Rising incidence, health resource utilization and costs of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in the United Kingdom.

CONTEXT: Trends in incidence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and effects on health resource utilization are unclear. OBJECTIVES: To describe trends in prevalence and incidence of PCOS in the United Kingdom. To establish healthcare resource use and associated costs. DESIGN: Data were extracted from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum and Hospital Episode Statistics databases. Point prevalence and incidence were calculated (2004-2020). Patients with PCOS were matched to controls (1:1) by age, body mass index and primary care practice. Primary care contacts were assigned an average cost and prescription items assigned a net ingredient cost. Inpatient admissions and outpatient consultations were processed into Healthcare Resource Groups and costed to the National Tariff. RESULTS: PCOS incidence increased from 1.22 per 1000 person years in 2004 to 1.77 (2012) and 2.20 (2019). Point prevalence increased from 1.02% (2004) to 2.2% (2012) and 3.5% (2020), and was highest in Asians. Mean contacts per person year (ppy) for patients with PCOS versus controls were 0.48 vs 0.29 for inpatients (p<0.001), 3.81 vs 2.15 for outpatients (p<0.001) and 6.43 vs 4.68 (p<0.001) for primary care. Mean healthcare costs (ppy) were £837 vs £493 (p<0.001) for inpatients, £444 vs £253 (p<0.001) for outpatients, £157 vs £112 for primary care and £109 vs £83 (p<0.001) for primary care prescriptions. Total health care contacts ppy were 10.72 vs 7.11 (p<0.001) and total associated costs £1,546 vs £940 (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The incidence of PCOS has risen significantly. Health resource utilization and costs of PCOS are significantly greater than controls.

Risk of major adverse cardiovascular events associated with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in a population with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with and without type 2 diabetes: a UK database analysis using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the 12-month probabilities of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and non-cardiovascular death in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). DESIGN: A retrospective database analysis. SETTING: UK primary care. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were selected from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (Aurum) linked to Hospital Episode Statistics inpatient and Office of National Statistics mortality datasets. Patients with an ASCVD diagnosis between 01 January 2010 and 31 May 2018 and LDL-C ≥2.6 mmol/L were selected. PRIMARY OUTCOMES: Primary outcomes were 12-month risk of (1) MACE (composite of revascularisation, unstable angina, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke and cardiovascular death) and (2) non-cardiovascular mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis estimated the probability of each outcome. A Cox proportional hazards model explored covariates associated with MACE. RESULTS: Of 102 245 study patients, 16 501 (16.1%) had a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). 65.5% of those with and 49.9% of those without T2DM had a lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) 6 months prior to index diagnosis. Twelve-month probability of MACE was 7.9% for non-T2DM and 11.8% for T2DM. LDL-C was significantly associated with risk of MACE (HR=1.19 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.22) per 1 mmol/L). History of acute coronary syndrome, other coronary heart disease, stroke and T2DM significantly increased the risk of MACE. Ezetimibe (0.88 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.99)) and low-intensity statins (0.88 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.97)) were associated with reduced 12-month MACE risk.and low-intensity statins 0.88 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.97) CONCLUSION: We confirmed the association between elevated LDL-C and MACE. Many patients with ASCVD and elevated LDL-C were untreated with LLT. With the increasing demands on general practitioners, initiatives aimed at improving identification and treatment of at-risk patients within primary care should be considered.

Real-world evidence from the first online healthcare analytics platform-Livingstone. Validation of its descriptive epidemiology module.

