Eating self-efficacy as predictor of long-term weight loss and obesity-specific quality of life after sleeve gastrectomy: A prospective cohort study

Under embargo until: 15.12.2019Background: A person's confidence to control eating, eating self-efficacy (ESE), has been identified as a target for long-term weight management in nonsurgical weight loss interventions, but has to a limited extent been studied after bariatric surgery. Objective: We investigated the association between ESE, weight loss, and obesity-specific quality of life (QOL) after sleeve gastrectomy (SG). Setting: A single-center longitudinal study. Methods: Data from adult patients were collected before SG, and at mean 16 months (±standard deviation 4 mo) and 55 (±4) months postoperatively. ESE was measured by the Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire Short-Form. Multiple regression analyses were performed with excess body mass index loss (%EBMIL) and obesity-specific QOL as dependent variables. Age, sex, and other preoperative values were covariates in all models. Results: Of 114 preoperative patients, 91 (80%) and 84 (74%) were available for follow-up 16 and 55 months after SG, respectively. Mean %EBMIL from baseline to 16 and 55 months was 76% (95% confidence interval: 71.9, 79.6) and 67% (95% confidence interval: 61.9, 72.2), respectively. Preoperative ESE scores improved significantly at both 16 and 55 months (P = .002) but did not predict postoperative %EBMIL or QOL at 55 months (β = −.08, P = .485). Greater change in ESE from 0 to 16 months predicted higher %EBMIL (β = .34, P = .013) at 55 months, and improvements in ESE from 0 to 55 months were significantly associated with higher %EBMIL (β = .46, P = .001) and obesity-specific QOL (β = .50, P < .001) 55 months after SG. Conclusion: Significant improvements in ESE were seen at 16 months, and remained high at 55 months after SG in this cohort. Patients who improved their ESE the most also experienced the highest weight loss and obesity-specific QOL 5 years postoperatively. Future research should address whether enhancement of ESE corresponds to sustained improvements in eating behavior after bariatric surgery.acceptedVersio

Selfreported health status, treatment decision and survival in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with aortic stenosis in a Western Norway population undergoing conservative treatment: a cross-sectional study with 18 months follow-up

Objectives: To investigate symptoms and self-reported health of patients conservatively treated for aortic stenosis (AS) and to identify factors associated with treatment decision and patient outcomes. Design: A cross-sectional survey with an 18-month follow-up. Setting: One tertiary university hospital in Western Norway. Participants: In all, 1436 patients were diagnosed with AS between 2000 and 2012, and those 245 still under conservative treatment in 2013 were included in this study. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Primary outcome measures were symptoms and self-reported health status. Secondary outcomes were treatment decision and patient survival after 18 months. Results: A total of 136 patients with mean (SD) age 79 (12) years, 52% men responded. Among conservatively treated patients 77% were symptomatic. The symptom most frequently experienced was dyspnoea. Symptomatic patients reported worse physical and mental health compared with asymptomatic patients (effect size 1.24 and 0.74, respectively). In addition, symptomatic patients reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression compared with asymptomatic patients. However, symptom status did not correlate with haemodynamic severity of AS. After 18 months, 117 (86%) were still alive, 20% had undergone surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) and 7% transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). When adjusting for age, gender, symptomatic status, severity of AS and European system for cardiac operative risk evaluation (EuroSCORE), patients with severe AS had more than sixfold chance of being scheduled for AVR or TAVI compared with those with moderate AS (HR 6.3, 95% CI 1.9 to 21.2, p=0.003). Patients with EuroSCORE ≥11 had less chance for undergoing AVR or TAVI compared with those with EuroSCORE ≤5 (HR 0.06, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.46, p=0.007). Conclusions: Symptoms affected both physical and mental health in conservatively treated patients with AS. Many patients with symptomatic severe AS are not scheduled for surgery, despite the recommendations in current guidelines. The referral practice for AVR is a path for further investigation.publishedVersio

Women's Initial Experiences and up to a Year in Retrospect of Their Life Situation With a Confirmed Takotsubo Syndrome Diagnosis: A Single Case Study Literature Review

