Olga Laszczyńska

Alcohol consumption in Mozambique: regular consumption, weekly pattern and binge drinking

This study aimed to describe alcohol consumption in Mozambique, discriminating binge drinking behaviour and the weekday variation in drinking patterns, and to quantify the association between socio-demographic characteristics and alcohol intake. A representative sample of 3265 Mozambicans aged 25-64 years was evaluated in 2005 following the World Health Organization Stepwise approach to Chronic Disease Risk Factor Surveillance (STEPS). The consumption of any type of alcoholic beverage, during life and in the previous year, was recorded. Current drinkers were also asked about the number of standard drinks consumed in each day of the previous week. The overall prevalence of current drinking was 28.9% [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 22.6-35.2] in women and 57.7% (95% CI: 49.8-65.7) in men. Forty percent of the current drinkers reported to have had at least one binge drinking occasion in the previous week. The prevalence of current drinking increased with age and education among women and with income among men. No consistent pattern was observed in binge drinking by education in both genders and by annual income among men, but it was significantly less frequent among the more affluent women. Both drinking and binge drinking peaked at the weekend. Knowing the drinking patterns in Mozambique enables the planning of interventions according to the local needs. Future surveys should also include non-adult populations as risk factors for chronic diseases occurs as early as childhood and adolescence, and are associated with increased risk of disease later in life.

Prognostic value of worsening renal function in outpatients with chronic heart failure

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Renal function impairment predicts poor survival in heart failure. Attention has recently shifted to worsening renal function, based mostly on serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate. We assessed the prognostic effect of worsening renal function in ambulatory heart failure patients. METHODS Data from 306 ambulatory patients were abstracted from medical files. Worsening renal function was based on the change in estimated glomerular filtration rate, serum creatinine and urea within 6 months of referral. Prognosis was assessed by the composite endpoint all-cause death or heart failure hospitalization, censored at 2 years. Hazard ratios were estimated for worsening renal function, adjusted for sex, age, diabetes, New York Heart Association class, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, medications and baseline renal function. RESULTS The agreement among definitions was fair, with kappa coefficients generally not surpassing 0.5. Worsening renal function was associated with poor outcome with adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of 3.2 (1.8-5.9) for an increase of serum creatinine >0.3mg/dl; 2.2 (1.3-3.7) for an increase in serum urea >20mg/dl and 1.9 (1.1-3.3) for a decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate >20%, independent of baseline renal function. The 2-year risk of death/heart failure hospitalization was approximately 50% in patients with an increase in serum creatinine or in serum urea; this positive predictive value was higher than for decreasing estimated glomerular filtration rate. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, worsening renal function was significantly associated with a worse outcome. Different definitions identified different patients at risk and increasing creatinine/urea performed better than decreasing estimated glomerular filtration rate.

Higher BMI in heart failure patients is associated with longer survival only in the absence of diabetes.

Aims Obesity and diabetes are associated with an increased cardiovascular risk and mortality. Paradoxically, higher BMI is associated with longer survival in heart failure patients. The association between BMI and risk of death in heart failure patients depends on diabetes history. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study on 503 ambulatory systolic heart failure patients attending a heart failure clinic, based on abstraction of data from clinical records. Patients were compared according to diabetes history. BMI was analyzed as a continuous variable and dichotomized using 25 kg/m2 as cut-off. Patients’ follow-up was censored at 5 years and all-cause death was the endpoint under study. Results The median age was 69 years and 68% were men; 184 (36.6%) patients had diabetes upon referral. During follow-up, 95 nondiabetic and 69 diabetic patients died. Higher BMI was associated with longer survival in the whole sample, but this association was only reproduced in the subgroup of patients without diabetes [hazard ratio = 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.89–0.98 per kg/m2 vs. hazard ratio = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.94–1.04 in diabetic patients; P for interaction = 0.009]. BMI below 25 kg/m2 increased the risk of death by 1.90-fold (95% CI: 1.23–2.94) with a null association in diabetic patients (P for interaction = 0.012). The association between BMI and mortality in nondiabetic heart failure patients was independent of other predictors of prognosis. Conclusion The reported obesity paradox in heart failure can only be observed in nondiabetic patients.

