Quality of life in patients receiving home parenteral nutrition.
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BACKGROUND/AIMS: Quality of life is an important determinant of the effectiveness of health technologies, but it has rarely been assessed in patients receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN). PATIENTS/METHODS: The non-disease specific sickness impact profile (SIP) and the disease specific inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (IBDQ) were used on a cohort of 49 patients receiving HPN, and the results compared with those for 36 non-HPN patients with either anatomical (<200 cm) or functional (faecal energy excretion >2.0 MJ/day (approximately 488 kcal/day)) short bowel. RESULTS: In the HPN patients the SIP scores were worse (higher) overall (17 (13)% v 8 (9)%) and with regard to physical (13 (15)% v 5 (8)%) and psychosocial (14 (12)% v 9 (11)%) dimensions and independent categories (20 (12)% v 9 (8)%) compared with the non-HPN patients (means (SD); all p<0.001). The IBDQ scores were worse (lower) in the HPN patients overall (5.0 (4.3-5.7) v 5.6 (4.8-6.2)) and with regard to systemic symptoms (3.8 (2.8-5.4) v 5.2 (3.9-5.9)) and emotional (5.3 (4.4-6.2) v 5.8 (5.4-6.4)) and social (4.3 (3.4-5. 5) v 4.8 (4.5-5.8)) function (median (25-75%); all p<0.05), but only tended to be worse with regard to bowel symptoms (5.2 (4.8-6.1) v 5.7 (4.9-6.4), p = 0.08). HPN also reduced quality of life in patients with a stoma, whereas a stoma did not reduce quality of life among the non-HPN patients. Female HPN patients and HPN patients older than 45 scored worse. CONCLUSION: Quality of life is reduced in patients on HPN compared with those with anatomical or functional short bowel not receiving HPN, and compares with that reported for patients with chronic renal failure treated by dialysis. (+info)
How can we boost IQs of "dull children"?: A late adoption study.
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From 5,003 files of adopted children, 65 deprived children, defined as abused and/or neglected during infancy, were strictly selected with particular reference to two criteria: (i) They were adopted between 4 and 6 years of age, and (ii) they had an IQ <86 (mean = 77, SD = 6.3) before adoption. The average IQs of adopted children in lower and higher socioeconomic status (SES) families were 85 (SD = 17) and 98 (SD = 14.6), respectively, at adolescence (mean age = 13.5 years). The results show (i) a significant gain in IQ dependent on the SES of the adoptive families (mean = 7.7 and mean = 19.5 IQ points in low and high SES, respectively), (ii) IQs after adoption are significantly correlated with IQs before adoption, and (iii) during adolescence, verbal IQs are significantly lower than performance IQs. (+info)
Evaluation of an educational programme for socially deprived asthma patients.
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an asthma education programme in moderate and severe asthma patients in a longitudinal, prospective and randomized study with a control group. Fifty-three asthmatic patients were studied, 26 of whom were assigned to the educational group and 27 to the control group. The educational group attended the programme regularly for a period of 6 months. The programme included information about asthma, instruction on the appropriate use of medication and training in the metered dose inhaler (MDI) technique, and information about the identification and control of asthma attacks and the recognition of early signs of exacerbation. The control group was submitted to the routine care provided at the Asthma Clinic, with no formal instruction regarding asthma control. The groups were identical with regard to severity parameters, skills, lung function and quality of life at the beginning of the trial. At the end of the study, the education group showed significant differences when compared with the control group (education/control (mean values)) with respect to: visits to the asthma emergency room over the previous 6 months, 0.7/2 (p=0.03); nocturnal symptoms, 0.3/0.7 (p=0.04); score of symptoms, 1.3/2 (p=0.04). Improvements were also observed in skills and quality of life, knowledge of how to deal with attacks and how to control the environmental triggering factors, 73/35 (<0.05); correct use of the MDI, 8/4 (0.001); understanding of the difference between relief and anti-inflammatory medication, 86/20 (<0.05); and in the global limitation quality of life score, 28/50 (0.02). It is concluded that the educational programme led to a significant improvement in asthma morbidity and that the implantation of educational programmes is possible for special populations when these programmes are adapted to the socioeconomic profile of the patients, with a significant gain in terms of the reduction of symptoms and improved pulmonary function and quality of life of asthmatics. (+info)
Social deprivation increases cardiac hospitalisations in chronic heart failure independent of disease severity and diuretic non-adherence.