Incidence and prevalence are key epidemiological determinants characterizing the quantum of a disease. We compared incidence and prevalence estimates derived automatically from the first ever online, essentially real-time, healthcare analytics platform-Livingstone-against findings from comparable peer-reviewed studies in order to validate the descriptive epidemiology module. The source of routine NHS data for Livingstone was the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). After applying a general search strategy looking for any disease or condition, 76 relevant studies were first retrieved, of which 10 met pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Findings reported in these studies were compared with estimates produced automatically by Livingstone. The published reports described elements of the epidemiology of 14 diseases or conditions. Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) was used to evaluate the concordance between findings from Livingstone and those detailed in the published studies. The concordance of incidence values in the final year reported by each study versus Livingstone was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.89-0.98), whilst for all annual incidence values the concordance was 0.93 (0.91-0.94). For prevalence, concordance for the final annual prevalence reported in each study versus Livingstone was 1.00 (0.99-1.00) and for all reported annual prevalence values, the concordance was 0.93 (0.90-0.95). The concordance between Livingstone and the latest published findings was near perfect for prevalence and substantial for incidence. For the first time, it is now possible to automatically generate reliable descriptive epidemiology from routine health records, and in near-real time. Livingstone provides the first mechanism to rapidly generate standardised, descriptive epidemiology for all clinical events from real world data.

The financial burden of treating patients presenting with acute and chronic cough.

OBJECTIVE: Coughing is a common symptom and responsible for a large number of healthcare visits. This study aimed to characterize healthcare resource use and associated financial costs in people with acute or chronic cough. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study using routine data from the UK National Health Service. Adults (≥18 years) were selected if they had a cough record between 1 March 2014 and 28 February 2015 and were classified by duration. RESULTS: A cohort of 150,231 patients was identified, of whom 12,513 (8.3%) had chronic cough, 38,599 (25.7%) had an acute cough with more than one cough event, and 99,119 (66.0%) had acute cough with one event in the study year. Resource use and combined costs of all healthcare contacts differed between cough groups. The healthcare cost per person-year in patients with a single record of acute cough was £739; for those with chronic cough, the cost was £3,663. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with cough represented a substantial financial burden to the NHS. It was difficult to discern the specific portion of treatment associated with cough itself. However, people with chronic cough were associated with substantially increased healthcare use and costs than were those with acute cough.

Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Have an Increased Risk of Major Cardiovascular Events: a Population Study.

CONTEXT: The effects of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are unclear. OBJECTIVE: This work aims to establish the relative risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, angina, revascularization, and cardiovascular mortality for women with PCOS. METHODS: Data were extracted from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum database. Patients with PCOS were matched to controls (1:1) by age, body mass index (BMI) category, and primary care practice. The primary outcome was the time to major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE); a composite end point incorporating MI, stroke, angina, revascularization and cardiovascular mortality. Secondary outcomes were the individual MACE end points. RESULTS: Of 219 034 individuals with a diagnosis of PCOS, 174 660 (79.7%) met the eligibility criteria and were matched. Crude rates of the composite end point, MI, stroke, angina, revascularization, and cardiovascular mortality were respectively 82.7, 22.7, 27.4, 32.8, 10.5, and 6.97 per 100 000 patient-years for cases, and 64.3, 15.9, 25.7, 19.8, 7.13, and 7.75 per 100 000 patient-years for controls. In adjusted Cox proportional hazard models (CPHMs), the hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.26 (95% CI, 1.13-1.41), 1.38 (95% CI, 1.11-1.72), 1.60 (95% CI, 1.32-1.94), and 1.50 (95% CI, 1.08-2.07) for the composite outcome, MI, angina, and revascularization, respectively. In a time-dependent CPHM, weight gain (HR 1.01; 1.00-1.01), prior type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (HR 2.40; 1.76-3.30), and social deprivation (HR 1.53; 1.11-2.11) increased risk of progression to the composite end point. CONCLUSION: The risk of incident MI, angina, and revascularization is increased in young women with PCOS. Weight and T2DM are potentially modifiable risk factors amenable to intervention.

Evaluation of the epidemiology of peanut allergy in the United Kingdom.

