Profile and quality of life of the adult population in good health according to the level of vitality: European NHWS cross sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization's definition of health highlights the importance of mental and physical wellbeing and not only disease state. However, lack of awareness on the burden of impaired vitality and its impact on the quality of life of the general healthy population prevents healthcare providers from delivering appropriate solutions and advice. This study aims to better characterize this population in Europe and identify the profile and the health reported outcomes associated with impaired vitality. METHODS: This retrospective observational study included National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) data collected in healthy participants aged 18-65 years from five European Union countries in 2018. Socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, comorbidities, attitudes towards healthcare systems, Patient Activation Measure, health-related quality of life outcomes (EQ-5D), and work productivity and activity impairment were analysed according to SF-12 vitality score subgroups (≥ 60, 50- < 60, 40- < 50, < 40). RESULTS: A total of 24,295 participants were enrolled in the main analysis. Being a female, younger, having a lower income and being obese or having sleep and mental disorders was associated with an increased risk of impaired vitality. This was associated with a higher consumption of healthcare resources along with having a weak patient-physician relationship. Participants who were disengaged in the self-management of their health were 2.6 times more likely to have a low level of vitality. For participants in the lowest vitality group, odds of mobility problems increased by 3.4, impairment of usual activity by 5.8, increased of pain and discomfort by 5.6 and depression and anxiety by 10.3, compared with participants in the highest vitality group. Also, odds of presenteeism increased by 3.7, overall work impairment by 3.4 and daily activity losses by 7.1. CONCLUSION: Evidence-based trends facilitate the identification of a healthy population with impaired vitality in real-world practice. This study highlights the actual burden of low vitality on daily life activities, particularly on mental health and reduced work productivity. Additionally, our results underline the importance of self-engagement in the management of vitality impairment and highlights the need to implement strategies to address this public health concern in the affected population (HCP-patient communication, supplements, meditation).

Atopic dermatitis in the pediatric population: A cross-sectional, international epidemiologic study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known on the current global prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in the pediatric population. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the real-world global prevalence of AD in the pediatric population and by disease severity. METHODS: This international, cross-sectional, web-based survey of children and adolescents (6 months to <18 years old) was conducted in the following 18 countries: North America (Canada, United States), Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico), Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom), Middle East and Eurasia (Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Russia), and East Asia (Japan, Taiwan). Prevalence was determined using the following 2 definitions: (1) diagnosed as having AD according to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) criteria and self- or parent-report of ever being told by a physician that they or their child child had AD (eczema); and (2) reported AD based on the ISAAC criteria only. Severity was assessed using the Patient Global Assessment (PtGA) and Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM). RESULTS: Among 65,661 responders, the 12-month diagnosed AD prevalence (ISAAC plus self-reported diagnosis) ranged from 2.7% to 20.1% across countries; reported AD (ISAAC only) was 13.5% to 41.9%. Severe AD evaluated with both PtGA and POEM was generally less than 15%; more subjects rated AD as mild on PtGA than suggested by POEM. No trends in prevalence were observed based on age or sex; prevalence was generally lower in rural residential settings than urban or suburban. CONCLUSION: This global survey in 18 countries revealed that AD affects a substantial proportion of the pediatric population. Although prevalence and severity varied across age groups and countries, less than 15% had severe AD.

Health related quality of life in patients with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia in France.

BACKGROUND: Community Acquired Pneumococcal Pneumonia is a lung infection that causes serious health problems and can lead to complications and death. The aim of this study was to observe and analyze health related quality of life after a hospital episode for patients with community acquired pneumococcal pneumonia in France. METHODS: A total of 524 individuals were enrolled prospectively in the study and were followed for 12 months after hospital discharge. Presence of streptococcus pneumoniae was confirmed by microbiological sampling. Quality of life was reported at four different points of time with the EQ-5D-3 L health states using the French reference tariff. Complete data on all four periods was available for 269 patients. We used descriptive and econometric analysis to assess quality of life over time during follow-up, and to identify factors that impact the utility indexes and their evolution through time. We used Tobit panel data estimators to deal with the bounded nature of utility values. RESULTS: Average age of patients was 63 and 55% of patients were men. Negative predictors of quality of life were the severity of the initial event, history of pneumonia, smokers, age and being male. On average, quality of life improved in the first 6 months after discharge and stabilized beyond. At month 1, mean utility index was 0.53 (SD: 0.34) for men and 0.45 (SD: 0.34) for women, versus mean of 0.69 (SD: 0.33) and 0.70 (SD: 0.35) at Month 12. "Usual activities" was the dimension the most impacted by the disease episode. Utilities for men were significantly higher than for women, although male patients were more severe. Individuals over 85 years old did not improve quality of life during follow-up, and quality of life did not improve or deteriorated for 34% of patients. We found that length of hospital stay was negatively correlated with quality of life immediately after discharge. CONCLUSION: This study provides with evidence that quality of life after an episode of community acquired pneumococcal pneumonia improves overall until the sixth month after hospital discharge, but older patients with previous history of pneumonia may not experience health gains after the initial episode.

