Demographics and health care seeking behavior of Singaporean women with chronic constipation: implications for therapeutic management

Kok Ann Gwee1,2, Sajita Setia31Gleneagles Hospital, 2Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS), 3Janssen, Johnson and Johnson Pte Ltd, SingaporeIntroduction: Chronic constipation is significantly more prevalent in women than men in Singapore. We carried out a survey to study patient demographics, symptom prevalence, healthcare-seeking behavior, and patient satisfaction with available treatment options in women with chronic constipation.Methods: Responses were collected predominantly via a web-based survey from a panel representative of Singapore's women population. Eligibility was established using a nine-question screener.Results: A total of 1006 invited females took part in an online screener survey, of which 911 respondents did not meet the eligibility requirements for the chronic constipation survey. Of the total panelists consenting to participate (via both online and face-to-face interviews), 100 women met eligibility requirements and took the 22-question survey. Eligible respondents were skewed to younger patients but well mixed in terms of marital status. The majority of them were not keen on doing exercise and were working women, especially white collar females. The majority complained of straining and hard stools as the most common constipation symptoms (88% and 80% respectively) and rated constipation symptoms as severe or moderate. On average, respondents experienced constipation symptoms for 6 to 7 months in the last year. In more than two-thirds of respondents, constipation symptoms were frequent (at least 1 in 3 times). Most of the patients had attempted to treat constipation themselves and 80% had tried laxatives before visiting the doctor. Satisfaction with fiber supplements and laxatives was average and many of the users were not satisfied with their effect. Ineffectiveness and prolonged time taken for the treatment to take effect were the most common reasons for dissatisfaction. Nearly all respondents (97%) were interested in considering alternative prescriptive medication that is proven more effective.Conclusion: Chronic constipation symptoms in women are often severe and bothersome, and many patients are dissatisfied with available treatment options primarily because of lack of efficacy.Keywords: chronic constipation, demographics, health-care, laxative

Nonadherence to statins:individualized intervention strategies outside the pill box

Poor adherence to statin therapy is linked to significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events and death. Unfortunately, adherence to statins is far from optimal. This is an alarming concern for patients prescribed potentially life-saving cholesterol-lowering medication, especially for those at high risk of cardiovascular events. Research on statin adherence has only recently garnered broader attention; hence, major reasons unique to adherence to statin therapy need to be identified as well as suggestions for countermeasures. An integrated approach to minimizing barriers and enhancing facilitation at the levels of the patient, provider, and health system can help address adherence issues. Health care professionals including physicians, pharmacists, and nurses have an obligation to improve patient adherence, as routine care. In order to achieve sustained results, a multifaceted approach is indispensable

Doctors' knowledge, attitudes, and compliance with 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines for prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in Singapore

PURPOSE: There is an unmet need for strategies to prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in Singapore. The main objective of this study was to investigate Singapore physicians’ response to the 2013 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines for treatment of cholesterol and their impact on clinical practice. METHODS: This survey was conducted in two stages, qualitative and quantitative. Physicians were initially screened on the basis of an initial screener questionnaire, and eligible physicians were then included in the study. RESULTS: Qualitative (n=19) and quantitative (n=66) surveys were completed by eligible physicians from Singapore. Physicians were less familiar with the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines (35%) as compared with the Singapore Ministry of Health (MoH) lipid guidelines 2006 (49%). Of the physicians whose opinion was sought on the ACC/AHA guidelines, more than 50% disagreed with the definition of high-, moderate-, and low-intensity statin therapy; recommendation of atorvastatin 40–80 mg and rosuvastatin 20–40 mg as medications for high-intensity statin therapy; and classification of individuals who would benefit from moderate- to high-intensity statin therapy. Most physicians assumed that Asians may be intolerant to high-intensity statin therapy. CONCLUSION: Although embracing the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines in clinical practice is expected to provide better clinical care to patients, our study revealed high reluctance by physicians, especially in the use of high-dose statins. However, ACC/AHA guidelines can be easily adopted in Asia as there is a wealth of data available for atorvastatin in primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with similar efficacy and safety profiles in the white and Asian populations

Doctors' knowledge, attitudes, and compliance with 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines for prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in Singapore.

PurposeThere is an unmet need for strategies to prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in Singapore. The main objective of this study was to investigate Singapore physicians' response to the 2013 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines for treatment of cholesterol and their impact on clinical practice.MethodsThis survey was conducted in two stages, qualitative and quantitative. Physicians were initially screened on the basis of an initial screener questionnaire, and eligible physicians were then included in the study.ResultsQualitative (n=19) and quantitative (n=66) surveys were completed by eligible physicians from Singapore. Physicians were less familiar with the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines (35%) as compared with the Singapore Ministry of Health (MoH) lipid guidelines 2006 (49%). Of the physicians whose opinion was sought on the ACC/AHA guidelines, more than 50% disagreed with the definition of high-, moderate-, and low-intensity statin therapy; recommendation of atorvastatin 40-80 mg and rosuvastatin 20-40 mg as medications for high-intensity statin therapy; and classification of individuals who would benefit from moderate- to high-intensity statin therapy. Most physicians assumed that Asians may be intolerant to high-intensity statin therapy.ConclusionAlthough embracing the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines in clinical practice is expected to provide better clinical care to patients, our study revealed high reluctance by physicians, especially in the use of high-dose statins. However, ACC/AHA guidelines can be easily adopted in Asia as there is a wealth of data available for atorvastatin in primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with similar efficacy and safety profiles in the white and Asian populations

Generating fit-for-purpose real-world evidence in Asia: How far are we from closing the gaps?