Disability-adjusted life years lost due to ischemic heart disease in mainland Portugal, 2013

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Estimates of the burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD), including geographic differences, should support health policy decisions. We set out to estimate the burden of IHD in mainland Portugal in 2013 by calculating disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and to compare this burden between five regions. METHODS Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated by multiplying the number of IHD deaths in 2013 (Statistics Portugal) by the life expectancy at the age at which death occurred. Years lived with disability (YLDs) were computed as the number of cases of acute coronary syndrome, stable angina and ischemic heart failure multiplied by an average disability weight. Crude and age-standardized DALYs (direct method, Standard European Population) were calculated for mainland Portugal and for the Northern, Central, Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve regions. RESULTS In 2013, 95413 DALYs were lost in mainland Portugal due to IHD. YLLs accounted for 88.3% of the disease burden. Age-standardized DALY rates per 1000 population were higher in men than in women, across the entire country (8.9 in men; 3.4 in women) and within each region, ranging from 7.3 in the Northern and Central regions to 11.8 in the Algarve in men, and from 2.6 in the Northern region to 4.6 in Lisbon in women. CONCLUSIONS Nearly 100000 DALYs were lost to IHD in Portugal, mostly through early mortality. This study enables accurate comparisons with other countries and between regions; however, it highlights the need for population-based studies to obtain specific data on morbidity.

Validity of the Seattle Heart Failure Model for prognosis in a population at low coronary heart disease risk.

Aim Validation of the Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM) for predicting the risk of death in a population different than the derivation cohort. Methods In a retrospective analysis of a cohort of chronic heart failure patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction, consecutively referred between 2000 and 2011, we computed the score, according to characteristics at referral. We compared the observed risk of death with that predicted by the model, using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to assess discrimination and a goodness-of-fit test for the comparison of predicted and observed risks. Results In 565 patients, 68.5% were men, the median age was 70 years, 46.0% had ischemic cause, 89.7% moderate–severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction and 61.2% New York Heart Association class II. The risk of death increased progressively with the models score, with an area under the ROC curve between 0.69 and 0.72 when considering different follow-up periods. The model underestimated the risk of death (observed vs. predicted: 12.2 vs. 10.4%, P < 0.001; 28.1 vs. 25.1%, P < 0.001; and 43.4 vs. 35.7%, P < 0.001 at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively). Accurate predictions, with nonsignificant differences between observed and predicted risks in a goodness-of-fit test, were obtained after recalibration. Conclusion In this study, the SHFM substantially underestimated the absolute risk of death in ambulatory chronic heart failure patients, mostly nonischemic and elderly. After adjustment for sample-specific circumstances, the recalibrated model demonstrated to be credible in clinical practice and may provide useful information to physicians.

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: Should we submit patients without angina to coronary angiography?

a Servico de Medicina Interna, Centro Hospitalar de Sao Joao, Porto, Portugal, Servico de Cardiologia, Centro Hospitalar de Sao Joao, Porto, Portugal, UniC — Unidade de investigacao e Desenvolvimento Cardiovascular, Porto, Portugal b EPIUnit — Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (ISPUP), Porto, Portugal c Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal

Missed Opportunities in Symptomatic Patients before a First Acute Coronary Syndrome: The EPIHeart Cohort Study

