scholarly journals Acute mental health service use is increased in rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis: a population-based cohort study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 1759720X2092171
Author(s):  
Bindee Kuriya ◽  
Vivian Tia ◽  
Jin Luo ◽  
Jessica Widdifield ◽  
Simone Vigod ◽  
...  

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are associated with mental illness. Whether acute mental health (MH) service utilization (i.e. emergency visits or hospitalizations) is increased in RA or AS is not known. Methods: Two population-based cohorts were created where individuals with RA ( n = 53,240) or AS ( n = 13,964) were each matched by age, sex, and year to unaffected comparators (2002–2016). Incidence rates per 1000 person-years (PY) were calculated for a first MH emergency department (ED) presentation or MH hospitalization. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, adjusting for demographic, clinical, and health service use variables. Results: Individuals with RA had higher rates of ED visits [6.59/1000 person-years (PY) versus 4.39/1000 PY in comparators] and hospitalizations for MH (3.11/1000 PY versus 1.80/1000 PY in comparators). Higher rates of ED visits (7.92/1000 PY versus 5.62/1000 PY in comparators) and hospitalizations (3.03/1000 PY versus 1.94/1000 PY in comparators) were also observed in AS. Overall, RA was associated with a 34% increased risk for MH hospitalization (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.22–1.47) and AS was associated with a 36% increased risk of hospitalization (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.12–1.63). The risk of ED presentation was attenuated, but remained significant, after adjustment in both RA (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01–1.15) and AS (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02–1.28). Conclusions: RA and AS are both independently associated with a higher rate and risk of acute ED presentations and hospitalizations for mental health conditions. These findings underscore the need for routine evaluation of MH as part of the management of chronic inflammatory arthritis. Additional research is needed to identify the underlying individual characteristics, as well as system-level variation, which may explain these differences, and to help plan interventions to make MH service use more responsive to the needs of individuals living with RA and AS.

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sima Gandhi ◽  
Maria Chiu ◽  
Kelvin Lam ◽  
John C. Cairney ◽  
Astrid Guttmann ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Emilie Pianarosa ◽  
Kelsey Chomistek ◽  
Ralph Hsiao ◽  
Salman Anwar ◽  
Valerie Umaefulam ◽  
...  

Introduction: Rural and remote patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at risk for inequities in health outcomes based on differences in physical environments and healthcare access potential compared to urban populations. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize epidemiology, clinical outcomes and health service use reported for global populations with RA residing in rural/remote locations. Methods: Medline, EMBASE, Healthstar, CINAHL and Cochrane were searched from inception to June 2019 using librarian-developed search terms for RA and rural/remote populations. Peer-reviewed published manuscripts were included if they reported on any of an epidemiology, clinical or health service use outcomes. Results: 54 articles were included for data synthesis, representing studies from all continents. In 11 studies where there was an appropriate urban population comparator, rural/remote populations were not at increased risk for RA, 1 study reported increased and 5 studies reported decreased prevalence in rural/remote populations. Clinical characteristics of rural/remote populations in studies with an appropriate urban comparator showed no significant differences in disease activity measures or disability, but with 1 study reporting worse physical function and health-related quality of life in rural/remote populations. Studies reporting on health service use provided evidence that rural/remote residence impacts diagnostic time, ongoing follow-up, access to RA-care related practitioners and services, and with variation in medication access and use. Conclusion: This synthesis highlights that RA epidemiology and clinical outcomes are not necessarily different between rural/remote and urban populations, however rural/remote patients face greater barriers to care which increases the risk for inequities in outcomes. From a public health perspective, we need leadership to implement structures and policies to support better outcomes in rural and remote populations. Access to health services is a recognized determinant of health, which presents the opportunity for actionable strategies and approaches to resolve inequities in care delivery.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sondre Aasen Nilsen ◽  
Kristin Gärtner Askeland ◽  
Dora Poni Joseph Loro ◽  
Anette Christine Iversen ◽  
Karen J. Skaale Havnen ◽  
...  

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Chamberlain ◽  
Susan E. Bronskill ◽  
Zoe Hsu ◽  
Erik Youngson ◽  
Andrea Gruneir

Abstract Background Supportive living (SL) facilities are intended to provide a residential care setting in a less restrictive and more cost-effective way than nursing homes (NH). SL residents with poor social relationships may be at risk for increased health service use. We describe the demographic and health service use patterns of lonely and socially isolated SL residents and to quantify associations between loneliness and social isolation on unplanned emergency department (ED) visits. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using population-based linked health administrative data from Alberta, Canada. All SL residents aged 18 to 105 years who had at least one Resident Assessment Instrument-Home Care (RAI-HC) assessment between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2018 were observed. Loneliness and social isolation were measured as a resident indicating that he/she feels lonely and if the resident had neither a primary nor secondary caregiver, respectively. Health service use in the 1 year following assessment included unplanned ED visits, hospital admissions, admission to higher levels of SL, admission to NH and death. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models examined the association between loneliness and social isolation on the time to first unplanned ED visit. Results We identified 18,191 individuals living in Alberta SL facilities. The prevalence of loneliness was 18% (n = 3238), social isolation was 4% (n = 713). Lonely residents had the greatest overall health service use. Risk of unplanned ED visit increased with loneliness (aHR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.04–1.15) but did not increase with social isolation (aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.84–1.06). Conclusions Lonely residents had a different demographic profile (older, female, cognitively impaired) from socially isolated residents and were more likely to experience an unplanned ED visit. Our findings suggest the need to develop interventions to assist SL care providers with how to identify and address social factors to reduce risk of unplanned ED visits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina B. Gee ◽  
Gagan S. Khera ◽  
Alyssa T. Poblete ◽  
Barunie Kim ◽  
Syeda Y. Buchwach

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