130 research outputs found

    Clinical records anonymisation and text extraction (CRATE): an open-source software system.

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    BACKGROUND: Electronic medical records contain information of value for research, but contain identifiable and often highly sensitive confidential information. Patient-identifiable information cannot in general be shared outside clinical care teams without explicit consent, but anonymisation/de-identification allows research uses of clinical data without explicit consent. RESULTS: This article presents CRATE (Clinical Records Anonymisation and Text Extraction), an open-source software system with separable functions: (1) it anonymises or de-identifies arbitrary relational databases, with sensitivity and precision similar to previous comparable systems; (2) it uses public secure cryptographic methods to map patient identifiers to research identifiers (pseudonyms); (3) it connects relational databases to external tools for natural language processing; (4) it provides a web front end for research and administrative functions; and (5) it supports a specific model through which patients may consent to be contacted about research. CONCLUSIONS: Creation and management of a research database from sensitive clinical records with secure pseudonym generation, full-text indexing, and a consent-to-contact process is possible and practical using entirely free and open-source software.The project was funded in part by the UK National Institute of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. The work was conducted within the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, supported by the Wellcome Trust and the UK Medical Research Council

    Accessibility and efficiency of mental health services, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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    ProblemMental ill health in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been a major driver of labour market exclusion through sickness absence, reduced productivity and job loss.ApproachA government-supported programme for improving access to psychological therapies was launched in 2008 and expanded across England in 2010. The aim was to provide evidence-based treatments for people with common mental disorders through three principal strategies: (i) routine session-by-session outcome monitoring; (ii) integration with the wider care system; and (iii) delivery of psychological therapies as part of a stepped-care approach.Local settingAccess to effective psychological therapies was previously low in the United Kingdom. In 2010, only about 35% of people with moderately severe mental disorders were in specialist or non-specialist treatment.Relevant changesThe accessibility of quality mental health services has increased, as has the efficiency of the country's mental health system. The numbers of people entering treatment have increased steadily from 0.43 million in 2012-2013 to 1.09 million in 2018-2019. The recovery rate of patients in treatment increased from 42.8% to 52.1% during 2012-2018. The number of people moved off sick pay and benefits rose from 3683 to 18 039 over the same period.Lessons learntA clinical guideline on psychological therapies is a prerequisite for increasing the accessibility and efficiency of mental health services. An integrated approach allows mental health services to have better reach. Routine collection of patient-level outcome data plays an important role in the value and function of the mental health care system

    Effects of lesions of the nucleus accumbens core on choice between small certain rewards and large uncertain rewards in rats

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    BACKGROUND: Animals must frequently make choices between alternative courses of action, seeking to maximize the benefit obtained. They must therefore evaluate the magnitude and the likelihood of the available outcomes. Little is known of the neural basis of this process, or what might predispose individuals to be overly conservative or to take risks excessively (avoiding or preferring uncertainty, respectively). The nucleus accumbens core (AcbC) is known to contribute to rats' ability to choose large, delayed rewards over small, immediate rewards; AcbC lesions cause impulsive choice and an impairment in learning with delayed reinforcement. However, it is not known how the AcbC contributes to choice involving probabilistic reinforcement, such as between a large, uncertain reward and a small, certain reward. We examined the effects of excitotoxic lesions of the AcbC on probabilistic choice in rats. RESULTS: Rats chose between a single food pellet delivered with certainty (p = 1) and four food pellets delivered with varying degrees of uncertainty (p = 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125, and 0.0625) in a discrete-trial task, with the large-reinforcer probability decreasing or increasing across the session. Subjects were trained on this task and then received excitotoxic or sham lesions of the AcbC before being retested. After a transient period during which AcbC-lesioned rats exhibited relative indifference between the two alternatives compared to controls, AcbC-lesioned rats came to exhibit risk-averse choice, choosing the large reinforcer less often than controls when it was uncertain, to the extent that they obtained less food as a result. Rats behaved as if indifferent between a single certain pellet and four pellets at p = 0.32 (sham-operated) or at p = 0.70 (AcbC-lesioned) by the end of testing. When the probabilities did not vary across the session, AcbC-lesioned rats and controls strongly preferred the large reinforcer when it was certain, and strongly preferred the small reinforcer when the large reinforcer was very unlikely (p = 0.0625), with no differences between AcbC-lesioned and sham-operated groups. CONCLUSION: These results support the view that the AcbC contributes to action selection by promoting the choice of uncertain, as well as delayed, reinforcement

    Mental health outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the United States: A national cross-sectional study.

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    Funder: NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research CentreFunder: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)BACKGROUND: Worsening of anxiety and depressive symptoms have been widely described during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be hypothesized that vaccination could link to reduced symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. However, to date, no study has assessed this. This study aims to examine anxiety and depressive symptoms after vaccination in US adults, meanwhile test sociodemographic disparities in these outcomes. METHODS: Data from the January 6-June 7 2021, cross-sectional Household Pulse Survey were analyzed. Using survey-weighted logistic regression, we assessed the relationships between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and anxiety and/or depressive symptoms, both on overall and sociodemographic subgroups. We controlled for a variety of potential socioeconomic and demographic confounding factors. RESULTS: Of the 453,167 participants studied, 52.2% of the participants had received the COVID-19 vaccine, and 26.5% and 20.3% of the participants reported anxiety and depression, respectively. Compared to those not vaccinated, the vaccinated participants had a 13% lower odds of anxiety (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.85, 95%CI 0.83-0.90) and 17% lower odds of depression (AOR = 0.83, 95%CI 0.79-0.85). Disparities on the above associations were identified in age, marital status, education level, ethnic/race, and income level, but not on gender. LIMITATIONS: The causal inference was not able to be investigated due to the cross-sectional study design. CONCLUSION: Being vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 was associated with lower odds of anxiety and/or depressive symptoms. While those more middle-aged or more affluent, were more likely to show these negative associations, the contrary was observed in ethnic minorities and those with lower educational attainment. More strategic and demography-sensitive public health communications could perhaps temper these issues

    Association between antipsychotic/antidepressant drug treatments and hospital admissions in schizophrenia assessed using a mental health case register.

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    BACKGROUND: The impact of psychotropic drug choice upon admissions for schizophrenia is not well understood. AIMS: To examine the association between antipsychotic/antidepressant use and time in hospital for patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: We conducted an observational study, using 8 years' admission records and electronically generated drug histories from an institution providing secondary mental health care in Cambridgeshire, UK, covering the period 2005-2012 inclusive. Patients with a coded ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia were selected. The primary outcome measure was the time spent as an inpatient in a psychiatric unit. Antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs used by at least 5% of patients overall were examined for associations with admissions. Periods before and after drug commencement were compared for patients having pre-drug admissions, in mirror-image analyses correcting for overall admission rates. Drug use in one 6-month calendar period was used to predict admissions in the next period, across all patients, in a regression analysis accounting for the effects of all other drugs studied and for time. RESULTS: In mirror-image analyses, sulpiride, aripiprazole, clozapine, and olanzapine were associated with fewer subsequent admission days. In regression analyses, sulpiride, mirtazapine, venlafaxine, and clozapine-aripiprazole and clozapine-amisulpride combinations were associated with fewer subsequent admission days. CONCLUSIONS: Use of these drugs was associated with fewer days in hospital. Causation is not implied and these findings require confirmation by randomized controlled trials.RNC was supported by the Wellcome Trust. EFE was supported by a NARSAD Young Investigator Award. The CPFT Research Database was supported by the UK National Institute of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. The work was conducted within the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, supported by the Wellcome Trust and the UK Medical Research Council.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npjschz.2015.3
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