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the proportion of patients with a first episode of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) reporting preceding chest pain, having previously sought medical care and undergone the performance of exams, and to identify the determinants of seeking medical advice and undergoing electrocardiogram (ECG). Methods: Within a cohort study, 690 patients with a first episode of ACS were evaluated. A questionnaire was applied to assess chest pain within the preceding 6 months of the event and health system resources utilization. Determinants were identified by logistic regression. Results: Preceding chest pain was reported by 61% of patients, 43% of these sought medical help, of whom less than half underwent ECG, and in 39% pain was attributed to a problem of the heart. Patients with hypertension were more likely to seek medical care (adjusted odds ratio, OR, 2.13, 95% CI 1.29-3.51), and former smokers (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.28-0.99) and patients of a higher social class (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.05-0.48) were less likely to seek medical care. The performance of ECG was associated with male sex (OR 2.56, 95% CI 1.11-5.87), health subsystem coverage (OR 3.88, 95% CI 1.11-13.53), and living in the northeastern region (OR 9.07, 95% CI 4.07-20.24), whereas cognitive impairment (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.15-0.92) and being employed (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.14-0.97) were inversely associated. Conclusions: These results suggest there are opportunities to improve the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia before acute coronary events.

Trends in pharmacological therapy following an acute coronary syndrome in Portugal: a systematic review.

Aims To assess time trends in the use of main drug classes for secondary prevention, during hospitalization and at hospital discharge, following an acute coronary syndrome, in Portugal, using a systematic review. Methods We searched PubMed, from inception until 2012, to identify studies reporting the proportion of acute coronary syndrome patients treated with main pharmacological therapy. We used linear regression to quantify the annual variation in use of drugs, adjusting for the proportion of men in the sample and patients’ mean age, and including a quadratic term of data collection year when relevant. Results In 25 eligible studies, including patients treated from 1993 to 2009, we observed an increase in the prescription of pharmacological treatments at hospital discharge. Extrapolating from these data, and assuming a mean patient age of 65 years and 70% of men, we estimate that in 2008, 95% of patients would have been discharged with aspirin, 92% with clopidogrel, 82% with &bgr;-blockers, 80% with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and 91% with statins. Treatment during hospitalization followed a similar pattern, except for a steeper increase in angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors use, which was initially lower, but reached similar levels to those at discharge in recent years. Conclusion In Portugal, there was an increase in the use of recommended pharmacological therapy for secondary prevention after an acute coronary syndrome over the last 15 years, during hospitalization and at hospital discharge.

Quality of Care and 30-day Mortality of Women and Men With Acute Myocardial Infarction

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Despite increased awareness of sex disparities in care and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), there appears to have been no consistent attenuation of these differences over the last decade. We investigated differences by sex in management and 30-day mortality using the European Society of Cardiology Acute Cardiovascular Care Association quality indicators (QIs) for AMI. METHODS Proportions and standard errors of the 20 Acute Cardiovascular Care Association QIs were calculated for 771 patients with AMI who were admitted to the cardiology departments of 2 tertiary hospitals in Portugal between August 2013 and December 2014. The association between the composite QI and 30-day mortality was derived from logistic regression. RESULTS Significantly fewer eligible women than men received timely reperfusion, were discharged on dual antiplatelet therapy and high-intensity statins, and were referred to cardiac rehabilitation. Women were less likely to receive recommended interventions (59.6% vs 65.2%; P <.001) and also had higher mean GRACE 2.0 risk score-adjusted 30-day mortality (3.0% vs 1.7%; P <.001). An inverse association between the composite QI and crude 30-day mortality was observed for both sexes (OR, 0.08; 95%CI, 0.01-0.64 for the highest performance tertile vs the lowest). CONCLUSIONS Performance in AMI management is worse for women than men and is associated with higher 30-day mortality, which is also worse for women. Evidence-based QIs have the potential to improve health care delivery and patient prognosis in the overall AMI population and may also bridge the disparity gap between women and men.

Sex-related inequalities in management of patients with acute coronary syndrome-results from the EURHOBOP study

Real‐world data from different levels of hospital specialisation would help to understand if differences in management between women and men with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are still a priority target. We aimed to identify sex inequalities in management of patients with different types of ACS.