scholarly journals An analogy between socioeconomic deprivation level and loss of health from adverse effects of medical treatment in England

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-148
Author(s):  
Raimundas Lunevicius ◽  
Juanita A Haagsma

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to show whether and how levels, trends and patterns obtained from estimates of premature deaths from adverse effects (AEs) of medical treatment depended on the deprivation level in England over the 24-year period, 1990–2013. We provide a report to inform decision-making strategies to reduce the burden of disease arising from AEs of medical treatment in the most deprived areas of the country.MethodsComparative analysis was driven by a single cause-of-injury category—AEs of medical treatment—from the Global Burden of Disease 2013 study. We report the mean values with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for five socioeconomic deprivation areas of England.ResultsIn the most deprived areas of England, the death rate declined from 2.27 (95% UI 1.65 to 2.57) to 1.54 (1.28 to 2.08) deaths (32.16% change). The death rate in the least deprived areas was 1.22 (0.88 to 1.38) in 1990; it was 1.17 (0.97 to 1.59) in 2013 (4.1% change). Regarding disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates, the same trend is observed. Although the gap between the most deprived and least deprived populations of England narrowed with regards to number of deaths, and rates of deaths and DALYs from AEs of medical treatment, inequalities between marginal levels of deprivation remain.ConclusionsThe study suggests that a relationship between deprivation level and health loss from the AEs of medical treatment across England is possible. This could then be used when devising and prioritising health policies and strategies.

2020 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-214676
Author(s):  
Magdalena Nowakowska ◽  
Salwa S Zghebi ◽  
Rosa Perisi ◽  
Li-Chia Chen ◽  
Darren M Ashcroft ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe increasing trends in opioid prescribing and opioid-related deaths in England are concerning. A greater understanding of the association of deprivation with opioid prescribing is needed to guide policy responses and interventions.MethodsThe 2018/2019 English national primary care prescribing data were analysed spatially. Prescribing of opioids in general practice was quantified by defined daily doses (DDD) and attributed to 32 844 lower layer super output areas (LSOAs), the geographical units representing ~1500 people. Linear regression was used to model the effect of socioeconomic deprivation (quintiles) on opioid prescribing while accounting for population demographics and the prevalence of specific health conditions. Adjusted DDD estimates were compared at each deprivation level within higher organisational areas (Clinical Commissioning Groups, CCGs).ResultsIn total, 624 411 164 DDDs of opioids were prescribed. LSOA-level prescribing varied between 1.7 and 121.04 DDD/1000 population/day. Prescribing in the most deprived areas in the North of England was 1.2 times higher than the national average for areas with similar deprivation levels and 3.3 times higher than the most deprived areas in London. Prescribing in the most deprived areas was on average 9.70 DDD/1000 people/day (95% CI 9.41 to 10.00) higher than the least deprived areas. Deprivation-driven disparities varied between individual CCGs. In the most unequal CCG, prescribing in the most deprived areas was twice that in the least deprived areas.ConclusionOpioid prescribing varied substantially across England and deprivation was strongly associated with prescribing. This paper provides evidence for guiding policy interventions and allocation of resources to areas with the highest levels of opioid prescribing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Elsalem ◽  
Haneen A. Basheer ◽  
Ayat Alshoh ◽  
Abdullah Abu-Aqoulah ◽  
Hussein Alsa'di ◽  
...  

Background: Zoledronic acid (ZA) is widely used in the management of cancer-related bone events. It, however, might be associated with serious adverse effects. Objectives: To evaluate ZA adverse effects and changes in biochemical parameters related to ZA toxicities among patients with cancer. Methods: Ninety-eight oncology patients, who were prescribed ZA intravenous (IV) infusion, were interviewed to assess whether they experienced ZA related symptoms, including acute events and serious adverse effects. ZA’s effects on the serum levels of different biochemical parameters were retrospectively assessed by checking patients’ electronic medical records. Results: The most commonly reported adverse effects were: myalgia (48%), bone pain (36.7%), influenza-like symptoms (34.7%), headache (31.6%), and pyrexia (22.45%) with decreasing frequency of such adverse effects upon repeated infusions. Serious side effects including jaw osteonecrosis, cardiac, and renal problems were not reported. A small, but statistically significant reduction in serum calcium, creatinine, and total protein levels was observed upon comparing levels before and after the first IV infusion of ZA (P ≤ 0.031). No significant change was recorded with other serum electrolytes including phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and magnesium as well as urea levels (P ≥ 0.271). No significant difference was determined in terms of final serum levels of all parameters in comparison to pre-treatment (P ≥ 0.059), except for potassium, where a significant reduction was observed (P = 0.003). Notably, the mean values of all parameters were within the normal range. Conclusions: ZA acute events resolved with symptomatic treatment and reduced with repeated IV infusions. ZA appears as a safe treatment modality for skeletal-related events among patients with cancer and the reported adverse effects should not affect patients’ compliance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingru Yang ◽  
Yijin Wang ◽  
Fangzheng Li ◽  
Yuge Xie ◽  
Xiaoli Wang

Abstract Greenspace exposure is confirmed to reduce air pollution-related negative health impact. However, which type of greenspace exposure matters more on mitigating air pollution-related deaths and whether this effect is regionally different remain unclear. Here we show, greenspace usability exposure plays a more significant role in mitigating PM2.5-related premature deaths in 360 China cities generally speaking. By clustering 360 cities into urban-rural and Deprivation Index groups, we further find that greenspace availability and usability together work on respiratory health in rural regions, and greenspace availability matters more in very low deprived areas or urban and rural regions. Our results that increasing greenspace usability exposure is more helpful in reducing air pollution-related premature deaths may inform more effective and equitable greenspace planning policies in rapidly developing countries like China.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 97-126
Author(s):  
Alfred Wong

