Severe Atopic Dermatitis In Spain: A Real-Life Observational Study

Objective: To determine the epidemiology and characterize the treatment prescribed for severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in children/adults in usual clinical practice. Methods: Observational, retrospective study made through review of medical records of Spanish patients aged >= 6 years. Patients diagnosed with severe AD who required care between 2013 and 2017 were included. The study groups were: 6-12 years; 13-18 years; and > 18 years. Patients were followed for 5 years. The main measurements were the prevalence of AD, comorbidity and treatment duration. Statistical significance was established as p <0.05. Results: We included 2323 patients with severe AD. The overall prevalence was 0.10% (95% CI: 0.09-0.11%) and was 0.39%, 0.23% and 0.07% in the 6-12 years, 13-18 years and >18 years age groups, respectively (p <0.001), the percentage of males was 58%, 48.6% and 39%, respectively, and general comorbidity was 0.1, 0.2 and 0.9 points, respectively (p <0.001).The most frequent comorbidities were asthma in 49.0%, 44.9% and 20.8%, respectively (p <0.001), and anxiety in 79.7%, 65.8% and 67.3%, respectively (p <0.001). Oral corticosteroids were administered in 97.3%, 90.9% and 81.7%, respectively (concomitant-medication). Cyclosporine (45.3%), azathioprine (15.9%) and methotrexate (9.0%) were the most frequently prescribed drugs; biologic agents were administered in 5.8% of patients (for AD). Conclusion: In AD the presence of comorbidities was significant, especially in the psychological, immunoallergic and cardiovascular areas. Cyclosporine was the most widely used immunosuppressant. There was a degree of variability in the use and duration of the treatments prescribed

The effects of non-adherence on health care utilisation:panel data evidence on uncontrolled diabetes

Despite size and relevance of non-adherence to health treatments, robust evidence on its effects on health care utilisation is very limited. We focus on non-adherence to diabetes treatments, a widespread problem, and employ longitudinal administrative data from Spain (2004-2010) to identify and quantify the effects of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes on health care utilisation. We use a biomarker (glycated haemoglobin, HbA1c) to detect the presence of uncontrolled diabetes and explore its effects on both primary and secondary health care. We estimate a range of panel count data models, including negative binomials with random effects, dynamic and hurdle specifications to account for unobserved heterogeneity, previous utilisation and selection. We find uncontrolled diabetes in around 30% of patients of both genders. Although women appear to systematically consume more health care compared to men, their consumption levels do not appear to be influenced by uncontrolled diabetes. Conversely, among men uncontrolled diabetes increases the average number of GP visits per year by around 4%, specialist visits by 4.4% and greatly extends hospital length of stay

The influence of BMI, obesity and overweight on medical costs: a panel data approach

This paper estimates the impact of BMI, obesity and overweight on direct medical costs. We apply panel data econometrics and use a two-part model with a longitudinal dataset of medical and administrative records of patients in primary and secondary healthcare centres in Spain followed up over seven consecutive years (2004- 2010). Our findings show a positive and statistically significant impact of BMI, obesity and overweight on annual medical costs after accounting for data restrictions, diferent subsamples of individuals and various econometric approaches

Uncontrolled diabetes and health care utilisation: panel data evidence from Spain

Despite size and relevance of uncontrolled diabetes, robust evidence on its effects on health care utilisation is very limited, especially among European countries. We employed longitudinal administrative data from Spain (2004-2010) to explore the relationship between uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and health care utilisation. We used a biomarker (glycated haemoglobin, HbA1c) to detect the presence of uncontrolled diabetes and explore its effects on both primary and secondary health care. We estimated a range of panel count data models, including negative binomials with random effects, dynamic and hurdle specifications to account for unobserved heterogeneity, previous utilisation and selection. We found uncontrolled diabetes in between 27-30% of patients of both genders. Our estimates suggested that although women appeared to systematically consume more health care compared to men, their consumption levels did not seem to be influenced by uncontrolled diabetes. Conversely, among men uncontrolled diabetes increased the average number of GP visits per year by between 3-3.4%, specialist visits by 5.3-6.1%, depending on specifications, and also extended annual hospital length of stay by 15%. We also found some evidence of heterogeneity in utilisation based on the level of uncontrolled diabetes among male individuals. Overall, our results suggested the need for different diabetes management plans depending on gender and levels of glycaemic control

The influence of obesity and overweight on medical costs: a panel data perspective

This paper estimates the increase of direct medical costs of both severe and moderate obesity and overweight with respect to a normal-weight individual using a two-part generalised linear model and a longitudinal dataset of medical and administrative records of patients in primary and secondary healthcare centres followed up over seven consecutive years (2004-2010) in Spain. Our findings indicate that severe and moderate obesity imposes a substantial burden on the Spanish healthcare system. Specifically, being severely obese is associated with increases in medical costs of 26% (IV estimate: 34%) compared to a normal-weight individual. The effects of moderate obesity and overweight are more modest raising medical costs by 16% (IV estimate: 29%) and 8.5% (IV estimate: 23%), respectively. These changes in costs are slightly higher for those patients below the median age and for the women. Notwithstanding, the effects found in this study are comparatively much lower than that reported for the US, based basically on a private healthcare system and characterised by a more obese population

