Scientific
publications

OBJECTIVES: To estimate survival after a diagnosis of dementia in primary care, compared with people without dementia, and to determine incidence of dementia. DESIGN: Cohort study using data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN), a primary care database. SETTING: 353 general practices in the United Kingdom providing data to THIN. PARTICIPANTS: All adults aged 60 years or over with a first ever code for dementia from 1990 to 2007 (n=22 529); random sample of five participants without dementia for every participant with dementia matched on practice and time period (n=112 645). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Median survival by age and sex; mortality rates; incidence of dementia by age, sex, and deprivation. RESULTS: The median survival of people with dementia diagnosed at age 60-69 was 6.7 (interquartile range 3.1-10.8) years, falling to 1.9 (0.7-3.6) years for those diagnosed at age 90 or over. Adjusted mortality rates were highest in the first year after diagnosis (relative risk 3.68, 95% confidence interval 3.44 to 3.94). This dropped to 2.49 (2.29 to 2.71) in the second year. The incidence of recorded dementia remained stable over time (3-4/1000 person years at risk). The incidence was higher in women and in younger age groups (60-79 years) living in deprived areas. CONCLUSIONS: Median survival was much lower than in screened populations. These clinically relevant estimates can assist patients and carers, clinicians, and policy makers when planning support for this population. The high risk of death in the first year after diagnosis may reflect diagnoses made at times of crisis or late in the disease trajectory. Late recording of diagnoses of dementia in primary care may result in missed opportunities for potential early interventions.

BACKGROUND: A previous meta-analysis of data from clinical trials showed an association between antiepileptic drugs and suicidality (suicidal ideation, behavior, or both). We used observational data to examine the association between the use or nonuse of antiepileptic drugs and suicide-related events (attempted suicides and completed suicides) in patients with epilepsy, depression, or bipolar disorder. METHODS: We used data collected as part of the clinical care of patients who were representative of the general population in the United Kingdom to identify patients with epilepsy, depression, or bipolar disorder and to determine whether they received antiepileptic drugs. We estimated the incidence rate of suicide-related events and used logistic regression to compute odds ratios, controlling for confounding factors. RESULTS: In a cohort of 5,130,795 patients, the incidence of suicide-related events per 100,000 person-years was 15.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.6 to 15.5) among patients without epilepsy, depression, bipolar disorder, or antiepileptic-drug treatment, 38.2 (95% CI, 26.3 to 53.7) among patients with epilepsy who did not receive antiepileptic drugs, and 48.2 (95% CI, 39.4 to 58.5) among patients with epilepsy who received antiepileptic drugs. In adjusted analyses, the use of antiepileptic drugs was not associated with an increased risk of suicide-related events among patients with epilepsy (odds ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.98) or bipolar disorder (1.13; 95% CI, 0.35 to 3.61) but was significantly associated with an increased risk among patients with depression (1.65; 95% CI, 1.24 to 2.19) and those who did not have epilepsy, depression, or bipolar disorder (2.57; 95% CI, 1.78 to 3.71). CONCLUSIONS: The current use of antiepileptic drugs was not associated with an increased risk of suicide-related events among patients with epilepsy, but it was associated with an increased risk of such events among patients with depression and among those who did not have epilepsy, depression, or bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have examined the incidence of complications from gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) in children and adolescents in primary care. Here we aimed to describe the natural history of GERD in a pediatric population with no reflux esophagitis at initial diagnosis, assessing diagnoses of new esophageal complications and extra-esophageal conditions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used The Health Improvement Network UK primary care database (which includes data on more than 2 million patients) to identify individuals aged 1-17 years with a first diagnosis of gastro-esophageal reflux or heartburn in the period 2000-2005, via a computerized search followed by a manual review of the patient records. This search identified 1242 individuals with an incident diagnosis of GERD but no record of esophagitis. This cohort was followed-up to detect new diagnoses of esophageal complications and extra-esophageal conditions. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up period of almost 4 years, 40 children and adolescents had a confirmed new diagnosis of reflux esophagitis (incidence: 10.9 per 1000 person-years). No cases of Barrett's esophagus, esophageal stricture or esophageal ulcer were reported. Individuals with GERD had double the risk of an extra-esophageal condition such as asthma, pneumonia, cough or chest pain compared with children and adolescents with no diagnosis of GERD. CONCLUSIONS: Children and adolescents with GERD may be at risk of developing reflux esophagitis and a range of other extra-esophageal conditions, but more severe esophageal complications are rare.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to characterize the financial cost and efficacy of primary care treatment for diabetes in the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. METHODS: Retrospective data were analysed for people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes along with matched control subjects using data from The Health Improvement Network. Costs were attributed from published sources and adjusted for price inflation. Type 2 diabetes was analysed by five commonly used treatment regimens. RESULTS: It was possible to identify 126 052 people for inclusion: 11 300 (8.9%) with Type 1 diabetes and 114 752 (91.1%) with Type 2. The overall mean prescribing costs per person per year (pppy) increased markedly for people with diabetes from 1997 to 2007: for Type 1, from 573 pounds to 1014 pounds pppy (+77%), and for Type 2, from 39 pounds to 740 pounds pppy (+89%). In 2007, diabetes-treatment-specific prescribing represented 57% of prescribing costs in Type 1 diabetes and 28% in Type 2 diabetes. In Type 2 diabetes there was a mean of 5.4 primary care consultations in 1997, increasing to 11.5 pppy in 2007 (+112%). In 1997 the total mean cost of primary care treatment for Type 2 diabetes was 602 pounds pppy, increasing to 1080 pounds in 2007. In Type 1 diabetes, the mean glycated haemoglobin decreased by 0.1% from 8.8% in 2001 to 8.7% in 2007; the corresponding change using insulin in Type 2 diabetes was also 0.1%. Greater improvement in blood pressure and lipids was evident. CONCLUSIONS: Over the 10 year period to 2007, diabetes-related primary care adjusted costs increased considerably, whereas glycated haemoglobin values did not improve at all over the same period.