Joanna McGregor

Risk of Adverse Outcomes for Older People with Dementia Prescribed Antipsychotic Medication: A Population Based e-Cohort Study

IntroductionOver recent years there has been growing evidence of increased risk of mortality associated with antipsychotic use in older people with dementia. Although this concern combined with limited evidence of efficacy has informed guidelines restricting antipsychotic prescription in this population, the use of antipsycotics remains common. Many published studies only report short-term outcomes, are restricted to examining mortality and stroke risk or have other limitations. The aim of this study was to assess adverse outcomes associated with the use of antipsychotics in older people living with dementia in Wales (UK).MethodsThis was a retrospective study of a population-based dementia cohort using the Welsh Secure Anonymised Information Linkage databank. The prior event rate ratio (PERR) was used to estimate the influence of exposure to antipsychotic medication on acute cardiac events, venous thromboembolism, stroke and hip fracture, and adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare all-cause mortality.ResultsA total of 10,339 people aged ≥65 years were identified with newly diagnosed dementia. After excluding those who did not meet the inclusion criteria, 9674 people remained in the main cohort of whom 3735 were exposed to antipsychotic medication. An increased risk of a venous thromboembolic episode [PERR 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.83–2.0], stroke (PERR 1.41, 95% CI 1.4–1.46) and hip fracture (PERR 1.62, 95% CI 1.59–1.65) was associated with antipsychotic use. However, there was no long-term increased mortality in people exposed to antipsychotics (adjusted hazard ratio 1.06, 95% CI 0.99–1.13).ConclusionsThe increase in adverse medical events supports guidelines restricting antipsychotic use in this population.

Recent trends in primary-care antidepressant prescribing to children and young people: an e-cohort study

Background Concerns relating to increased use of psychotropic medication contrast with those of under-treatment and under-recognition of common mental disorders in children and young people (CYP) across developed countries. Little is known about the indications recorded for antidepressant prescribing in primary care in CYP. Method This was an electronic cohort study of routinely collected primary-care data from a population of 1.9 million, Wales, UK. Poisson regression was undertaken to model adjusted counts of recorded depression symptoms, diagnoses and antidepressant prescriptions. Associated indications were explored. Results 3 58 383 registered patients aged 6–18 years between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2013 provided a total of 19 20 338 person-years of follow-up. The adjusted incidence of antidepressant prescribing increased significantly [incidence rate ratio (IRR) for 2013 = 1.28], mainly in older adolescents. The majority of new antidepressant prescriptions were for citalopram. Recorded depression diagnoses showed a steady decline (IRR = 0.72) while depression symptoms (IRR = 2.41) increased. Just over half of new antidepressant prescriptions were associated with depression (diagnosis or symptoms). Other antidepressant prescribing, largely unlicensed, was associated with diagnoses such as anxiety and pain. Conclusion Antidepressant prescribing is increasing in CYP while recorded depression diagnoses decline. Unlicensed citalopram prescribing occurs outside current guidelines, despite its known toxicity in overdose. Unlicensed antidepressant prescribing is associated with a wide range of diagnoses, and while accepted practice, is often not supported by safety and efficacy studies. New strategies to implement current guidance for the management of depression in CYP are required.

Recent trends in the incidence of anxiety and prescription of anxiolytics and hypnotics in children and young people: An e-cohort study

BACKGROUND Little is known regarding the recognition of anxiety in children and young people (CYP) in primary care. This study examined trends in the presentation, recognition and recording of anxiety and of anxiolytic and hypnotic prescriptions for CYP in primary care. METHOD A population-based retrospective electronic cohort of individuals aged 6-18 years between 2003 and 2011 within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank primary care database was created. Incidence rates were calculated using person years at risk (PYAR) as a denominator accounting for deprivation, age and gender. RESULTS We identified a cohort of 311,343 registered individuals providing a total of 1,546,489 person years of follow up. The incidence of anxiety symptoms more than tripled over the study period (Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR)=3.55, 95% CI 2.65-4.77) whilst that of diagnosis has remained stable. Anxiolytic/hypnotic prescriptions for the cohort as a whole did not change significantly over time; however there was a significant increase in anxiolytic prescriptions for the 15-18 year age group (IRR 1.62, 95% CI 1.30-2.02). LIMITATIONS There was a lack of reliable information regarding other interventions available or received at a primary, secondary or tertiary level such as psychological treatments. CONCLUSIONS There appears to be a preference over time for the recording of general symptoms over diagnosis for anxiety in CYP. The increase in anxiolytic prescriptions for 15-18 year olds is discrepant with current prescribing guidelines. Specific guidance is required for the assessment and management of CYP presenting with anxiety to primary care, particularly older adolescents.