Purpose: To describe women's initial experiences and up to a year in retrospect of their life situation with a confirmed Takotsubo syndrome (TS) diagnosis. Method: A single case study literature review based on nine articles published by nurses was analyzed deductively using a nursing life dimension model. Results: All but one case was conducted on the North American continent and TS had largely affected women with previous cardiac history and had been triggered by one or two stressful life events. The biophysical life dimension manifested in distinct and troublesome inconvenience and in retrospect in fretting and grievous ailments. The emotional dimension manifested in pronounced ways and attitude-related sensations, feelings or moods while the intellectual dimension manifested in an unmanageable world of thought. The spiritual–existential dimension manifested in a life-denying view of life and the socio-cultural dimension manifested in an asocial life. Conclusions: With TS best practice in mind and a person-centered care and holistic approach, comprehensive descriptions are needed of how women identify, interpret, and use knowledge to manage their life situation. Cardiac nurses need further comprehensive descriptions to implement actions. Prior to implementation of such programs, this knowledge needs to be disseminated among cardiac nurses and evaluated in international randomized controlled trials.publishedVersio

Quality of life in female myocardial infarction survivors: a comparative study with a randomly selected general female population cohort

Background: A substantial burden associated with MI has been reported. Thus, how survivors experience their quality of life (QOL) is now being given increasing attention. However, few studies have involved women and a comparison with the general population. The aims of this study were to determine the QOL of female MI survivors, to investigate whether their QOL differed from that of the general population, and to evaluate the clinical significance of the findings. Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were performed; on female MI survivors and the general Norwegian population. The MI survey included women aged 62–80 years, three months to five years after their MI. One hundred and forty-five women responded, yielding a response rate of 60%. A subset of women in the same age range (n = 156) was drawn from a study of 1893 randomly selected Norwegian citizens. QOL was measured in both groups with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument Abbreviated (WHOQOL-BREF). Results: The majority (54%) of the female MI survivors presented with ST-elevation in their ECG, 31% received thrombolysis, and 38% had reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. Female MI survivors reported significantly lower satisfaction with general health (p = 0.020) and overall QOL (p = 0.017) than women from the general population. This was also the case for the physical and environmental QOL domains (p < 0.001), but not for the psychological and social relationship domains. Estimated effect sizes between the two groups of participants ranged from 0.1 to -0.6. Conclusion: The burden of MI significantly affects the physical health of elderly women. Still, female MI survivors fare as well as the general female population on psychosocial QOL domains. Action should be taken not only to support women's physical needs but also to reinforce their strengths in order to maintain optimal QOL

How can we improve specialist health services for children with multi-referrals? Parent reported experience

Background Children with combined mental and somatic conditions pose a challenge to specialized health services. These cases are often characterized by multi-referrals, frequent use of health services, poor clinical and cost effectiveness, and a lack of coordination and consistency in the care. Reorganizing the health services offered to these children seems warranted. Patient reported experiences give important evidence for evaluating and developing health services. The aim of the present descriptive study was to explore how to improve specialist health services for children with multiple referrals for somatic and mental health conditions. Based on parent reported experiences of health services, we attempted to identify key areas of improvement. Methods As part of a larger, ongoing project; “Transitioning patients’ Trajectories”, we asked parents of children with multiple referrals to both somatic and mental health departments to provide their experiences with the services their children received. Parents/guardians of 250 children aged 6–12 years with multi-referrals to the Departments of Pediatrics and Child and Adolescent Mental Health at Haukeland University Hospital between 2013 and 2015 were invited. Their experience was collected through a 14 items questionnaire based on a generic questionnaire supplied with questions from parents and health personnel. Possible associations between overall experience and possible predictors were analyzed using bivariate regression. Results Of the 250 parents invited, 148 (59%) responded. Mean scores on single items ranged from 3.18 to 4.42 on a 1–5 scale, where five is the best possible experience. In the multiple regression model, perception of wait time (r = .56, CI = .44–.69 / β = 0.16, CI = .05–.28), accommodation of consultations (r = .71, CI = .62–.80 / β = 0.25, CI = .06–.45 / β = 0.27, CI = .09–.44), providing adequate information about the following treatment (r = .66, CI = .55–.77 / β = 0.26, CI = .09–.43), and collaboration between different departments at the hospital (r = .68, CI = .57–.78 / β = 0.20, CI = -.01–.40) were all statistically significantly associated with parents overall experience of care. Conclusions The study support tailored interdisciplinary innovations targeting wait time, accommodation of consultations, communication regarding the following treatment and collaboration within specialist health services for children with multi-referrals to somatic and mental specialist health care services.publishedVersio

Continuity of care and its associations with self-reported health, clinical characteristics and follow-up services after percutaneous coronary intervention

