First-contact incidence rate of schizophrenia on Barbados

1999 ◽  
Vol 175 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E. Mahy ◽  
Rosemarie Mallett ◽  
Julian Leff ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra

BackgroundThe incidence rate for broad schizophrenia among second-generation African–Caribbean people in the United Kingdom has been reported as high. Ethnicity, migration and psychosocial stressors have been suggested as causal factors.AimsTo determine the incidence of schizophrenia for the whole population of Barbados using an identical methodology to two previous studies in Trinidad (Bhugra et al, 1996) and London (Bhugra et al, 1997)MethodA12-month study of all persons in the 18–54-year age group presenting with a psychosis for the first time was carried out on the population of Barbados. Information was collected using World Health Organization screening and measurement instruments.ResultsOn an island of just over a quarter of a million, 40 out of the 53 patients that met the inclusion criteria were categorised as S+ (narrow) schizophrenia, giving an incidence rate of 2.8/10 000 (95% CI 1.97–3.7). The incidence rate for broad schizophrenia was calculated at 3.2/10 000 (95% CI 2.3–4.1), which is significantly lower than the comparable rate for London's African–Caribbeans of 6.6/10000 (95% CI 4.5–8.7)ConclusionsThe very high rate for broad schizophrenia among African–Caribbean people in the UK is probably due to environmental factors.

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 38030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deivendran Kalirathinam ◽  
Raj Guruchandran ◽  
Prabhakar Subramani

The 2019 novel coronavirus officially named as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by the World Health Organization, has spread to more than 180 countries. The ongoing global pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, spread to the United Kingdom (UK) in January 2020. Transmission within the UK was confirmed in February, leading to an epidemic with a rapid increase in cases in March. As on April 25- 2020, there have been 148,377 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK and 20,319 people with confirmed infection have died. Survival of critically ill patients is frequently associated with significant functional impairment and reduced health-related quality of life. Early physiotherapy and community rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients has recently been identified as an essential therapeutic tool and has become a crucial evidence-based component in the management of these patients. This comprehensive narrative review aims to describe recent progress in the application of physiotherapy management in COVID 19 patients. Assessment and evidence- based treatment of these patients should include prevention, reduction of adverse consequences in immobilization, and long-term impairment sequelae. A variety of techniques and modalities of early physiotherapy in intensive care unit are suggested by clinical research. They should be applied according to the stage of the disease, comorbidities, and patient’s level of cooperation.


PLoS Medicine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. e1003269
Author(s):  
David Pell ◽  
Tarra L. Penney ◽  
Oliver Mytton ◽  
Adam Briggs ◽  
Steven Cummins ◽  
...  

Background Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is positively associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organization recommends that member states implement effective taxes on SSBs to reduce consumption. The United Kingdom Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) is a two-tiered tax, announced in March 2016 and implemented in April 2018. Drinks with ≥8 g of sugar per 100 ml (higher levy tier) are taxed at £0.24 per litre, drinks with ≥5 to <8 g of sugar per 100 ml (lower levy tier) are taxed at £0.18 per litre, and drinks with <5 g sugar per 100 ml (no levy) are not taxed. Milk-based drinks, pure fruit juices, drinks sold as powder, and drinks with >1.2% alcohol by volume are exempt. We aimed to determine if the announcement of the SDIL was associated with anticipatory changes in purchases of soft drinks prior to implementation of the SDIL in April 2018. We explored differences in the volume of and amount of sugar in household purchases of drinks in each levy tier at 2 years post announcement. Methods and findings We used controlled interrupted time series to compare observed changes associated with the announcement of the SDIL to the counterfactual scenario of no announcement. We used data from Kantar Worldpanel, a commercial household purchasing panel with approximately 30,000 British members that includes linked nutritional data on purchases. We conducted separate analyses for drinks liable for the SDIL in the higher, lower, and no-levy tiers controlling with household purchase volumes of toiletries. At 2 years post announcement, there was no difference in volume of or sugar from purchases of higher-levy-tier drinks compared to the counterfactual of no announcement. In contrast, a reversal of the existing upward trend in volume (ml) of and amount of sugar (g) in purchases of lower-levy-tier drinks was seen. These changes led to a −96.1 ml (95% confidence interval [CI] −144.2 to −48.0) reduction in volume and −6.4 g (95% CI −9.8 to −3.1) reduction in sugar purchased in these drinks per household per week. There was a reversal of the existing downward trend in the amount of sugar in household purchases of the no-levy drinks but no change in volume purchased. At 2 years post announcement, these changes led to a 6.1 g (95% CI 3.9–8.2) increase in sugar purchased in these drinks per household per week. There was no evidence that volume of or amount of sugar in purchases of all drinks combined was different from the counterfactual. This is an observational study, and changes other than the SDIL may have been responsible for the results reported. Purchases consumed outside of the home were not accounted for. Conclusions The announcement of the UK SDIL was associated with reductions in volume and sugar purchased in lower-levy-tier drinks before implementation. These were offset by increases in sugar purchased from no-levy drinks. These findings may reflect reformulation of drinks from the lower levy to no-levy tier with removal of some but not all sugar, alongside changes in consumer attitudes and beliefs. Trial registration ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN18042742.