Uncontrolled diabetes and health care utilisation:panel data evidence from Spain

Despite size and relevance of uncontrolled diabetes, robust evidence on its effects on health care utilisation is very limited, especially among European countries. We employed longitudinal administrative data from Spain (2004–2010) to explore the relationship between uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and health care utilisation. We used a biomarker (glycated haemoglobin, HbA1c) to detect the presence of uncontrolled diabetes and explore its effects on both primary and secondary health care. We estimated a range of panel count data models, including negative binomials with random effects, dynamic and hurdle specifications to account for unobserved heterogeneity, previous utilisation and selection. We found uncontrolled diabetes in between 27 and 30% of patients of both genders. Our estimates suggested that although women appeared to systematically consume more health care compared to men, their consumption levels did not seem to be influenced by uncontrolled diabetes. Conversely, among men uncontrolled diabetes increased the average number of GP visits per year by between 3 and 3.4%, specialist visits by 5.3–6.1%, depending on specifications, and also extended annual hospital length of stay by 15%. We also found some evidence of heterogeneity in utilisation based on the level of uncontrolled diabetes among male individuals. Overall, our results suggested the need for different diabetes management plans depending on gender and levels of glycaemic control

Relationship between obesity and antipsychotic drug use in the adult population: A longitudinal, retrospective claim database study in Primary Care settings

Antoni Sicras-Mainar1, Ruth Navarro-Artieda2, Javier Rejas-Guti&amp;eacute;rrez3, Milagrosa Blanca-Tamayo41Planning Management, Badalona Serveis Assistencials S.A., Badalona, Barcelona, Spain; 2Medical Documentation Service, Hospital Germans Tr&amp;iacute;as i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain; 3Health Outcomes Research Derpartment, Medical Unit, Pfizer Spain, Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain; 4Department of Psychiatry, Badalona Serveis Assistencials S.A., Badalona, Barcelona, SpainObjective: To describe the association between obesity and the use of antipsychotic drugs (APDs) in adult outpatients followed-up on in five Primary Care settings.Methods: A longitudinal, retrospective design study carried out between July 2004 and June 2005, in patients who were included in a claim database and for whom an APD treatment had been registered. A body mass index (BMI) &amp;lt;30 kg/m2 was defined as obesity. The main measurements were: use of APDs, demographics, medical background and co-morbidities, and clinical parameters. Logistic regression analysis and ANCOVA with Bonferroni adjustment were applied to correct the model.Results: A total of 42,437 subjects (mean age: 50.8 (18.4) years; women: 54.5%; obesity: 27.3% [95% confidence intervals (CI), 26.9%&amp;ndash;27.7%]) were analyzed. A total of 1.3% of the patients were receiving APDs, without statistical differences in distribution by type of drug (typical: 48.8%; atypical: 51.2%). Obesity was associated with the use of APDs [OR = 1.5 (CI: 1.3&amp;ndash;1.8)], hypertension [OR = 2.4 (CI: 2.2&amp;ndash;2.5)], diabetes [OR = 1.4 (CI: 1.3&amp;ndash;1.5)] and dyslipidemia [OR = 1.3 (CI: 1.2&amp;ndash;1.4)], p &amp;lt; 0.0001 in all cases. BMI was significantly higher in subjects on APDs; 28.8 vs. 27.3 kg/m2, p = 0.002, and remained higher after adjusting by age and sex (mean difference 0.4 (CI: 0.1&amp;ndash;0.7), p &amp;lt; 0.01). After adjusting by age, sex and the Charlson index, obese subjects generated higher average annual total costs than nonobese subjects; 811 (CI: 787&amp;ndash;835) vs. 694 (CI: 679&amp;ndash;709), respectively, p &amp;lt; 0.001.Conclusions: Obesity was associated with the use of APDs, regardless of the type of drug, and with the presence of hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia. Obesity was also associated with substantially higher health care costs.Keywords: Obesity, claim database, retrospective study, antipsychotic use, Primary Care setting, resources utilization, health care cost

Perfil de uso de recursos y costes en pacientes que demandan atención por fibromialgia o trastorno de ansiedad generalizada en el ámbito de la atención primaria de salud

