Establishing Cohorts to Generate the Evidence Base to Reduce the Burden of Breast Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa: Results From a Feasibility Study in Kenya

Purpose: By 2025, Kenya is estimated to experience a two-thirds increase in the incidence of breast cancer. Local research is necessary to generate evidence to inform policy, public health, and medical practice. There have been no longitudinal cohort studies in sub-Saharan Africa of women with and without breast cancer. Our aim is to assess the feasibility of conducting cohort studies in Kenya that consider clinical characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and self-care behaviors. Methods: We initiated a short-term follow-up cohort study of women with and without a diagnosis of breast cancer with baseline face-to-face data collection and one follow-up interview (at approximately 3 months by telephone). We developed tailored instruments to capture demographics, socioeconomic factors, breast cancer risk, ability to identify breast cancer symptoms, treatments received for breast cancer, and quality of life of survivors. Results: We recruited 800 women between the ages of 20 and 60 years and successfully collected baseline data. Completeness of the data was high for demographic variables, but there was a larger proportion of missing information for specific variables required for assessing breast cancer risk. Respondents were able to complete standardized instruments to assess breast cancer knowledge among those without breast cancer and identification of symptoms among survivors. We were able to successfully contact approximately 80% of the participants for follow-up. Conclusion: This short-term follow-up study provides evidence that women can be successfully tracked and contacted for follow-up in the Kenyan setting and offers lessons to establish future longitudinal cohorts to identify approaches to improve breast cancer outcomes

Cost-effectiveness of risk stratified medication management for reducing premature cardiovascular mortality in Kenya.

BackgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major contributor to the burden from non-communicable diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa and hypertension is the leading risk factor for CVD. The objective of this modeling study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of a risk stratified approach to medication management in Kenya in order to achieve adequate blood pressure control to reduce CVD events.MethodsWe developed a microsimulation model to evaluate CVD risk over the lifetime of a cohort of individuals. Risk groups were assigned utilizing modified Framingham study distributions based on individual level risk factors from the Kenya STEPwise survey which collected details on blood pressure, blood glucose, tobacco and alcohol use and cholesterol levels. We stratified individuals into 4 risk groups: very low, low, moderate and high risk. Mortality could occur due to acute CVD events, subsequent future events (for individual who survive the initial event) and other causes. We present cost and DALYs gained due to medication management for men and women 25 to 69 years.ResultsTreating high risk individuals only was generally more cost-effective that treating high and moderate risk individuals. At the anticipated base levels of effectiveness, medication management was only cost-effective under the low cost scenario. The incremental cost per DALY gained with low cost ranged from $1,505 to$3,608, which is well under $4,785 (3 times GPD per capita) threshold for Kenya. Under the low cost scenario, even lower levels of effectiveness of medication management are likely to be cost-effective for high-risk men and women.ConclusionsIn Kenya, our results indicate that the risk stratified approach to treating hypertension may be cost-effective especially for men and women at a high risk for CVD events, but these results are highly sensitive to the cost of medications. Medication management would require significant financial investment and therefore other interventions, including lifestyle changes, should be evaluated especially for those with elevated blood pressure and overall 10-year risk that is less than 20%

