Epidemiology and disease burden from allergic disease in Scotland: analyses of national databases

BACKGROUND

There are ongoing concerns about the quality of care provided to patients with allergic disorders in Scotland, but there are relatively few reliable data on the overall disease burden. We sought to: (1) describe the incidence, prevalence and outcome of allergic disorders; (2) estimate healthcare burden and costs; and (3) investigate ethnic variations in the epidemiology and outcomes from allergic disorders in Scotland.

METHODS

DATA SOURCES

national surveys; primary care data; prescribing and medication data; hospital admissions data and mortality data.

RESULTS

Allergic disorders are extremely common in Scotland, affecting about one in three of the population at some time in their lives. Incidence was highest for eczema (10.2 per 1000 registered patients). Over 4% of all GP consultations and 1.5% of hospital admissions were for allergic disorders. There were 100 asthma deaths in 2005 (20 per million people). Direct healthcare costs for allergic disorders were an estimated pound130 million per year, the majority of these being incurred in primary care and related to asthma.

CONCLUSIONS

Allergic disorders are common in Scotland and given the very high proportion of children now affected, the high disease burden associated with these conditions is likely to persist for many decades.

Secondhand smoke exposure and survival following acute coronary syndrome: prospective cohort study of 1261 consecutive admissions among never-smokers

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with early prognosis following acute coronary syndrome.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We interviewed consecutive patients admitted to nine Scottish hospitals over 23 months. Information was obtained, via questionnaire, on age, sex, smoking status, postcode of residence and admission serum cotinine concentration was measured. Follow-up data were obtained from routine hospital admission and death databases.

RESULTS

Of the 5815 participants, 1261 were never-smokers. Within 30 days, 50 (4%) had died and 35 (3%) had a non-fatal myocardial infarction. All-cause deaths increased from 10 (2.1%) in those with cotinine < or =0.1 ng/ml to 22 (7.5%) in those with cotinine >0.9 ng/ml (chi(2) test for trend p<0.001). This persisted after adjustment for potential confounders (cotinine >0.9 ng/ml: adjusted OR 4.80, 95% CI 1.95 to 11.83, p = 0.003). The same dose response was observed for cardiovascular deaths and death or myocardial infarction.

CONCLUSIONS

Secondhand smoke exposure is associated with worse early prognosis following acute coronary syndrome. Non-smokers need to be protected from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

Is there equity of service delivery and intermediate outcomes in South Asians with type 2 diabetes? Analysis of DARTS database and summary of UK publications

BACKGROUND

There are doubts whether diabetes care is equitable across UK ethnic groups. We examined processes and outcomes in South Asians with diabetes and reviewed the UK literature.

METHODS

We used name search methods to identify South Asians in a regional diabetes database. We compared prevalence rates, processes and outcomes of care between November 2003 and December 2004. We used standard literature search techniques.

RESULTS

The prevalence of diabetes in South Asians was 3-4 times higher than non-South Asians. South Asians were 1.11 times (95% confidence interval 1.06, 1.16) more likely to have a structured review. South Asian women were 1.10 times more likely to have a record of body mass index (95% CI 1.04, 1.16). HbA1c levels were 1.03 times higher (95% CI 1.00, 1.06) among South Asians, retinopathy 1.36 times more common (95% CI 1.03, 1.78) and hypertension 0.71 times as common (95% CI 0.58, 0.87).

CONCLUSIONS

We found evidence of equity in many aspects of diabetes care for South Asians in Tayside. The finding of higher HbA1c and more retinopathy among South Asians needs explanation and a service response. These findings from a region with a small non-White population largely support the recent findings from other parts of the UK.

Evaluating the impact of a national pilot screening programme for type 2 diabetes in deprived areas of England

BACKGROUND

A pilot programme designed to systematically screen for type 2 diabetes was introduced in 24 general practices in England selected for their high levels of socio-economic deprivation and multi-ethnic populations.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of screening on the prevalence of type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

A prospective audit of screening activity in pilot practices and comparison of the change in prevalence of diabetes in pilot and comparison practices were conducted.

