Prevalence of psychological distress in elderly hypertension patients in primary care

Background Recent guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention advocate the importance of psychological risk factors, as they contribute to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, most previous research on psychological distress and cardiovascular factors has focused on selected populations with cardiovascular disease. Aim The primary aim was to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and Type D personality in elderly primary care patients with hypertension. Secondary aim was to examine the relation between elevated systolic blood pressure and depression, anxiety, and Type D personality. Design and Setting A cross-sectional study in primary care practices located in the south of the Netherlands. Method Primary care hypertension patients (N =605), between 60 and 85 years (45 % men, mean age=70±6.6), were recruited for this study. All patients underwent a structured interview including validated self-report questionnaires to assess depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), and Type D personality (DS14) as well as blood pressure assessment. Results and Conclusion Depression was prevalent in 5 %, anxiety in 5 %, and Type D personality in 8 %. None of the distress measures were associated with elevated systolic blood pressure of >160 mmHg (all p-values >0.05). This study showed no relation between psychological distress and elevated systolic blood pressure in elderly primary care patients with hypertension

Symptoms associated with an abnormal echocardiogram in elderly primary care hypertension patients

Background The prevalence and diagnostic value of heart failure symptoms in elderly primary care patients with hypertension is unknown. Aim To assess the prevalence, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of symptoms in association with an abnormal echocardiogram. Design and setting Cross-sectional screening study in five general practices in the south-east of the Netherlands. Method Between June 2010 and January 2013, 591 primary care hypertension patients aged between 60 and 85 years were included, without known heart failure and not treated by a cardiologist. All patients underwent an echocardiogram and a structured interview including assessment of heart failure symptoms: shortness of breath, fatigue, oedema, cold extremities, and restless sleep. Results and conclusion Restless sleep was reported by 25 %, cold extremities by 23%, fatigue by 19 %, shortness of breath by 17 %, and oedema by 13 %. Oedema was the only symptom significantly associated with an abnormal echocardiogram (positive predictive value was 45 %, sensitivity 20 %, and specificity 90 %, OR 2.12; 95 % CI=1.23-3.64), apart from higher age (OR 1.06; 95 % CI=1.03-1.09), previous myocardial infarction (OR 3.00; 95 % CI=1.28-7.03), and a systolic blood pressure of >160 mmHg (OR 1.62; 95 % CI= 1.08-2.41). Screening with echocardiography might be considered in patients with oedema

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of transmural collaborative care with consultation letter (TCCCL) and duloxetine for major depressive disorder (MDD) and (sub)chronic pain in collaboration with primary care: design of a randomized placebo-controlled multi-Centre trial: TCC:PAINDIP

__Abstract__ Background: The comorbidity of pain and depression is associated with high disease burden for patients in terms of disability, wellbeing, and use of medical care. Patients with major and minor depression often present themselves with pain to a general practitioner and recognition of depression in such cases is low, but evolving. Also, physical symptoms, including pain, in major depressive disorder, predict a poorer response to treatment. A multi-faceted, patient-tailored treatment programme, like collaborative care, is promising. However, treatment of chronic pain conditions in depressive patients has, so far, received limited attention in research. Cost effectiveness of an integrated approach of pain in depressed patients has not been studied. This article describes the aims and design of a study to evaluate effects and costs of collaborative care with the antidepressant duloxetine for patients with pain symptoms and a depressive disorder, compared to collaborative care with placebo and compared to duloxetine alone

Age- and gender-specific brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) reference ranges in primary care

