Darren Lau

Multimorbidity prevalence and patterns across socioeconomic determinants: a cross-sectional survey

BackgroundStudies on the prevalence of multimorbidity, defined as having two or more chronic conditions, have predominantly focused on the elderly. We estimated the prevalence and specific patterns of multimorbidity across different adult age groups. Furthermore, we examined the associations of multimorbidity with socio-demographic factors.MethodsUsing data from the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) 2010 Patient Experience Survey, the prevalence of self reported multimorbidity was assessed by telephone interview among a sample of 5010 adults (18 years and over) from the general population. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between a range of socio-demographic factors and multimorbidity.ResultsThe overall age- and sex-standardized prevalence of multimorbidity was 19.0% in the surveyed general population. Of those with multimorbidity, 70.2% were aged less than 65 years. The most common pairing of chronic conditions was chronic pain and arthritis. Age, sex, income and family structure were independently associated with multimorbidity.ConclusionsMultimorbidity is a common occurrence in the general adult population, and is not limited to the elderly. Future prevention programs and practice guidelines should take into account the common patterns of multimorbidity.

Interventions to Improve Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates Among Community-Dwelling Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates remain below national targets. We systematically reviewed the effectiveness of quality improvement interventions for increasing the rates of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations among community-dwelling adults. METHODS We included randomized and nonrandomized studies with a concurrent control group. We estimated pooled odds ratios using random effects models, and used the Downs and Black tool to assess the quality of included studies. RESULTS Most studies involved elderly primary care patients. Interventions were associated with improvements in the rates of any vaccination (111 comparisons in 77 studies, pooled odds ratio [OR] = 1.61, 95% CI, 1.49-1.75), and influenza (93 comparisons, 65 studies, OR = 1.46, 95% CI, 1.35-1.57) and pneumococcal (58 comparisons, 35 studies, OR = 2.01, 95% CI, 1.72-2.3) vaccinations. Interventions that appeared effective were patient financial incentives (influenza only), audit and feedback (influenza only), clinician reminders, clinician financial incentives (influenza only), team change, patient outreach, delivery site changes (influenza only), clinician education (pneumococcus only), and case management (pneumococcus only). Patient outreach was more effective if personal contact was involved. Team changes were more effective where nurses administered influenza vaccinations independently. Heterogeneity in some pooled odds ratios was high, however, and funnel plots showed signs of potential publication bias. Study quality varied but was not associated with outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Quality improvement interventions, especially those that assign vaccination responsibilities to nonphysician personnel or that activate patients through personal contact, can modestly improve vaccination rates in community-dwelling adults. To meet national policy targets, more-potent interventions should be developed and evaluated.

Association between frailty and 30-day outcomes after discharge from hospital

Background: Readmissions after hospital discharge are common and costly, but prediction models are poor at identifying patients at high risk of readmission. We evaluated the impact of frailty on readmission or death within 30 days after discharge from general internal medicine wards. Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients discharged from 7 medical wards at 2 teaching hospitals in Edmonton. Frailty was defined by means of the previously validated Clinical Frailty Scale. The primary outcome was the composite of readmission or death within 30 days after discharge. Results: Of the 495 patients included in the study, 162 (33%) met the definition of frailty: 91 (18%) had mild, 60 (12%) had moderate, and 11 (2%) had severe frailty. Frail patients were older, had more comorbidities, lower quality of life, and higher LACE scores at discharge than those who were not frail. The composite of 30-day readmission or death was higher among frail than among nonfrail patients (39 [24.1%] v. 46 [13.8%]). Although frailty added additional prognostic information to predictive models that included age, sex and LACE score, only moderate to severe frailty (31.0% event rate) was an independent risk factor for readmission or death (adjusted odds ratio 2.19, 95% confidence interval 1.12–4.24). Interpretation: Frailty was common and associated with a substantially increased risk of early readmission or death after discharge from medical wards. The Clinical Frailty Scale could be useful in identifying high-risk patients being discharged from general internal medicine wards.