RESULTS

Of 41,400 individuals invited for screening from a population of 165,828 in pilot practices, 25,356 (61%) were screened. Three hundred and fifty-eight (0.22%) new cases of diabetes were detected among those screened. Only 69% of those with a positive screening test had diagnostic testing recorded and only 19% had a record of an oral glucose tolerance test. The absolute increase in the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was 0.53% in pilot practices and 0.42% in comparison practices.

CONCLUSIONS

The 'real world' nature of the programme and dependence on routine data collection systems makes results more difficult to interpret but also enabled problems with implementation, not evident from previous research, to be identified. It is likely that the low diagnostic yield was largely due to a high level of ad hoc screening activity outside the pilot protocol and inadequate access to diagnostic testing after a positive screening test. In particular, implementation of screening for diabetes in primary care should not be undertaken without robust assessment of the resources required for diagnostic testing and follow-up and adequate clinical audit.

Implementing a national quality assurance system for diabetes care: the Scottish Diabetes Survey 2001-2006

AIM

To create a standardized systematic quality assurance system for diabetes care throughout Scotland.

METHODS

Each of 15 National Health Service (NHS) boards have submitted core diabetes data for a nationally agreed data specification on an annual basis since 2001. These data are collated to produce an annual national report. We describe the iterative progress of the work in obtaining and analysing this information. The setting was Scotland, with a population of 5 million.

RESULTS

In Scotland in 2006, 196,801 people (3.9% of the population) were reported as having diabetes compared with 105,777 in 2001. In 2006 the prevalence of reported diabetes varied from 3.5 to 4.4% in different NHS board areas, reflecting variation in completeness of local registers as well as different demographic patterns. The completeness of recording of many clinical parameters has also increased. (2002 data n = 103,755: diagnosis date 77%, HbA(1c), blood pressure and cholesterol within 15 months 71, 67 and 60%, respectively, increasing to 98, 87, 89 and 85% by 2006, n = 196,801.) A national information management and technology solution (Scottish Collaborative Information-Diabetes Care), involving automatic daily collection of data from routinely used systems both in primary and secondary care, is now used to co-ordinate the collection of data in all NHS board areas.

CONCLUSIONS

We have used routine data to estimate the prevalence of reported diabetes in Scotland, UK. This iterative approach to quality improvement has taken 6 years to achieve a baseline measure of care. There is potential to analyse these data further for a better understanding of the epidemiology of diabetes in Scotland. The national diabetes information technology system will contribute to this process.

Will Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms improve our understanding of the disease burden posed by allergic disorders?

Analysis of data collected through the use of high-quality computerized systems is vital if we are to understand the health burden from allergic disease. Coding systems currently used, such as the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases and the Read system, have however been criticized as being unduly restrictive and hence inadequate for the detailed coding of allergic problems. Greater granularity of coding can be achieved by using the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT) system, which will be adopted by several countries including the United States and United Kingdom. Before the introduction of SNOMED-CT, it is important that several issues are resolved, including ensuring that adequate mapping occurs from existing systems, that the SNOMED-CT is trialled before general implementation, and that training is provided for users new to coding as part of their clinical practice. Of particular importance is that the allergy fraternity bring to light any gaps in allergy coding through the creation of a working group to advise the newly formed International Healthcare Terminology Standards Development Organisation. There is also a role for allergy experts, working in conjunction with government agencies and professional bodies, to determine a recommended set of codes, which will obviate some of the inevitable challenges raised by a very fluid coding structure for those wishing to undertake secondary analysis of health care datasets.

Mortality from all causes and circulatory disease by country of birth in England and Wales 2001-2003

BACKGROUND

Differences in mortality by country of birth in England and Wales in people under 70 years of age have been demonstrated previously. Changes in age distribution of migrants and in migration patterns have occurred subsequently.

METHODS

All-cause and circulatory disease mortality for people aged 20 years and over in England and Wales by country of birth were examined using population data from the 2001 Census and mortality data for 2001-2003. Indirect standardization was used to estimate sex-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) in comparison to mortality for England and Wales as a whole.