Population norms in France with EQ-5D-5L: health states, value indexes, and VAS.

PURPOSE: To provide EuroQoL EQ-5D-5L French population norms based on a sample of 15,000 responders. METHODS: Based on the National Health and Wellness Survey, an international, annual, selfadministered Internet-based survey, this study extracted data from France for 2018 involving a sample of 15,000 respondents stratified by age and gender. Responses to the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, together with sociodemographic, health behavior, and disease status variables were collected. VAS, value indexes, the level sum score, and the distribution of levels per dimension were described. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify covariates with a statistically significant effect on the five dimensions and the three scores. RESULTS: The mean [standard deviation (SD)] VAS was 73.4 (22.2) for the entire sample (male 74.8 vs female 72.2, p < 0.0001). The Mean SD value index was 0.905 (0.158) (male 0.915 vs female 0.895, p < 0.0001). The mean SD level sum score was 7.6 (3.0) (7.4 for males vs. 7.9 for females p < 0.0001). Health state 11,111 (no problem in any dimension) represented 25.1% of all responses. "No problem" responses' proportions were Self Care (91.3%), Usual Activities (74.2%), Mobility (72.4%), Anxiety/Depression (52.6%) and Pain/Discomfort (37.7%). Multivariate regressions revealed a significant relationship for health states, value indexes, and VAS with age, income, employment, marital status, smoking and alcohol consumption, obesity, and the presence of one or more health problems. CONCLUSION: Based on a large sample, this study is the first to report EQ-5D-5L population norms for France.

Real-World Evaluation of Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Multiple Myeloma From Germany.

INTRODUCTION: Real-world health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are scarce. Here, we report HRQoL by line of therapy in adults with MM in clinical practice in Germany. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This descriptive, multicenter, observational study included patients receiving all lines of MM therapy or best supportive care (BSC). The primary endpoint was HRQoL (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 global health status [GHS]) by line of therapy; secondary endpoints included patient/disease characteristics and treatments by line of therapy. RESULTS: Overall, 490 patients were included from 40 centers (mean age 71.0 years, 62% male); 59% had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1% and 35% had undergone stem cell transplantation. First-line therapy included proteasome inhibitors in 81% of patients; subsequent treatments varied. The mean overall GHS/QoL score was 49.5; HRQoL decreased by therapy line (P < .001) and was lowest in those receiving BSC. Functional and symptoms scores worsened with increasing treatment line. The largest HRQoL reduction occurred when patients switched from active treatment to BSC. Compared with those on active treatment, patients in a treatment-free interval generally had better GHS/QoL, functioning, and fewer symptoms (P < .05). GHS/QoL also generally improved and symptoms lessened in those with ≥1 versus <1 year of ongoing treatment (P < .05). Worse GHS/QoL was observed in patients with ≥1 grade 3/4 toxicity versus those with none (P = .012). Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status was the strongest determinant of HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: This real-world study shows that patients with MM have impaired HRQoL and that HRQoL deteriorates with increasing lines of therapy.

Correction to: Qualitative Assessment of Adult Patients' Perception of Atopic Dermatitis Using Natural Language Processing Analysis in a Cross-Sectional Study.

The authors would like to correct the images in figures which are in wrong order and require swapping.

Qualitative Assessment of Adult Patients' Perception of Atopic Dermatitis Using Natural Language Processing Analysis in a Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an incurable, inflammatory skin disease characterized by skin barrier disruption and immune dysregulation. Although AD is considered a childhood disease, adult onset is possible, presenting with daily sleep disturbance and functional impairment associated with itch, neuropsychiatric issues (anxiety and depression), and reduced health-related quality of life. Although such aspects of adult AD disease burden have been measured through standardized assessments and based on population-level data, the understanding of the disease experienced at the patient level remains poor. This text-mining study assessed the impact of AD on the lives of adult patients as described from an experiential perspective. METHODS: Natural language processing (NLP) was applied to qualitative patient response data from two large-scale international cross-sectional surveys conducted in the USA and countries outside of the USA (non-USA; Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK). Descriptive analysis was conducted on patient responses to an open-ended question on how they felt about their AD and how the disease affected their life. Character length, word count, and stop word (common words) count were evaluated; centrality analysis identified concepts that were most strongly interlinked. RESULTS: Patients with AD in all countries were most frequently impacted by itch, pain, and embarrassment across all levels of disease severity. Patients with moderate-to-severe AD were more likely than patients with mild AD to describe sleep disturbances, fatigue, and feelings of depression, anxiety, and a lack of hope that were directly associated with AD. Centrality analysis revealed sleep disturbance was strongly linked with itch. Collectively, these concepts revealed that patients with AD are impacted by both physical and emotional burdens that are intricately connected. CONCLUSIONS: Qualitative data from NLP, being more patient-centric than data from clinical standardized measures, provide a more comprehensive view of the burden of AD to inform disease management.

Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients With Multiple Myeloma Treated in Routine Clinical Practice in France.