A national population-based e-cohort of people with psychosis (PsyCymru) linking prospectively ascertained phenotypically rich and genetic data to routinely collected records: Overview, recruitment and linkage

PsyCymru was initially established as a proof of concept to investigate the feasibility of linking a prospectively ascertained, well-characterised (linked clinical cohort) of people with psychosis in Wales, UK with large amounts of anonymised routinely collected health record data. We are now additionally linking genetic data. PsyCymru aims to create a research platform and infrastructure for psychosis research in Wales by the establishment of two cohorts. The first is a well characterised clinically-assessed cohort of 490 individuals aged 16 and over, including genetic data. Consented individuals underwent a structured interview using a series of well-validated questionnaires and gave blood for the purpose of DNA extraction for sequencing and candidate gene identification. This data was linked to routinely collected health and social datasets with identity encryption used to protect privacy. The second is a much larger (12,097 individuals) but less well characterised population-based e-cohort of prevalent psychosis cases created using a previously validated algorithm applied to anonymised routine data. Both cohorts can be tracked prospectively and retrospectively using anonymised routinely collected electronic health and administrative data in the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank. This unique platform pools data together from multiple sources; linking clinical, psychological, biological, genetic and health care factors to address a wide variety of research questions. This resource will continue to expand over the coming years in size, breadth and depth of data, with continued recruitment and additional measures planned.

Using Anonymized, Routinely Collected Health Data in Wales to Estimate the Incidence of Depression After Burn Injury

Burn injuries are associated with depression. Patients show variable incidence of postburn depression. The purpose of this study was to use anonymized, routinely collected health-related data in Wales (United Kingdom) to estimate the incidence of depression postburns. The incidence of postburn depression was estimated using routinely collected health data of complete years (1999–2007) from all general practitioner surgeries in Swansea and all National Health Service hospitals in Wales. This had been collected, double encrypted, and stored at the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage databank of the Health Information Research Unit for Wales at College of Medicine, Swansea University. The incidence of depression within 5 years after the burn injury was 5.9% in patients registered with general practitioner surgeries in Swansea. The incidence was 7.4% in female patients and 4.3% in male patients. The incidence of depression within 5 years after the burn was 3.2% in patients admitted to National Health Service hospitals in Wales. The incidence was 4.5% in female patients and 2.6% in male patients. The advantages of using the anonymized, routinely collected data were avoiding bias, protecting patients’ confidentiality, including all patients thus minimizing attrition and greatly reduced costs. It is concluded that anonymized, routinely collected, health-related data may have value in monitoring postburn depression in Wales.

Premature mortality among people with severe mental illness — New evidence from linked primary care data

Studies assessing premature mortality in people with severe mental illness (SMI) are usually based in one setting, hospital (secondary care inpatients and/or outpatients) or community (primary care). This may lead to ascertainment bias. This study aimed to estimate standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality in people with SMI drawn from linked primary and secondary care populations compared to the general population. SMRs were calculated using the indirect method for a United Kingdom population of almost four million between 2004 and 2013. The all-cause SMR was higher in the cohort identified from secondary care hospital admissions (SMR: 2.9; 95% CI: 2.8-3.0) than from primary care (SMR: 2.2; 95% CI: 2.1-2.3) when compared to the general population. The SMR for the combined cohort was 2.6 (95% CI: 2.5-2.6). Cause specific SMRs in the combined cohort were particularly elevated in those with SMI relative to the general population for ill-defined and unknown causes, suicide, substance abuse, Parkinsons disease, accidents, dementia, infections and respiratory disorders (particularly pneumonia), and Alzheimers disease. Solely hospital admission based studies, which have dominated the literature hitherto, somewhat over-estimate premature mortality in those with SMI. People with SMI are more likely to die by ill-defined and unknown causes, suicide and other less common and often under-reported causes. Comprehensive characterisation of mortality is important to inform policy and practice and to discriminate settings to allow for proportionate interventions to address this health injustice.

Correction to: Risk of Adverse Outcomes for Older People with Dementia Prescribed Antipsychotic Medication: A Population Based e-Cohort Study

This article was originally published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), but has now been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The PDF and HTML versions of the paper have been modified accordingly.

Premature Mortality among People with Severe Mental Illness – New Evidence from Linked Primary Care Data

IntroductionStudies assessing premature mortality in people with severe mental illness (SMI) are often based in one setting, hospital (secondary care inpatients and/or outpatients) or community (primary care). This may lead to ascertainment bias. Objectives and ApproachThis study aimed to estimate standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality in people with SMI drawn from linked primary and secondary care populations compared to the general population. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated using the indirect method for a United Kingdom population of almost four million between 2004-2013. ResultsThe all-cause SMR was higher in the cohort identified from secondary care hospital admissions (SMR: 2.9; 95% CI: 2.8-3.0) than from primary care (SMR: 2.2; 95% CI: 2.1-2.3) when compared to the general population. The SMR for the combined cohort was 2.6 (95% CI: 2.5-2.6). Solely hospital admission based studies may somewhat over-estimate premature mortality in those with SMI. However, there is no doubt this remains a major health inequality. Cause specific SMRs in the combined cohort were particularly elevated in those with SMI relative to the general population for ill-defined and unknown causes, suicide, and substance abuse, as well as a number of other causes. Conclusion/ImplicationsThe ability to combine cohorts electronically from primary and secondary care is more representative of the whole population. Comprehensive characterisation of mortality is important to inform policy and practice and to discriminate settings to allow for proportionate interventions to address this health injustice.