Aims: To describe the epidemiology of peanut allergy (PA) in the UK over the last three decades.Methods: PA patients were identified from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink between 1987 and 2015. Incidence and prevalence of PA were compared between 2000 and 2015. Prevalence and relative risk (RR) of atopic comorbidities, anaphylaxis, adrenaline prescriptions versus matched controls were calculated.Results: Point prevalence of PA in the entire population and those <18 years increased from 31 to 202 and 116 to 635 per 100,000, respectively, between 2000 and 2015. Incidence increased from 8.6 to 18.2 per 100,000. Incidence in 2015 was 105 cases per 100,000 aged 0-4 years versus 13.4 per 100,000 aged 5+ years. Anaphylactic events affected 1.2% of the cases and 0.007% of the controls. The rate of adrenaline prescriptions was 5,910 per 100,000 person-years for PA patients. RRs for asthma, eczema and allergic rhinitis in PA patients versus controls were 4.5 (95% CI 4.2-4.8), 3.2 (3.1-3.4) and 2.6 (2.4-3.0), respectively.Conclusions: The prevalence and incidence of PA increased markedly over the study period. PA was associated with atopic conditions and anaphylaxis. PA patients had increased adrenaline prescriptions.

The Model of Mortality with Incident Cirrhosis (MoMIC) and the model of Long-term Outlook of Mortality in Cirrhosis (LOMiC).

The purpose of this study was to produce two statistical survival models in those with cirrhosis utilising only routine parameters, including non-liver-related clinical factors that influence survival. The first model identified and utilised factors impacting short-term survival to 90-days post incident diagnosis, and a further model characterised factors that impacted survival following this acute phase. Data were from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked with Hospital Episode Statistics. Incident cases in patients ≥18 years were identified between 1998 and 2014. Patients that had prior history of cancer or had received liver transplants prior were excluded. Model-1 used a logistic regression model to predict mortality. Model-2 used data from those patients who survived 90 days, and used an extension of the Cox regression model, adjusting for time-dependent covariables. At 90 days, 23% of patients had died. Overall median survival was 3.7 years. Model-1: numerous predictors, prior comorbidities and decompensating events were incorporated. All comorbidities contributed to increased odds of death, with renal disease having the largest adjusted odds ratio (OR = 3.35, 95%CI 2.97-3.77). Model-2: covariables included cumulative admissions for liver disease-related events and admissions for infections. Significant covariates were renal disease (adjusted hazard ratio (HR = 2.89, 2.47-3.38)), elevated bilirubin levels (aHR = 1.38, 1.26-1.51) and low sodium levels (aHR = 2.26, 1.84-2.78). An internal validation demonstrated reliability of both models. In conclusion: two survival models that included parameters commonly recorded in routine clinical practice were generated that reliably forecast the risk of death in patients with cirrhosis: in the acute, post diagnosis phase, and following this critical, 90 day phase. This has implications for practice and helps better forecast the risk of mortality from cirrhosis using routinely recorded parameters without inputs from specialists.

Major adverse cardiovascular events in people with chronic kidney disease in relation to disease severity and diabetes status.