Latvia has been suffering a substantial decrease in population since the early 1990s. There appears to have been little or no detailed analysis of the genesis of this decline in population. The major political event occurring at the beginning of the population decline was the rapid transitioning from socialism to capitalism. This study has revealed the causes of severe population decline to be a combination of steadily-declining birth rate, sharply rising high death rate, and mass emigration of people to wealthier European states. The cross-over of birth rate and death rate could be attributed to the tumultuous societal upheavals in the changeover from the socialistic protective-welfare system to a free-market capitalistic economic system. In particular, this traumatic event had probably affected the physical and mental health of many people to result in premature deaths from, among other things, consequential morbidity, accidents, homicides and suicides. Practicable remedies to arrest the continuing trend of precipitous decline in the population might include a) repairing the failures of the current modality of national health care, b) creating higher paying jobs in Latvia to entice prospective young emigrants to stay in Latvia, and c) repatriating of recent Latvian émigrés.


1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Shrestha

Introduction: Seasonal hyper-acute panuveitis (SHAPU) is a sight-threatening disease and its management is challenging. Objective: To study the profile and evaluate the visual outcome of the patients of clinicallydiagnosed cases of SHAPU after treatment. Subjects and methods: A retrospective interventional hospital-based study was carried out involving 21 subjects with clinically-diagnosed SHAPU. The data were retrieved from the record section of the hospital and analyzed. The variables studied were demographic pattern, clinical condition, duration of presentation and visual acuity before and after the treatment. Statistics: The data were analyzed using Epi Info version 2000. Percentage prevalence, mean values with standard deviation, relative risk, 95% CI and p value were calculated. P value of < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: Among the 21 cases, the numbers of male and female were 11 (52.4 %) and 10 (46.7 %) respectively. A comparative analysis of gender in children and adults did not show any significant difference (RR=0.47, 95% CI = 0.22 - 1.01, Fisher exact test: p = 0.14). The mean for all ages was 7 ± 12.68 years, while the mean age in pediatric cases was 4.5 ± 3.91 years. Thirteen (61.9%) cases occurred in children below fifteen years. Fifteen (71.4 %) cases reported during September and October. Presenting visual acuity of all cases was less than 3/60. All of them received medical treatment. By the end of the 4th week, seven (33.3 %) patients regained vision to 6/18. Conclusion: SHAPU is more prevalent in pediatric age group. It is equally prevalent among males and females. The visual acuity can improve with early medical treatment. Keywords: SHAPU; panuveitis; steroid; phthisis bulbi DOI: 10.3126/nepjoph.v2i1.3702 Nep J Oph 2010;2(1) 35-38


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e187041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob E. Sunshine ◽  
Nicholas Meo ◽  
Nicholas J. Kassebaum ◽  
Michael L. Collison ◽  
Ali H. Mokdad ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosaleen O'Brien ◽  
Sally Wyke ◽  
Graham G.C.M. Watt ◽  
Bruce Guthrie ◽  
Stewart W. Mercer

Background Multimorbidity is common in patients living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation and is associated with poor quality of life, but the reasons behind this are not clear. Exploring the ‘everyday life work’ of patients may reveal important barriers to self-management and wellbeing. Objective To investigate the relationship between the management of multimorbidity and ‘everyday life work’ in patients living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation in Scotland, as part of a programme of work on multimorbidity and deprivation. Design Qualitative study: individual semi-structured interviews of 14 patients (8 women and 6 men) living in deprived areas with multimorbidity, exploring how they manage. Analysis was continuous and iterative. We report the findings in relation to everyday life work. Results The in-depth analysis revealed four key themes: (i) the symbolic significance of everyday life work to evidence the work of being ‘normal’; (ii) the usefulness of everyday life work in managing symptoms; (iii) the impact that mental health problems had on everyday life work; and (iv) issues around accepting help for everyday life tasks. Overall, most struggled with the amount of work required to establish a sense of normalcy in their everyday lives, especially in those with mental–physical multimorbidity. Conclusions Everyday life work is an important component of self-management in patients with multimorbidity in deprived areas, and is commonly impaired, especially in those with mental health problems. Interventions to improve self-management support for patients living with multimorbidity may benefit from an understanding of the role of everyday life work.


1977 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 675-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byron J. T. Morgan ◽  
B. Leventhal

The linear birth-and-death process is elaborated to allow the elements of the process to live as members of linear clusters which have the possibility of breaking up. For the supercritical case, expressions, based on an approximation, are derived for the mean numbers of clusters of the various sizes as time → ∞. These expressions compare very well with exact solutions obtained by the method of Runge-Kutta. Exact solutions for the mean values for all time are given for when the death rate is zero.


1977 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byron J. T. Morgan ◽  
B. Leventhal

The linear birth-and-death process is elaborated to allow the elements of the process to live as members of linear clusters which have the possibility of breaking up. For the supercritical case, expressions, based on an approximation, are derived for the mean numbers of clusters of the various sizes as time → ∞. These expressions compare very well with exact solutions obtained by the method of Runge-Kutta. Exact solutions for the mean values for all time are given for when the death rate is zero.


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