RESULTS

SMRs for all-cause mortality were statistically significantly higher than the national average for people born in Ireland, Scotland, East Africa and West Africa and lower for people born in China and Hong Kong. SMRs for circulatory disease were highest among people born in Bangladesh and lowest among people born in China and Hong Kong. Patterns of ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease mortality differed by country of birth.

CONCLUSIONS

Mortality, particularly due to ischaemic heart disease and stroke, differs markedly by country of birth in all age groups including the > or =70-year-old group.

Exploiting the potential of routine data to better understand the disease burden posed by allergic disorders

The Department of Health and Scottish Executive are currently undertaking independent reviews of allergy services in England (and Wales) and Scotland. Each review will assess the disease burden posed by allergic problems, involving secondary analyses of routine National Health Service (NHS) datasets. Major suggestions for re-structuring and/or re-focusing the NHS efforts to better deal with allergic disease are anticipated. The UK has some of the best datasets of routine health data in the world, but despite their strengths, they have important limitations. These include gaps in data collection, particularly in relation to monitoring of Accident & Emergency and out-patient consultations, and in-patient prescribing, thereby resulting in considerable under-estimates of hospital workload. The current gaps in service monitoring are likely to under-estimate the burden and workload associated with allergic problems, particularly in secondary care. One major limitation of existing data sources is the general inability to link individual patient level data between different datasets. By unlocking this potential there are very considerable potential gains to be made. Data linkage techniques currently being developed in the UK offer exciting new possibilities of looking across the primary-, secondary- and tertiary-care interfaces and also assessing short-and long-term social and educational outcomes in relation to allergic disorders. The current reviews of allergy services being undertaken need to be cognisant of these inherent limitations of existing data sources and would do well to recommend strategic initiatives that could enhance the availability, accessibility and quality of these datasets. Ideally, this should include investment in central data repositories staffed by teams with the necessary technical and statistical expertise, which would also take responsibility for progressing data linkage capabilities.

Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a web-based risk score for seven British black and minority ethnic groups

OBJECTIVE

To recalibrate an existing Framingham risk score to produce a web-based tool for estimating the 10-year risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in seven British black and minority ethnic groups.

DESIGN

Risk prediction models were recalibrated against survey data on ethnic group risk factors and disease prevalence compared with the general population. Ethnic- and sex-specific 10-year risks of CHD and CVD, at the means of the risk factors for each ethnic group, were calculated from the product of the incidence rate in the general population and the prevalence ratios for each ethnic group.

SETTING

Two community-based surveys.

PARTICIPANTS

3778 men and 4544 women, aged 35-54, from the Health Surveys for England 1998 and 1999 and the Wandsworth Heart and Stroke Study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

10-year risk of CHD and CVD.

RESULTS

10-year risk of CHD and CVD for non-smoking people aged 50 years with a systolic blood pressure of 130 mm Hg and a total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio of 4.2 was highest in men for those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin (CVD risk 12.6% and 12.8%, respectively). CHD risk in men with the same risk factor values was lowest in Caribbeans (2.8%) and CVD risk was lowest in Chinese (5.4%). Women of Pakistani origin were at highest risk and Chinese women at lowest risk for both outcomes with CVD risks of 6.6% and 1.2%, respectively. A web-based risk calculator (ETHRISK) allows 10-year risks to be estimated in routine primary care settings for relevant risk factor and ethnic group combinations.

CONCLUSIONS

In the absence of cohort studies in the UK that include significant numbers of black and minority ethnic groups, this risk score provides a pragmatic solution to including people from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the primary prevention of CVD.

Mortality from all cancers and lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancer by country of birth in England and Wales, 2001-2003

Mortality from all cancers combined and major cancers among men and women aged 20 years and over was compared by country of birth with that of the whole of England and Wales as the reference group. Population data from the 2001 Census and mortality data for 2001-2003 were used to estimate standardised mortality ratios. Data on approximately 399 000 cancer deaths were available, with at least 400 cancer deaths in each of the smaller populations. Statistically significant differences from the reference group included: higher mortality from all cancers combined, lung and colorectal cancer among people born in Scotland and Ireland, lower mortality for all cancers combined, lung, breast and prostate cancer among people born in Bangladesh (except for lung cancer in men), India, Pakistan or China/Hong Kong, lower lung cancer mortality among people born in West Africa or the West Indies, higher breast cancer mortality among women born in West Africa and higher prostate cancer mortality among men born in West Africa or the West Indies. These data may be relevant to causal hypotheses and in relation to health care and cancer prevention.