2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (11) ◽  
pp. 1519-1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. WAGNER ◽  
J. M. WHITE ◽  
N. S. CROWCROFT ◽  
S. DE MARTIN ◽  
G. MANN ◽  
...  

SUMMARYDiphtheria is an uncommon disease in the UK due to an effective immunization programme; consequently when cases do arise, there can be delays in diagnosis and case-fatality rates remain high. We reviewed 102 patients with infections caused by toxigenic corynebacteria (an average of four per year) reported in the UK between 1986 and 2008: 42Corynebacterium diphtheriae, 59C. ulceransand oneC. pseudotuberculosis, as well as 23 asymptomatic carriers. Five fatalities were reported, all in unvaccinated patients. The major risk factor forC. diphtheriaeinfection continued to be travel to an endemic country.C. ulceransinfections became more common thanC. diphtheriaeinfections in the UK; they were associated with contact with companion animals. The occurrence of indigenous severeC. ulceransinfections and importedC. diphtheriaecases highlights the need to maintain UK routine vaccination coverage at the 95% level in the UK, as recommended by the World Health Organization.


BMJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. k4680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin D Salciccioli ◽  
Dominic C Marshall ◽  
Joseph Shalhoub ◽  
Mahiben Maruthappu ◽  
Giuseppe De Carlo ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveTo compare age standardised death rates for respiratory disease mortality between the United Kingdom and other countries with similar health system performance.DesignObservational study.SettingWorld Health Organization Mortality Database, 1985-2015.ParticipantsResidents of the UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the United States, and Norway (also known as EU15+ countries).Main outcome measuresMortality from all respiratory disease and infectious, neoplastic, interstitial, obstructive, and other respiratory disease. Differences between countries were tested over time by mixed effect regression models, and trends in subcategories of respiratory related diseases assessed by a locally weighted scatter plot smoother.ResultsBetween 1985 and 2015, overall mortality from respiratory disease in the UK and EU15+ countries decreased for men and remained static for women. In the UK, the age standardised death rate (deaths per 100 000 people) for respiratory disease mortality in the UK fell from 151 to 89 for men and changed from 67 to 68 for women. In EU15+ countries, the corresponding changes were from 108 to 69 for men and from 35 to 37 in women. The UK had higher mortality than most EU15+ countries for obstructive, interstitial, and infectious subcategories of respiratory disease in both men and women.ConclusionMortality from overall respiratory disease was higher in the UK than in EU15+ countries between 1985 and 2015. Mortality was reduced in men, but remained the same in women. Mortality from obstructive, interstitial, and infectious respiratory disease was higher in the UK than in EU15+ countries.


1995 ◽  
Vol 167 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick W. Hickling ◽  
Pamela Rodgers-Johnson

BackgroundAfro-Caribbean immigrants are reported to have a high rate of schizophrenia compared with other population groups.MethodIn a prospective first contact study of schizophrenia in Jamaica in 1992, 335 patients were examined using the Present State Examination.Results285 patients were evaluated as having a PSE ‘restrictive’ S + diagnosis of schizophrenia, and 32 as having a ‘broad’ S?, P, or O diagnosis of schizophrenia. With a population of 2.46 million, this represents a first-contact incidence rate for ‘restrictive’ schizophrenia of 1.16 per 10 000 population, and an age-corrected (15–54) incidence rate of 2.09 per 10 000.ConclusionIncidence rates for schizophrenia in Jamaica are lower than those reported in Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the UK and Holland, and within the reported range for other population groups worldwide.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelvin Sebastian ◽  
Aby Paul ◽  
Joel Joby ◽  
Sanjo Saijan ◽  
Jeeva Joseph ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared an epidemic and a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), prompting various countries to implement early and stringent social distancing protocols through lockdown, to flatten the epidemic curve. The objective of our present study was to assess the impacts and effectiveness of the lockdown protocol in Karnataka and Punjab, compared with the implementation of this method in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK). This study involved the collection of data from different authorized databases, in two phases. The first phase included the time starting with the first-reported index case through the 14th day after the declaration of lockdown, for each country. The second phase involved the data collected between the 15th day through the 28th day of the lockdown. The highest doubling rate for cases was observed in Australia, followed by Karnataka and Punjab, whereas the lowest was observed in the UK. Comparisons of the numbers of the samples tested, the mortality rate, and the recovery rate between Karnataka and Punjab, after the implementation of lockdown, revealed a better recovery rate and lower mortality rate in Karnataka than in Punjab. Our study revealed that the implementation of social distancing and lockdown reduced the transmission of the coronavirus and the number of cases reported. However, the effectiveness of lockdown varied among locations, due to demographic and physiological differences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1110-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Simms ◽  
Beng T Goh ◽  
Patrick French ◽  
Lesley A Wallace ◽  
Neil Irvine ◽  
...  