Evidence generated by randomized controlled trials (RCTs) does not often represent the patient journey and clinical outcomes in the real world due to limited external validity or generalizability. Studies based on real-world data are intended to generalize results to the broader population; however, if the influence of external factors or confounders is not effectively managed, the cause-and-effect relationship and internal validity may be challenged, resulting in flawed results. The collection of quality real-world evidence (RWE) is crucial in Asia as there is often an underrepresentation of Asian populations in RCTs. In addition, few countries in Asia are catching up with the Western world in issuing practical foundational principles and guidance for conducting and adopting evidence for regulatory and reimbursement decisions. However, privacy and data protection laws are generally lagging behind technological developments in electronic medical records. While leveraging RWE in clinical and regulatory decision-making holds excellent potential, collective efforts across industry, governments, and research institutions are required for generating standardized practices and building capabilities for developing fit-for-purpose RWE in Asia

Contemporary Databases in Real-world Studies Regarding the Diverse Health Care Systems of India, Thailand, and Taiwan: Protocol for a Scoping Review

BackgroundReal-world data (RWD) related to patient health status or health care delivery can be broadly defined as data collected outside of conventional clinical trials, including those from databases, treatment and disease registries, electronic medical records, insurance claims, and information directly contributed by health care professionals or patients. RWD are used to generate real-world evidence (RWE), which is increasingly relevant to policy makers in Asia, who use RWE to support decision-making in several areas, including public health policy, regulatory health technology assessment, and reimbursement; set priorities; or inform clinical practice. ObjectiveTo support the achievement of the benefits of RWE in Asian health care strategies and policies, we sought to identify the linked contemporary databases used in real-world studies from three representative countries—India, Thailand, and Taiwan—and explore variations in results based on these countries’ economies and health care reimbursement systems by performing a systematic scoping review. Herein, we describe the protocol and preliminary findings of our scoping review. MethodsThe PubMed search strategy covered 3 concepts. Concept 1 was designed to identify potential RWE and RWD studies by applying various Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms (“Treatment Outcome,” “Evidence-Based Medicine,” “Retrospective Studies,” and “Time Factors”) and related keywords (eg, “real-world,” “actual life,” and “actual practice”). Concept 2 introduced the three countries—India, Taiwan, and Thailand. Concept 3 focused on data types, using a combination of MeSH terms (“Electronic Health Records,” “Insurance, Health,” “Registries,” “Databases, Pharmaceutical,” and “Pharmaceutical Services”) and related keywords (eg, “electronic medical record,” “electronic healthcare record,” “EMR,” “EHR,” “administrative database,” and “registry”). These searches were conducted with filters for language (English) and publication date (publications in the last 5 years before the search). The retrieved articles will undergo 2 screening phases (phase 1: review of titles and abstracts; phase 2: review of full texts) to identify relevant and eligible articles for data extraction. The data to be extracted from eligible studies will include the characteristics of databases, the regions covered, and the patient populations. ResultsThe literature search was conducted on September 27, 2022. We retrieved 3,172,434, 1,094,125, and 672,794 articles for concepts 1, 2, and 3, respectively. After applying all 3 concepts and the language and publication date filters, 2277 articles were identified. These will be further screened to identify eligible studies. Based on phase 1 screening and our progress to date, approximately 44% (1003/2277) of articles have undergone phase 2 screening to judge their eligibility. Around 800 studies will be used for data extraction. ConclusionsOur research will be crucial for nurturing advancement in RWD generation within Asia by identifying linked clinical RWD databases and new avenues for public-private partnerships and multiple collaborations for expanding the scope and spectrum of high-quality, robust RWE generation in Asia. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/4374

Cancer incidence and mortality trends in Asia based on regions and human development index levels: an analyses from GLOBOCAN 2020

As Asian countries transition socially and economically to higher Human Development Index (HDI) levels, cancer trends are expected to shift to those seen in the Western World. A strong correlation also exists between HDI levels and age-standardized rates (ASR) for the incidence and mortality of cancer. However, there are very few reports on the trends in Asian countries, particularly in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). In this study, we have investigated the relationship between socioeconomic developments in Asia (determined using HDI levels of countries) and cancer incidence and mortality in these nations. The GLOBOCAN 2020 database was used to study the cancer incidence and mortality data for all cancers combined and those most commonly diagnosed in Asia. The difference in data was analyzed based on region and HDI level. Further, the predictions for cancer incidence and mortality in 2040 according to the GLOBOCAN 2020 were analyzed using the updated HDI stratification described in the UNDP 2020 report. Asia has the highest cancer burden compared to the other regions worldwide. Lung cancer carries the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the region. Inequitable distribution of cancer incidence and mortality is seen across regions and HDI levels in Asia. Inequalities in cancer incidence and mortality can only be expected to increase unless innovative and cost-effective interventions are urgently implemented. An effective cancer management plan is needed in Asia, particularly in LMICs, prioritizing effective cancer prevention and control measures for health systems.</p