Background:  Chronic heart failure is a common disease with a high morbidity and mortality. In primary care, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is used for excluding heart failure. The Dutch and European Society of Cardiology heart failure guidelines apply two BNP cut-off levels without making distinction for gender and age. The aim of our study was to establish BNP reference ranges for use in primary care. Methods:  We investigated BNP values of 9447 eligible subjects in a primary care laboratory. For establishing the reference ranges in various age and gender classes we used the Bhattacharya method. Results:  Analysis of variance demonstrated that BNP data were significantly dependent on age and gender (p<0.001 and p=0.002, respectively), with the age effect being the strongest. Further, we found that the reference ranges were significantly higher than the cut-off values used in the heart failure guidelines, particularly in elderly subjects. For example, the proportion of individuals with a BNP value higher than the 29 pmol/L cut-off increased from approximately 5% in the youngest group to no less than about 50% in the oldest subjects. Conclusions:  BNP reference ranges need to be age- and gender-specific. When applying a single cut-off, many healthy subjects, especially the elderly, would be falsely diagnosed as having elevated BNP, and referred for further unnecessary diagnostics.Keywords: Bhattacharya statistics; brain natriuretic peptide (BNP); chronic heart failure; primary care; reference range

Beta-blockers and depression in elderly hypertension patients in primary care

Background and Objectives: Previous findings regarding a possible association between beta-blocker use and depression are mixed. To our knowledge there have been no studies investigating the association of beta-blockers with depression in primary care hypertension patients without previous myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between lipophilic beta-blocker use and depression in elderly primary care patients with hypertension. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in primary care practices located in the South of The Netherlands. Primary care hypertension patients without previous myocardial infarction or heart failure (n=573), aged between 60 and 85 years (mean age=70±6.6), were included. All patients underwent a structured interview that included a self-report questionnaire to assess depression (PHQ-9), which was divided in four groups (PHQ-9 score of 0, 1–3, 4–8, 9 or higher). Results: A PHQ-9 score of 0 was more prevalent in non-beta-blocker users versus lipophilic beta-blocker users (46% versus 35%), a PHQ-9 score of 4–8 was less prevalent in non-beta-blocker users as compared with lipophilic beta-blocker users (14% versus 25%). A chi-squared test showed that lipophilic beta-blocker users as compared to non-beta-blockers users were more likely to be in a higher depression category. Ordinal regression showed a significant relationship between use of lipophilic beta-blockers and depression (OR=1.60, 95% CI=1.08–2.36) when adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusions: Our findings show that primary care hypertension patients who use a lipophilic beta-blocker are more likely to have higher depression scores than those who do not use a lipophilic beta-blocker

Factors influencing short-term effectiveness and efficiency of the care provided by Dutch general practice mental health professionals

Introduction: This study examined whether factors related to general practice mental health professionals (GP-MHPs), that is, characteristics of the professional, the function, and the care provided, were associated with short-term effectiveness and efficiency of the care provided by GP-MHPs to adults in Dutch general practice.Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among 320 adults with anxiety or depressive symptoms who had an intake consultation with GP-MHPs (n = 64). Effectiveness was measured in terms of change in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) 3 months after intake; and efficiency in terms of net monetary benefit (NMB) at 3-month follow-up. A range of GP-MHP-related predictors and patient-related confounders was considered.Results: Patients gained on average 0.022 QALYs at 3-month follow-up. The mean total costs per patient during the 3-month follow-up period ((sic)3,864; 95% confidence interval [CI]: (sic)3,196-(sic)4,731) decreased compared to that during the 3 months before intake ((sic)5,220; 95% CI: (sic)4,639-(sic)5,925), resulting largely from an increase in productivity. Providing mindfulness and/or relaxation exercises was associated with QALY decrement. Having longer work experience as a GP-MHP (&gt;= 2 years) and having 10-20 years of work experience as a mental health care professional were negatively associated with NMB. Furthermore, a higher number of homework exercises tended to be related to less efficient care. Finally, being self-employed and being seconded from an organization in which primary care and mental health care organizations collaborate were related to a positive NMB, while being seconded from a mental health organization tended towards such a relationship.Conclusions: Findings seem to imply that the care provided by GP-MHPs contributes to improving patients' functioning. Some GP-MHP-related characteristics appear to influence short-term effectiveness and efficiency of the care provided. Further research is needed to confirm and better explain these findings and to examine longer-term effects.</p