraceptive type
Intrauterine contraceptive Etonogestrel implant
Demographic group Total (n 188,533), n (%) (n 140,553), n (%) (n 47,980), n (%) P value
Age group, y <.001
14e19 18,371 (9.7%) 7,690 (5.5%) 10,681 (22.3%)
20e24 69,007 (36.6%) 46,418 (33.0%) 22,589 (47.1%)
25e29 54,337 (28.8%) 44,346 (31.6%) 9,991 (20.8%)
30e34 30,042 (15.9%) 26,635 (19.0%) 3,407 (7.1%)
35e40 16,776 (8.9%) 15,464 (11.0%) 1,312 (2.7%)
Military duty status <.001
Servicewomen on active duty 45,695 (24.2%) 30,334 (21.6%) 15,361 (32.0%)
Family members and retirees 142,774 (75.8%) 11,0157 (78.4%) 32,617 (68.0%)
Clinic type <.001
Military clinic 128,522 (68.2%) 90,342 (64.3%) 38,180 (79.6%)
Civilian Network clinic 59,999 (31.8%) 50,199 (35.7%) 9,800 (20.4%)
Contraceptive type
Levonorgestrel intrauterine system 51,470 (36.6%)
Copper intrauterine device 5,983 (4.3%)
Unknown 83,100 (59.1%)
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
Results
On average, there were 887,646 (stan-
dard deviation [SD]23,006) enrolled
women in our inclusive age range per
month; the average length of TRICARE
enrollment was 36.1 months. Our
analytic sample consisted of 188,533
initiators of LARC, which included
140,553 women who initiated intra-
Inclusive dates: October 2009 to September 2014; each year includes fiscal year data (for example,
uterine contraceptives and 47,980 year 2010 data includes insertions from 2009e2010).
women who initiated a subdermal Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
implant. Women were followed for an
TABLE 2
Kaplan-Meier estimates of long-acting reversible contraception method continuation over 60 months
Monthsa
Method 12 24 33 36 48 60
Intrauterine contraceptive 83.5 (83.3e83.7) 70.6 (70.2e71.0) 63.4 (63.0e63.8) 61.2 (60.8e61.6) 54.1 (53.5e54.6) 48.8 (48.0e49.6)
Etonogestrel implant 76.8 (76.4e77.2) 58.6 (57.8e59.4) 45.8 (44.8e46.8) 32.0 (31.0e33.0)
a
Data are continuation rates with 95% confidence interval.
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
Comment
In the US military healthcare system
that was studied, LARC initiation was
low but increasing, and continuation
rates are similar to those found in
previous studies. Individuals with TRI-
CARE Prime have access to contracep-
tion at no personal nancial cost, with
free and unlimited method switching
and a comprehensive healthcare records Blue indicates levonorgestrel intrauterine system; green indicates copper intrauterine device; brown
system. Therefore, this is an ideal pop- indicates unknown. P .644.
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
ulation to evaluate LARC initiation and
continuation. Approximately one-half
of women who selected the implant rates of intrauterine contraceptives Previous studies that have examined
continued their method at least until approached the middle of the afore- the association between LARC continu-
3 months before the recommended mentioned ranges, and implant rates ation and age found lower continuation
expiration date; almost one-half of were at the lower end of the known among adolescents than among adults
all women who selected intrauterine ranges. However, from 33e36 months as a group.10,16 We subdivided older
contraception continued their method (3 months before the Food and Drug LARC users by age and discovered a
until 60 months. Administrations approved expiration more nuanced relationship. Adolescents
Our data, which show an overall date for the implant), 13.8% of users, had lower continuation rates than
increased rate of LARC initiation over including 16.9% of adolescent users, women in their late thirties, but higher
the past several years, were consistent discontinued the implant. At 33 months, continuation rates than women in
with national trends.15,30,31 Military approximately one-half of implant users their twenties at 36 months and women
healthcare enrollees appear to have continued the method. Perhaps the in their early twenties at 60 months.
higher initiation of LARC than do 33-month continuation rate of the Moreover, the data from this study sug-
enrollees of another large US healthcare implant is a better criterion for judging gest that adolescents have the highest
plan.30 The extent to which this has to do method continuation, because removals implant continuation rates of any age
with universal healthcare without copay after 33 months likely indicate receipt of group, approaching those of intrauterine
is unknown. recommended care before method contraceptives. These higher continua-
Our study data are consistent with expiration. Notably, more recent data tion rates, compared with women in
recent data that demonstrate that LARC suggest that the implant and LNG-IUS their twenties who represent the major-
typically is continued by >80% of may be effective for 1 year after the rec- ity of LARC users, suggest that concerns
users at 12 months.10,15,16 Continuation ommended removal date.32 about method continuation among
clinic. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care military: a systematic literature review. Mil Med analyses. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2014;39:
2004;9:39-46. 2011;176:1056-64. 1311-2.
25. Agrawal A, Robinson C. An assessment of 30. Xu X, Macaluso M, Ouyang L, Kulczycki A,
the rst 3 years use of Implanon in Luton. Grosse SD. Revival of the intrauterine device:
J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2005;31: increased insertions among US women with
Author and article information
310-2. employer-sponsored insurance, 2002-2008. From the Department of Pediatrics (Drs Chiles and Rob-
26. ICF International. 2014 Demographics Contraception 2012;85:155-9. erts), San Antonio Military Medical Center, San Antonio,
Prole of the Military Community. Ofce of the 31. Branum AM, Jones J. Trends in long-acting TX; and the Department of Pediatrics (Drs Chiles, Roberts,
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Military reversible contraception use among US women and Klein) and Family Medicine (Dr Klein), Uniformed
Community and Family Policy). Available at: aged 15-44. NCHS Data Brief 2015;188:1-8. Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD.
http://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/ 32. McNicholas C, Maddipati R, Zhao Q, Received Jan. 3, 2016; revised March 9, 2016;
MOS/Reports/2014-Demographics-Report.pdf. Swor E, Peipert JF. Use of the etonogestrel accepted March 14, 2016.
Accessed January 2, 2016. implant and levonorgestrel intrauterine device The views expressed herein are those of the authors
27. Grindlay K, Grossman D. Unintended preg- beyond the U.S. Food and Drug Administration- and do not reflect the official policy or position of Brooke
nancy among active-duty women in the United approved duration. Obstet Gynecol 2015;125: Army Medical Center, the Departments of the Army, Air
States military, 2011. Contraception 2015;92: 599-604. Force, or Navy or their respective Medical Departments,
589-95. 33. Belmont PJ Jr, Goodman GP, Waterman B, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
28. Lindberg LD. Unintended pregnancy among DeZee K, Burks R, Owens BD. Disease and The authors report no conflict of interest.
women in the US military. Contraception nonbattle injuries sustained by a US Army Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for
2011;84:249-51. Brigade Combat Team during Operation Iraqi Adolescent Health and Medicine, Washington, DC, Mar.
29. Holt K, Grindlay K, Taskier M, Freedom. Mil Med 2010;175:469-76. 9-12, 2016.
Grossman D. Unintended pregnancy and 34. Yoshihara H, Yoneoka D. Understanding Corresponding author: David A. Klein, MD, MPH.
contraceptive use among women in the U.S. the statistics and limitations of large database david.a.klein26.mil@mail.mil