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OBJECTIVE: To examine whether social deprivation has any independent effect on emergency cardiac hospitalisations in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). DESIGN: Cohort study of 478 patients with CHF who had been hospitalised before 1993 and who were followed up during 1993 and 1994. SETTING: Emergency admissions within Tayside acute hospitals. PATIENTS: 478 CHF patients who had a previous myocardial infarction, a previous CHF admission, and were on diuretic treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Emergency hospital admissions are divided into those for all causes and those for cardiac causes only. RESULTS: Social deprivation was significantly associated with an increase in the number of cardiac hospitalisations (p = 0.007). This effect was mainly caused by increasing the proportion of patients hospitalised in each deprivation category (26% in deprivation category 1-2 versus 40% in deprivation category 5-6, p = 0.03). This effect of deprivation was independent of disease severity, as judged by the dose of prescribed diuretic, the death rate, and the duration of each hospital stay. Non-adherence with diuretic treatment could not account for these findings either. CONCLUSIONS: Social deprivation increases the chance of a CHF patient being rehospitalised independently of disease severity. Possible explanations are that doctors who look after socially deprived patients have a lower threshold for cardiac hospitalisation of their patients, or that social deprivation alters the way a CHF patient accesses medical care during decompensation. Understanding how social deprivation influences both doctor and patient behaviour in the prehospital phase is now crucial in order to reduce the amplifying effect that social deprivation appears to have on cardiac hospitalisations. (+info)
Deprivation, urbanisation and Perthes' disease in Northern Ireland.
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It has been suggested that Perthes' disease is more prevalent in urban areas, and that the risk increases with deprivation. We present the findings of a preliminary analysis of Perthes' disease in Northern Ireland, which is shown to have one of the highest national annual rates of incidence in the world (11.6 per 100000). Of the 313 children diagnosed over a seven-year period, 311 were allocated to the enumeration districts of the 1991 census, thus allowing the incidence to be calculated using both spatial and non-spatial aggregation. The cases were grouped according to the size of the settlement from highly urbanised to open countryside and by level of area deprivation. While the incidence of Perthes' disease was found to be associated with indicators of the level of deprivation for areas, there was no evidence to suggest that there was an increased risk in urban areas; the highest rate was found in the most deprived rural category. (+info)
Morbidity, deprivation, and antidepressant prescribing in general practice.
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BACKGROUND: Although the link between depression, unemployment, and measures of deprivation and morbidity has been previously documented, the relationship between general practice prescribing of antidepressants, morbidity, and the social demography of general practice populations is poorly understood. AIM: To consider whether morbidity and the social demography of general practice populations influence the prescribing costs of individual practices. METHOD: Data were analysed, using a forward stepwise regression procedure, of all 78 practices served by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health Authority. Data on prescribing for antidepressants were provided by the Prescription Pricing Authority for the period from July to December 1995 and converted into defined daily doses (DDDs) to standardize for the variation in prescribing practice between general practitioners. RESULTS: A significant positive correlation exists between the rates of prescribing DDDs of antidepressants by general practices and the prevalence of permanent sickness in the areas in which these practices serve. CONCLUSION: Demonstrating an association between morbidity and prescribing rates for depression may prove helpful in setting prescribing budgets. (+info)
Social deprivation and prevalence of epilepsy and associated health usage.
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OBJECTIVES: To examine the relation between social deprivation and the prevalence of epilepsy and associated morbidity using hospital activity data as a proxy. METHODS: The study was conducted in the health district of South Glamorgan, United Kingdom (population 434 000). Routinely available hospital data (inpatient and outpatient), an epilepsy clinic database, and mortality data underwent a process of record linkage to identify records relating to the same patient and to identify patients with epilepsy. Each patient was allocated a Townsend index deprivation score on the basis of their ward of residence. Age standardised correlations were calculated between deprivation score and prevalence of epilepsy, inpatient admissions, and outpatient appointments. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were also calculated. All analyses were performed on two cohorts: (1) all patients with epilepsy and (2) those patients with epilepsy without any underlying psychiatric illness or learning disability. RESULTS: The prevalence of epilepsy ranged between 2.0 and 13.4 per 1000 with a median of 6.7. There were positive correlations between social deprivation and prevalence in both populations: (1) r=0.75 (p<0.001) and (2) r=0.70 (p<0.001). After standardising for underlying prevalence there were also correlations for mean inpatient admissions: (1) r=0.62 (p<0.001), (2) r=0.59, (p<0.001) and for outpatient appointments: (1) r=0.53, (p=0.001) and (2) r=0. 51 (p=0.001). The SMR for those deprived was (1) 1.66 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.27-2.05) and (2) 1.80 (95% CI 0.71-1. 67). For the population as a whole (with and without epilepsy) the SMR was 1.25 (95% CI 1.27-2.32). CONCLUSION: This study shows a strong correlation between the prevalence of epilepsy and social deprivation and weaker correlations between social deprivation and mean hospital activity. (+info)
The association between deprivation levels, attendance rate and triage category of children attending a children's accident and emergency department.
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the relation between deprivation category, triage score and accident and emergency (A&E) attendance for children under the age of 13. DESIGN: Retrospective study of all children attending an A&E department over one year. SETTING: A paediatric teaching hospital in Edinburgh. SUBJECTS: All children attending the A&E department who had a postcode and a triage score documented on attendance. The postcode was used to determine the deprivation category and the triage scored the severity of illness or injury. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The relation between deprivation category, triage score and frequency of attendance. RESULTS: There is a trend towards increased attendance in all triage categories for deprivation categories 6 and 7. CONCLUSIONS: Attendance at A&E is not only related to severity of injury but also to deprivation category. The reason why people from disadvantaged areas attend more frequently needs further evaluation. (+info)