Effectiveness of influenza vaccination in working-age adults with diabetes: a population-based cohort study

Background Guidelines recommend influenza vaccinations in all diabetic adults, but there is limited evidence to support vaccinating working-age adults (<65 years) with diabetes. We examined the effectiveness of influenza vaccine in this subgroup, compared with elderly adults (≥65 years) for whom vaccination recommendations are well accepted. Methods We identified all adults with diabetes, along with a sample of age-matched and sex-matched comparison subjects without diabetes, from 2000 to 2008, using administrative data from Manitoba, Canada. With multivariable Poisson regression, we estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) on influenza-like illnesses (ILIs), pneumonia and influenza (PI) hospitalisations and all-cause (ALL) hospitalisations during periods of known circulating influenza. Analyses were replicated outside of influenza season to rule out residual confounding. Results We included 543 367 person-years of follow-up, during which 223 920 ILI, 5422 PI and 94 988 ALL occurred. The majority (58%) of adults with diabetes were working age. In this group, influenza vaccination was associated with relative reductions in PI (43%, 95% CI 28% to 54%) and ALL (28%, 95% CI 24% to 32%) but not ILI (−1%, 95% CI −3% to 1%). VE was similar in elderly adults for ALL (33–34%) and PI (45–55%), although not ILI (12–13%). However, similar estimates of effectiveness were also observed for all three groups during non-influenza control periods. Conclusions Working-age adults with diabetes experience similar benefits from vaccination as elderly adults, supporting current diabetes-specific recommendations. However, these benefits were also manifest outside of influenza season, suggesting residual bias. Vaccination recommendations in all high-risk adults would benefit from randomised trial evidence.

Health related quality of life measures in Arabic speaking populations: a systematic review on cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties.

PurposeThis systematic review was conducted to identify generic health related quality of life (HRQL) measures translated into Arabic, and evaluate their cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties.MethodsSix databases were searched, relevant journals were hand searched, and reference lists of included studies were reviewed. Previously established criteria were used to evaluate the cross-cultural adaptation of the identified instruments and their measurement properties.ResultsTwenty studies that reported the Arabic translations and adaptations of HRQL measures and/or their measurement properties were included in this review. The identified instruments were SF-36, RAND-36, WHOQOL-Bref, COOP/WONCA charts, EQ-5D, and QLI. Cross-cultural adaptations of all measures were of moderate to good quality, and evaluation of measurement properties was limited due to insufficiency of evidence. Based on cross-cultural adaptation evaluation, each instrument is more applicable to the population for whom it was adapted, and to other Arabic populations of similar culture and language specific idioms.ConclusionThis review facilitates the selection among existing Arabic versions of generic HRQL for use in particular Arabic countries. However, each of the translated versions requires further investigation of measurement properties before more concrete recommendations could be made.

Population-level response shift: novel implications for research

ObjectivesResponse shift is a change in perceived HRQL that occurs as a result of recalibration, reprioritization, or reconceptualization of an individual respondent’s internal standards, values, or conceptualization of HRQL. In this commentary, we suggest that response shift may also occur at the population level, triggered by causes that affect the distribution of individual-level risk.MethodsWe illustrated the nature and consequences of potential population-level response shift with two examples: the September 11 terror attacks, and the recent denormalization of smoking.ResultsResponse shift may occur at the population-level, when a large proportion of the population experiences the shift simultaneously, as a unit, and when the cause of the response shift is a socially significant event or trend. Such catalysts are of a qualitatively different nature than the causes leading to health status changes among individuals, and speak to the determinants affecting the underlying distribution of risk in the population.ConclusionsWe do not know if population-level causes have actually resulted in response shifts. Nonetheless, response shifts at the population-level may be worthwhile to investigate further, both to assess the validity of research evidence based on the measurement of HRQL in large populations, and as a desirable intermediate outcome in evaluations of population health programs.

Patient isolation precautions and 30-day risk of readmission or death after hospital discharge: a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES Concerns have been raised that isolation precautions may have unintended consequences. The relationship between patient isolation and the 30-day risk of readmission or death among patients discharged from a general medicine ward was examined. METHODS A prospective cohort study of adult patients discharged to the community from seven general internal medicine wards in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from October 2013 to November 2014, was performed. Patients under contact, respiratory, or droplet precautions were considered isolated. Covariates measured at discharge included the Charlson comorbidity score, LACE index, clinical frailty, depression, anxiety, health-related quality of life, and patient satisfaction. Outcomes were measured at 30 days by telephone follow-up and provincial electronic health record query. RESULTS Of 495 patients (mean age 62 years, 51% female), 75 (18%) were isolated during their admission. Isolated and non-isolated patients had similar lengths of stay (6.2 vs. 6.2 days), depression, anxiety, health-related quality of life, and satisfaction scores at discharge (all p-values non-significant). At 30 days, 85 (17.2%) patients had been readmitted or had died (20.0% of isolated patients vs. 16.7% of non-isolated patients; adjusted odds ratio 1.11, 95% confidence interval 0.57-2.18). CONCLUSIONS In-hospital isolation does not appear to have an adverse impact on outcomes once patients are discharged from hospital.