INTRODUCTION: New therapies for multiple myeloma (MM) have improved life expectancy, but health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data from patients with MM in the real-world setting are lacking. This study, conducted in France, explored the associations between treatment outcomes and HRQoL in patients with MM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study enrolled patients (≥ 18 years old) with symptomatic MM who had consulted a physician at least once between February and March 2016. HRQoL was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core Quality of Life questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and the Quality of Life Multiple Myeloma module (QLQ-MY20). RESULTS: In total, 445 patients were included in the study; 402 (90%) completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-MY20 questionnaires. HRQoL decreased significantly with treatment line. Patients in the first treatment-free interval had relatively high scores. At later lines, patients receiving active treatment had better scores than those whose treatment had ended. High EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status scores were associated with good treatment response, few adverse events, and long duration of treatment, and were strongly influenced by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. Global health status scores correlated well with the 4 items of the QLQ-MY20 (future perspective, 0.46; body image, 0.41; disease symptoms, -0.57; side effects of treatment, -0.53). CONCLUSION: Effective treatment options in MM can help maintain HRQoL by influencing treatment response levels and delaying disease progression.

Costs associated with community acquired pneumonia in France.

OBJECTIVES: Pneumocost is a prospective study that aimed at documenting the costs of the management of patients hospitalized with a pneumococcal pneumonia and the post-discharge costs during a 6-month period in the French context. METHODS: Billing data were used to document hospital costs. Resource use during the follow-up period was collected through phone interviews at month 1, 3 and 6. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were performed. We used generalized linear models with log-link functions to estimate parameters associated with hospital and follow-up costs of patients. RESULTS: Five hundred twenty-four patients were enrolled in 40 public centers from October 2011 to April 2014. Average age was 63 (SD 17); 55.0% of them were male. Average length of stay was 15 days (SD 23). Average cost of stay for the French Sickness Fund was €7293 (SD €7363). Average cost of follow-up was €1242 (SD €3000) and decreased steadily through time. When controlling for patient's socioeconomic characteristics, severity of disease and hospital stay, results showed a concave relationship between hospital costs and age. Obesity, the severity of the disease and comorbidities were associated with constantly increasing inpatient costs. Concerning follow-up costs, we found the same concave relationship with age, while gender, a history of pneumonia and severity of the disease were the most important predictors of high costs after discharge. CONCLUSION: Pneumocost is the first French study providing a robust estimation of the cost of managing invasive pneumococcal pneumonia in the French context.

A comparative analysis of two contrasting European approaches for rewarding the value added by drugs for cancer: England versus France.

OBJECTIVES: Within Europe, contrasting approaches have emerged for rewarding the value added by new drugs. In Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK, the price of, and access to, a new drug has to be justified by the health gain it delivers compared with current therapy, typically expressed in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained. By contrast, in France and Germany, the assessment of added benefit is expressed on an ordinal scale, based on an assessment of the clinical outcomes as compared with existing care. This assessment then influences price negotiations. The objective of this paper is to assess the pros and cons of each approach, both in terms of the assessments they produce and the efficiency and practical feasibility of the process. METHODS: We reviewed the technology appraisals performed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) relating to 49 anticancer drug decisions in the UK from September 2003 to January 2012. Estimates of the QALYs gained and incremental cost per QALY gained were then compared with the assessments of the Amélioration du Service Médical Rendu (ASMR) made by the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) in France for the same drugs in the same clinical indications. We also undertook a qualitative assessment of the two approaches, considering the resources required, timeliness, transparency, stakeholder engagement, and political acceptability. RESULTS: In the UK, the estimates of QALYs gained ranged from 0.003 to 1.46 and estimates of incremental cost per QALY from £3,320 to £458,000. The estimate of cost per QALY gained was a good predictor of the level of restriction imposed on the use of the drug concerned. Patient access schemes, which normally imply price reductions, were proposed in 45 % of cases. In France, the distribution of ASMRs was I, 12 %; II, 18 %; III, 24 %; IV, 18 %; V, 22 %; and uncategorized/non-reimbursed, 4 %. Since ASMRs of IV and above signify minor or no improvement over existing therapy, these ratings imply that, in around 40 % of cases, the drugs concerned would face price controls. Overall, the assessments of value added in the two jurisdictions were very similar. A superior ASMR rating was associated with higher QALYs gained. However, a superior ASMR was not associated with a lower incremental cost per QALY. There are substantial differences in respect of the other attributes considered, but these mainly reflect the result of institutional choices in the jurisdictions concerned and it is not possible to conclude that one approach is universally superior to the other. CONCLUSIONS: The two approaches produce very similar assessments of added value, but have different attributes in terms of cost, timeliness, transparency and political acceptability. How these considerations impact market access and prices is difficult to assess, because of the lack of transparency concerning prices in both countries and the fact that market access also depends on a broader range of factors. There is some evidence of convergence in the approaches, with the movement in France towards producing cost-effectiveness estimates and the movement in the UK towards negotiated prices.