Diabetes plays an important role in the complex relationship between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease. This retrospective observational study compared the influence of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and proteinuria on the risk of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE; myocardial infarction or stroke) in CKD patients with and without diabetes. Data were from a linked database of UK electronic health records. Individuals with CKD and no prior MACE were classified as type 1 diabetes (T1DM; n = 164), type 2 diabetes (T2DM; n = 9,711), and non-diabetes (non-DM; n = 75,789). Monthly updated time-dependent Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for progression to MACE from first record of abnormal eGFR or proteinuria (index date). In non-DM, aHRs (95% CIs) by baseline eGFR category (referent G2) were G1: 0.70 (0.55-0.90), G3a: 1.28 (1.20-1.35), G3b: 1.64 (1.52-1.76), G4: 2.19 (1.98-2.43), and G5: 3.12 (2.44-3.99), and by proteinuria category (referent A1) were A2: 1.13 (1.00-1.28), A2/3 (severity indeterminable): 1.58 (1.28-1.95), and A3: 1.64 (1.38-1.95). In T2DM, aHRs were G1: 0.98 (0.72-1.32), G3a: 1.18 (1.03-1.34), G3b: 1.31 (1.12-1.54), G4: 1.87 (1.53-2.29), G5: 2.87 (1.82-4.52), A2: 1.22 (1.04-1.42), A2/3: 1.45 (1.17-1.79), and A3: 1.82 (1.53-2.16). Low numbers in T1DM precluded analysis. Modelling T2DM and non-DM together, aHRs were, respectively, G1: 3.23 (2.38-4.40) and 0.70 (0.55-0.89); G2: 3.18 (2.73-3.70) and 1.00 (referent); G3a: 3.65 (3.13-4.25) and 1.28 (1.21-1.36); G3b: 4.01 (3.40-4.74) and 1.65 (1.54-1.77); G4: 5.78 (4.70-7.10) and 2.21 (2.00-2.45); G5: 9.00 (5.71-14.18) and 3.14 (2.46-4.00). In conclusion, reduced eGFR and proteinuria were independently associated with increased risk of MACE regardless of diabetes status. However, the risk of MACE in the same eGFR state was 4.6-2.4 times higher in T2DM than in non-DM.

Evaluation of the healthcare resource use and the related financial costs of managing peanut allergy in the United Kingdom.

Aims: We aimed to estimate the resource use and associated costs for patients with peanut allergy (PA) compared to matched controls. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink and Hospital Episode Statistics. PA patients were matched to two control cohorts: the first (simple-matched) were matched 1:1 on year of birth, general practice, gender and registration year. The second (atopy-matched) were matched on the same characteristics plus presence/absence of an atopic condition. Prescriptions and primary and secondary care contacts were compared between cases and controls. Results: 15,483 peanut-allergic patients were identified: 13,609 (87.9%) were simple-matched and 9,320 (60.2%) atopy-matched. The total per person annual incremental health-care costs associated with PA were £253 (atopy-matched) and £333 (simple-matched). For those with PA and a prior anaphylaxis incremental costs were £662, for those prescribed an epinephrine autoinjector incremental costs were £392. Extrapolated to the U.K. population, total excess costs of PA were between £33 and 44 million in 2015. Conclusions: Patients with PA had increased health-care contacts and consequently increased associated costs compared to controls. Observation bias should be considered in interpretation, but this study suggests that PA presents significant burden to health-care systems.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Is Associated With Adverse Mental Health and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes.

Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by hyperandrogenism and subfertility, but the effects on mental health and child neurodevelopment are unclear. Objectives: To determine if (1) there is an association between PCOS and psychiatric outcomes and (2) whether rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are higher in children of mothers with PCOS. Design: Data were extracted from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Patients with PCOS were matched to two control sets (1:1) by age, body mass index, and primary care practice. Control set 2 was additionally matched on prior mental health status. Primary outcomes were the incidence of depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Secondary outcomes were the prevalence of ADHD or ASD in the children. Results: Eligible patients (16,986) were identified; 16,938 and 16,355 were matched to control sets 1 and 2, respectively. Compared with control set 1, baseline prevalence was 23.1% vs 19.3% for depression, 11.5% vs 9.3% for anxiety, and 3.2% vs 1.5% for bipolar disorder (P < 0.001). The hazard ratio for time to each endpoint was 1.26 (95% confidence interval 1.19 to 1.32), 1.20 (1.11 to 1.29), and 1.21 (1.03 to 1.42) for set 1 and 1.38 (1.30 to 1.45), 1.39 (1.29 to 1.51), and 1.44 (1.21 to 1.71) for set 2. The odds ratios for ASD and ADHD in children were 1.54 (1.12 to 2.11) and 1.64 (1.16 to 2.33) for set 1 and 1.76 (1.27 to 2.46) and 1.34 (0.96 to 1.89) for set 2. Conclusions: PCOS is associated with psychiatric morbidity and increased risk of ADHD and ASD in their children. Screening for mental health disorders should be considered during assessment.