ResumenObjetivodeterminar el perfil de uso de servicios y costes en pacientes que demandan atención por fibromialgia (FM) o trastorno de ansiedad generalizada (TAG) en atención primaria (AP).Diseñoestudio retrospectivo-multicéntrico.Emplazamientocinco centros de AP urbanos, gestionados por Badalona Serveis Assistencials.Participantespacientes mayoresde 18 años atendidos durante 2006. Se formó un grupo de referencia/poblacional con el resto de los pacientes.Principales medicionesgenerales, casuística/comorbilidad, utilización de recursos sanitarios y costes ambulatorios (visitas, procedimientos diagnósticos/terapéuticos y medicamentos). Análisis: regresión logística y ANCOVA.Resultadosse atendió a 63.349 pacientes. El 1,4% (intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%, 0,6%–2,2%) presentó FM y el 5,3% (IC del 95%, 4,5%–6,1%), TAG. El promedio de episodios atendidos/año y el de visitas realizadas/año fueron mayores en el grupo de FM que en el de TAG y que en el grupo poblacional (8,3 frente a 7,2 y 4,6 episodios/año; 12,9 frente a 12,1 y 7,4 visitas/año; p<0,001). La FM mostró relación con mujeres (odds ratio [OR]=16,8), dislipemia (OR=1,5) y síndrome depresivo (OR=3,9) (p<0,001), y el TAG, con la edad (OR=1,1), mujeres (OR=2,2), hipertensión arterial (OR=1,3), dislipemia (OR=1,2), fumadores (OR=1,4), síndrome depresivo (OR=1,2) y evento cardiovascular (OR=1,3) (p<0,02). El coste directo medio/anual corregido por edad, sexo y comorbilidades fue de 555,58 euros en el grupo de referencia, 817,37 euros en TAG y 908,67 euros en FM (p<0,001).Conclusioneslos pacientes que requirieron atención por FM o TAG muestran un importante uso de recursos y costes sanitarios en el ámbito de la AP de salud. Los sujetos con TAG se asocian a un elevado número de comorbilidades.AbstractObjectiveTo determine the use of services and costs in patients with Fibromyalgia (FM) or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) followed up in Primary Care (PC).DesignA retrospective multicenter population-based study.SettingFive primary care clinics managed by Badalona Health Service.ParticipantsPatients over 18 years seen in the 5 PC centers during the year 2006. Patients with and without GAD/FM were compared.MeasurementsMain outcomes measures were general, case/co-morbidity, health care use and primary care cost (visits, diagnostic/therapeutic tests and drugs). Statistical analysis: logistic regression and ANCOVA (P<.05).ResultsThere was a total of 63,349 patients, 1.4% (95% CI, 0.6%–2.2%) had a diagnosis of FM, and 5.3% (95% CI, 4.5%–6.1%) GAD. The average episodes/year and visits /year was higher in FM group compared to GAD group, with a marked difference observed vs. the reference group (8.3 vs. 7.2 and 4.6 episodes/year; and 12.9 vs. 12.1 and 7.4 visits/year; P<.001). FM was shown to be related to female gender (odds ratio [OR]=16.8), dyslipidemia (OR=1.5), and depressive syndrome (OR=3.9) (P<.001 in all cases). GAD was related to age (OR=1.1), female gender (OR=2.2), high blood pressure (OR=1.3), dyslipidemia (OR=1.2), smoking (OR=1.4), depressive syndrome (OR=1.2), and cardiovascular events (OR=1.3) (P<.02 in all cases). After adjusting for age, gender and co-morbidities, mean annual direct ambulatory cost was 555.58€ for the reference group, 817.37€ for GAD, and 908.67€ for FM (P<.001).ConclusionsCompared with reference group, a considerable use of health resources and costs was observed in patients with FM or TAG in medical practice in PC settings

Relationship between efficiency and clinical effectiveness indicators in an adjusted model of resource consumption : a cross-sectional study

Background: Adjusted clinical groups (ACG®) have been widely used to adjust resource distribution; however, the relationship with effectiveness has been questioned. The purpose of the study was to measure the relationship between efficiency assessed by ACG® and a clinical effectiveness indicator in adults attended in Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs). Methods: Research design: cross-sectional study. Subjects: 196, 593 patients aged >14 years in 13 PHCs in Catalonia (Spain). Measures: Age, sex, PHC, basic care team (BCT), visits, episodes (diagnoses), and total direct costs of PHC care and co-morbidity as measured by ACG® indicators: Efficiency indices for costs, visits, and episodes (costs EI, visits EI, episodes EI); a complexity or risk index (RI); and effectiveness measured by a general synthetic index (SI). The relationship between EI, RI, and SI in each PHC and BCT was measured by multiple correlation coefficients (r). Results: In total, 56 of the 106 defined ACG® were present in the study population, with five corresponding to 44.5% of the patients, 11 to 68.0% of patients, and 30 present in less than 0.5% of the sample. The RI in each PHC ranged from 0.9 to 1.1. Costs, visits, and episodes had similar trends for efficiency in six PHCs. There was moderate correlation between costs EI and visits EI (r = 0.59). SI correlation with episodes EI and costs EI was moderate (r = 0.48 and r = −0.34, respectively) and was r = −0.14 for visits EI. Correlation between RI and SI was r = 0.29. Conclusions: The Efficiency and Effectiveness ACG® indicators permit a comparison of primary care processes between PHCs. Acceptable correlation exists between effectiveness and indicators of efficiency in episodes and costs