Stroke Mortality in Kenya\u27s Public Tertiary Hospitals: A Prospective Facility-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing global burden of stroke, there are limited data on stroke from Kenya to guide in decision-making. Stroke occurrence in sub-Saharan Africa has been associated with poor health outcomes. This study sought to establish the stroke incidence density and mortality in Kenya\u27s leading public tertiary hospitals for purposes of informing clinical practice and policy. METHODS: This is a prospective study conducted at Kenya\u27s leading referral hospitals, namely, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH). Adult patients with confirmed cases of stroke were recruited from February 2015 to January 2016 and followed up for a minimum period of 1 year. The WHO 2006 Stroke STEPS instrument was used to collect data on incidence and mortality at days 10 and 28 and every 3 months for 24 months. The person-time of follow-up was computed from admission to death, loss to follow-up, or the end of the study. A survival regression analysis was done using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: A total of 719 patients were recruited (KNH: n = 406 [56.5%]; MTRH: n = 313 [43.5%]). The mean age was 58.6 ± 18.7 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 1: 1.4. Ischemic stroke accounted for 56.1% of the stroke cases. The peak age for stroke was between 50 and 69 years, when 36.3% of the cases occurred. Mortality at day 10 and day 28 was 18.4 and 26.7%, respectively. The inpatient mortality rate was 21.6%. The stroke incidence density was 507 deaths per 1,000 person-years of follow-up. The mean survival time was significantly different between inpatients (13.9 months; 95% CI: 13.0-14.7) and outpatients (18.6 months; 95% CI: 17.2-19.9) (p \u3c 0.001). A 1-year increase in age increased the hazard by 1.8%. Inpatients had a 3.9-fold increase in hazard compared to outpatients. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality due to stroke is high, with poor survival observed in the first year after stroke. The risk of death increases with increasing age and duration of hospital stay. There is need for attention to quality of care and long-term needs of stroke patients to mitigate the high mortality rates observed. Public health initiatives aimed at early screening and diagnosis should be enhanced. Further research is recommended to establish the true burden of stroke at the community level to inform appropriate mitigation measures

Stroke Mortality in Kenya’s Public Tertiary Hospitals: A Prospective Facility-Based Study

Background: Despite the increasing global burden of stroke, there are limited data on stroke from Kenya to guide in decision-making. Stroke occurrence in sub-Saharan Africa has been associated with poor health outcomes. This study sought to establish the stroke incidence density and mortality in Kenya’s leading public tertiary hospitals for purposes of informing clinical practice and policy. Methods: This is a prospective study conducted at Kenya’s leading referral hospitals, namely, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH). Adult patients with confirmed cases of stroke were recruited from February 2015 to January 2016 and followed up for a minimum period of 1 year. The WHO 2006 Stroke STEPS instrument was used to collect data on incidence and mortality at days 10 and 28 and every 3 months for 24 months. The person-time of follow-up was computed from admission to death, loss to follow-up, or the end of the study. A survival regression analysis was done using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: A total of 719 patients were recruited (KNH: n = 406 [56.5%]; MTRH: n = 313 [43.5%]). The mean age was 58.6 ± 18.7 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 1: 1.4. Ischemic stroke accounted for 56.1% of the stroke cases. The peak age for stroke was between 50 and 69 years, when 36.3% of the cases occurred. Mortality at day 10 and day 28 was 18.4 and 26.7%, respectively. The inpatient mortality rate was 21.6%. The stroke incidence density was 507 deaths per 1,000 person-years of follow-up. The mean survival time was significantly different between inpatients (13.9 months; 95% CI: 13.0–14.7) and outpatients (18.6 months; 95% CI: 17.2–19.9) (p < 0.001). A 1-year increase in age increased the hazard by 1.8%. Inpatients had a 3.9-fold increase in hazard compared to outpatients. Conclusions: Mortality due to stroke is high, with poor survival observed in the first year after stroke. The risk of death increases with increasing age and duration of hospital stay. There is need for attention to quality of care and long-term needs of stroke patients to mitigate the high mortality rates observed. Public health initiatives aimed at early screening and diagnosis should be enhanced. Further research is recommended to establish the true burden of stroke at the community level to inform appropriate mitigation measures

Disability-Adjusted Life-Years Due to Stroke in Kenya.

BACKGROUND: There is little information on stroke morbidity in Kenya to inform health care planning. The disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) are a time-based measure of health status that incorporates both disability and mortality. METHODS: This was a multicenter prospective study in Kenya\u27s public tertiary hospitals conducted in 2015-2017. Data on sex, age, and global disability outcome were collected and used to calculate the sum of years of life lost prematurely due to stroke (YLL), the years of healthy life lost due to disability (YLD), and the DALYs. RESULTS: Up to 719 adult stroke patients participated in the study. The peak age group for stroke was 60-64 years, with ischemic stroke accounting for 56.1% of the stroke cases. After 1-year follow-up, the YLD were 2,402.50, YLL were 5,335.99, and the DALYs were 7,738.49. YLD contributed 31% of the total DALYs. The DALYs varied by sex (male: 2,835.79; female: 4,902.70 years) and by stroke type (ischemic stroke: 4,652.98; hemorrhagic stroke: 3,085.51). The young age group (\u3c 45 years) bore a greater burden accounting for 35.6% of the total DALYs. CONCLUSION: The YLD, YLL, and DALYs observed reinforce the need for targeted prevention of risk factors and comprehensive stroke care initiatives in Kenya