How physically active are South Asians in the United Kingdom? A literature review

BACKGROUND

Moderate physical activity is protective against coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes, both important public health problems among UK South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) ethnic groups. We assessed the evidence that physical activity is lower in South Asian groups than in the general population.

METHODS

We carried out a systematic literature review of studies describing levels of physical activity and fitness in UK South Asians using MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane databases, hand searching of relevant journals and review of reference lists.

RESULTS

We identified 12 studies in adults and five in children. Various methods were used to assess physical activity and fitness, but all the studies reported lower levels among South Asian groups. The differences were substantial, particularly among women and older people. For example, the Health Survey for England found that Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi men were 14, 30 and 45 per cent less likely than the general population to meet current guidelines for physical activity. Limited information was provided about translation and adaptation of questionnaires.

CONCLUSION

Levels of physical activity were lower in all South Asian groups than the general population and patterns of activity differed. No studies used validated measures. Insufficient attention has been paid to issues of cross-cultural equivalence. With these caveats, low levels of physical activity among UK South Asian ethnic groups may contribute to their increased risk of diabetes and CHD. Closer attention to validity, translation and adaptation is necessary to monitor changes and assess the effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity.

Serological evidence of Helicobacter pylori infection in UK South Asian and European populations: implications for gastric cancer and coronary heart disease

OBJECTIVES

To describe the prevalence of serological evidence of infection with Helicobacter pylori among people of South Asian and European ethnic origins and to assess its association with prevalent coronary heart disease (CHD).

METHODS

We used a quantitative method to compare IgG antibodies to H. pylori in a population sample of 300 South Asians and 302 Europeans in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

RESULTS

For men and women, respectively, H. pylori IgG (95% confidence interval) was 16.7 microg/ml (13.9, 20.2) and 11.3 (9.4, 13.5) among Europeans and 11.6 (9.8, 13.7) and 14.3 (12.1, 16.9) among South Asians. Levels were higher in older participants and in those of lower socioeconomic status. The ratio of geometric mean IgG, (95% confidence interval) adjusted for age, sex and socioeconomic status, in those with and without CHD was 1.02 (0.49, 2.11) among Europeans and 1.79 (1.01, 3.17) among South Asians. Antibodies against staphylococcal enterotoxins A and B were higher among South Asians than Europeans.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of H. pylori infection among UK South Asians does not reflect that of their countries of origin, nor their lower prevalence of gastric cancer. The association with CHD in South Asians requires corroboration in other studies.

Microalbuminuria is more frequent in South Asian than in European origin populations: a comparative study in Newcastle, UK

AIMS

We aimed to compare levels of urinary albumin excretion and the prevalence of microalbuminuria in UK South Asians and Europeans. Microalbuminuria predicts cardiovascular disease in European origin populations, but evidence from the general population of South Asians is lacking. Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality is 40-50% higher in UK South Asians compared with the whole population, for reasons that are incompletely understood.

METHODS

Microalbuminuria was measured using the albumin-creatinine ratio in an age- and sex-stratified random sample of 1509 adults from European (n = 825), Indian (n = 259), Pakistani (n = 305) and Bangladeshi (n = 120) ethnic groups.

RESULTS

Levels of urinary albumin excretion were substantially higher in South Asians (geometric mean albumin creatinine ratio (95% confidence interval) 0.83 (0.75, 0.91)) than in Europeans (0.55 (0.51, 0.60)). Microalbuminuria was associated with older age, hypertension and diabetes, but independently of these risk factors urinary albumin excretion was higher in South Asians than Europeans.

CONCLUSIONS

Urinary albumin excretion is higher and microalbuminuria more frequent in UK South Asians compared with the majority ethnic population. Microalbuminuria may be relevant to the causal pathways leading to the excess of cardiovascular mortality and possibly renal failure in UK South Asians.