Within a century, congenital syphilis has been reduced from a major cause of morbidity and mortality to a condition rarely seen in the UK. Here, newly-derived literature and information searches were used to create a contemporary overview of the epidemic, including its epidemiology. Although constrained by high-quality healthcare services and with an incidence below the World Health Organization elimination threshold, congenital syphilis still has the potential to cause major consequences for the health and life chances of affected infants. If the complex challenges presented by this preventable disease are to be resolved, intervention strategies need to be optimised, rigorously assessed and extended across Europe.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 171-182
Author(s):  
Sia Chong Hock ◽  
Vernon Tay ◽  
Vimal Sachdeva ◽  
Chan Lai Wah

Data Integrity, which is data deemed Attributable, Legible, Contemporaneous, Original, Accurate, Complete, Consistent, Enduring, and Available (ALCOA-plus), has been the focus of the pharmaceutical industry in recent years. With the growing use of computerized systems and rising prevalence of outsourcing manufacturing processes, ensuring data integrity is becoming more challenging in an increasingly complex pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. To address this issue, multiple legislation and guidance documents such as ‘Data Integrity and Compliance with CGMP Guidance for Industry’ from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ‘GxP’ Data Integrity Guidance and Definitions from the UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and ‘Guidance on Good Data and Record Management Practices’ from the World Health Organization (WHO), have been published in recent years. However, with rising data integrity issues observed by FDA, WHO, MHRA and other pharmaceutical inspectors even after these guidance documents have been published, their overall effectiveness is yet to be determined. This paper compares and evaluates the legislation and guidance currently in existence; and discusses some of the potential challenges pharmaceutical manufacturers face in maintaining data integrity with such legislation and guidance in place. It appears that these legislation and guidance are insufficient in maintaining data integrity in the industry when used alone. Last, but not least, this paper also reviews other solutions, such as the need for a company culture of integrity, a good database management system, education and training, robust quality agreements between contract givers and acceptors, and performance of effective audits and inspections, to aid in maintaining data integrity in the manufacturing industry. These proposed solutions, if successfully implemented, can address the issues associated with data integrity, and raise the standard of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamás Kurimay

The Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country of 93000 km2 in central Europe; it is bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Its official language is Hungarian. Hungary joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. About 90% of the population of c. 10 million is ethnically Hungarian, with Roma comprising the largest minority population (6–8%). Currently classified as a middle-income country with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $191.7 billion (2007 figure), Hungary's total health spending accounted for 7.4% of GDP in 2007, less than the average of 8.9% among member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2009). The proportion of the total health budget for mental health is 5.1%, which is low when compared with, for instance, the UK (England and Wales 13.8%, Scotland 9.5%) (World Health Organization, 2008, p. 118, Fig. 8.1).


Author(s):  
Sulikah Asmorowati ◽  
Inge Dhamanty

The high rate of deaths caused by serious illnesses has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend palliative care that is considered to be able to improve the quality of patient’s live Palliative care or service is service for patients with serious illnesses, such as cancer (stadium or end-stage). In this activity, however, palliative care and service is extended so that it includes diseases that are not contagious but deadly (thus, contributed significantly to mortality rate), including such illnesses as diabetes, high-blood pressure, cholesterol, stroke and other similar illnesses. These illnesses are now increasingly being suffered by and become the major cause of death (caused by illnesses) amongst Indonesians. In order to increase the availability of palliative services in the target area, this community project provides training and assistance to develop women’s capacity in the villages of Kambingan and Ngembung, Cerme, Gresik, so that they are ready to volunteers for palliative care and service in their respective communities. The projects were conducted by providing material through lectures, and modules; followed by assistance to form a team of palliative case and service. At the end, this project resulted in the increasing understanding, and capacity of women (and mothers or PKK member), as the target groups about palliative care and services. In turn, the women were then ready to become volunteers for palliative care and program.abstrakTingginya tingkat kematian akibat penyakit serius membuat WHO menyarankan untuk melakukan perawatan paliatif yang dianggap dapat meningkatkan kualitas hidup pasien. Program atau layanan paliatif adalah pelayanan kepada pasien dengan penyakit berat, yaitu kanker (stadium akhir). Dalam kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat (pengmas) ini, layanan paliatif diperluas sehingga meliputi pula penyakit-penyakit yang tidak menular namun mematikan, seperti penyakit diabates, darah tinggi, kolesterol, stroke dan sejenisnya yang dewasa ini semakin banyak di derita masyarakat Indonesia. Kegiatan pengmas ini memberikan pelatihan dan pendampingan untuk mengembangkan kapasitas ibu-ibu tim penggerak dan anggota PKK di Desa Kambingan dan Desa Ngembung, Kecamatan Cerme, Kabupaten Gresik agar siap untuk menjadi relawan program paliatif di lingkungan masyarakat masing-masing. Metode yang digunakan dalam kegiatan ini adalah dengan pemberian materi melalui ceramah, pemberian modul, serta pendampingan pembentukan tim paliatif sebagai follow-up kegiatan. Hasil yang dicapai dari kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat ini adalah meningkatnya pemahaman masyarakat khususnya ibu-ibu tentang layanan paliatif, serta meningkatnya kapasitas mereka,sehingga siap menjadi relawan program paliatif.


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