Stroke distribution patterns and characteristics in Kenya\u27s leading public health tertiary institutions: Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases are the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Kenya. However, there is limited clinic-epidemiological data on stroke to inform decision making. This study sought to establish stroke distribution patterns and characteristics in patients seeking care at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), with the ultimate aim of establishing the first national stroke registry in Kenya. METHODS: This was a prospective multicentre cohort study among stroke patients. The study used a modified World Health Organisation STEP-wise approach to stroke surveillance tool in collecting data on incidence, major risk factors and mortality rate. The Cochran\u27s Mantel-Haenszel chisquared test of conditional independence was used with p-value set at 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 691 patients with confirmed stroke were recruited [KNH 406 (males: 40.9%; females: 59.1%); MTRH 285 (males: 44.6%; females: 55.4%) ] and followed over a 12-month period. Overall, ischaemic stroke accounted for 55.6% of the stroke cases, with women being the most affected (57.5%). Mortality rate at day 10 was 18.0% at KNH and 15.5% at MTRH, and higher in the haemorrhagic cases (20.3%). The most common vascular risk factors were hypertension at 77.3% (males: 75.7%; females: 78.5%), smoking at 16.1% (males: 26.6% females: 8.3%) and diabetes at 14.9% (males: 15.7%; females: 14.4%). Ischaemic stroke was conditionally independent of gender after adjusting for age. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge this is the first pilot demonstration establishing a stroke registry in sub-Saharan Africa and clearly establishes feasibility for this approach. It also has utility to both inform and potentially guide public policy and public health measures on stroke in Kenya. Important and unexpected observations included the preponderance of women affected by cerebrovascular disease and that cigarette smoking was the second most common risk factor. The latter, over time, will further impact on the clinico-epidemiological profile of cerebrovascular disease in Kenya

Cost and affordability of non-communicable disease screening, diagnosis and treatment in Kenya: Patient payments in the private and public sectors.

The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rising in low- and middle-income countries, including Kenya, disproportionately to the rest of the world. Our objective was to quantify patient payments to obtain NCD screening, diagnosis, and treatment services in the public and private sector in Kenya and evaluate patients' ability to pay for the services.We collected payment data on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, breast and cervical cancer, and respiratory diseases from Kenyatta National Hospital, the main tertiary public hospital, and the Kibera South Health Center-a public outpatient facility, and private sector practitioners and hospitals. We developed detailed treatment frameworks for each NCD and used an itemization cost approach to estimate payments. Patient affordability metrics were derived from Kenyan government surveys and national datasets. Results compare public and private costs in U.S. dollars. NCD screening costs ranged from $4 to$36, while diagnostic procedures, particularly for breast and cervical cancer, were substantially more expensive. Annual hypertension medication costs ranged from $26 to$234 and $418 to$987 in public and private facilities, respectively. Stroke admissions ($1,874 versus$16,711) and dialysis for chronic kidney disease ($5,338 versus$11,024) were among the most expensive treatments. Cervical and breast cancer treatment cost for stage III (curative approach) was about $1,500 in public facilities and more than$7,500 in the private facilities. A large proportion of Kenyans aged 15 to 49 years do not have health insurance, which makes NCD services unaffordable for most people given the overall high cost of services relative to income (average household expenditure per adult is $413 per annum).There is substantial variation in patient costs between the public and private sectors. Most NCD diagnosis and treatment costs, even in the public sector, represent a substantial economic burden that can result in catastrophic expenditures

Patient costs of managing complications of hypertension and diabetes (2017 US dollars).

<p>Patient costs of managing complications of hypertension and diabetes (2017 US dollars).</p