Aims Complexity of care in patients with coronary artery disease is increasing, due to ageing, improved treatment, and more specialised care. Patients receive care from various healthcare providers in many settings. Still, few studies have evaluated continuity of care across primary and secondary care levels for patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study aimed to determine multifaceted aspects of continuity of care and associations with socio-demographic characteristics, self-reported health, clinical characteristics and follow-up services for patients after PCI. Methods This multi-centre prospective cohort study collected data at baseline and two-month follow-up from medical records, national registries and patient self-reports. Univariable and hierarchical regressions were performed using the Heart Continuity of Care Questionnaire total score as the dependent variable. Results In total, 1695 patients were included at baseline, and 1318 (78%) completed the two-month follow-up. Patients stated not being adequately informed about lifestyle changes, medication and follow-up care. Those experiencing poorer health status after PCI scored significantly worse on continuity of care. Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction scored significantly better on informational and management continuity than those with other cardiac diagnoses. The regression analyses showed significantly better continuity (P ≤ 0.034) in patients who were male, received written information from hospital, were transferred to another hospital before discharge, received follow-up from their general practitioner or had sufficient consultation time after discharge from hospital. Conclusion Risk factors for sub-optimal continuity were identified. These factors are important to patients, healthcare providers and policy makers. Action should be taken to educate patients, reconcile discharge plans and organise post-discharge services. Designing pathways with an interdisciplinary approach and shared responsibility between healthcare settings is recommended.publishedVersio

Correlated physical and mental health composite scores for the RAND-36 and RAND-12 health surveys: can we keep them simple?

Background: The RAND-36 and RAND-12 (equivalent to versions 1 of the SF-36 Health Survey and SF-12 Health Survey, respectively) are widely used measures of health-related quality of life. However, there are diverging views regarding how to create the physical health and mental health composite scores of these questionnaires. We present a simple approach using an unweighted linear combination of subscale scores for constructing composite scores for physical and mental health that assumes these scores should be free to correlate. The aim of this study was to investigate the criterion validity and convergent validity of these scores. Methods: We investigated oblique and unweighted RAND-36/12 composite scores from a random sample of the general Norwegian population (N = 2107). Criterion validity was tested by examining the correlation between unweighted composite scores and weighted scores derived from oblique principal component analysis. Convergent validity was examined by analysing the associations between the different composite scores, age, gender, body mass index, physical activity, rheumatic disease, and depression. Results: The correlations between the composite scores derived by the two methods were substantial (r = 0.97 to 0.99) for both the RAND-36 and RAND-12. The effect sizes of the associations between the oblique versus the unweighted composite scores and other variables had comparable magnitudes. Conclusion: The unweighted RAND-36 and RAND-12 composite scores demonstrated satisfactory criterion validity and convergent validity. This suggests that if the physical and mental composite scores are free to be correlated, the calculation of these composite scores can be kept simple.publishedVersio

Rethinking rehabilitation after percutaneous coronary intervention: a protocol of a multicentre cohort study on continuity of care, health literacy, adherence and costs at all care levels (the CONCARD PCI )

Introduction: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) aims to provide instant relief of symptoms, and improve functional capacity and prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease. Although patients may experience a quick recovery, continuity of care from hospital to home can be challenging. Within a short time span, patients must adjust their lifestyle, incorporate medications and acquire new support. Thus, CONCARDPCI will identify bottlenecks in the patient journey from a patient perspective to lay the groundwork for integrated, coherent pathways with innovative modes of healthcare delivery. The main objective of the CONCARDPCI is to investigate (1) continuity of care, (2) health literacy and self-management, (3) adherence to treatment, and (4) healthcare utilisation and costs, and to determine associations with future short and long-term health outcomes in patients after PCI. Methods and analysis: This prospective multicentre cohort study organised in four thematic projects plans to include 3000 patients. All patients undergoing PCI at seven large PCI centres based in two Nordic countries are prospectively screened for eligibility and included in a cohort with a 1-year follow-up period including data collection of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) and a further 10-year follow-up for adverse events. In addition to PROs, data are collected from patient medical records and national compulsory registries. Ethics and dissemination: Approval has been granted by the Norwegian Regional Committee for Ethics in Medical Research in Western Norway (REK 2015/57), and the Data Protection Agency in the Zealand region (REG-145-2017). Findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and to patients through patient organisations. Trial registration number: NCT03810612

A proposed method to investigate reliability throughout a questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Questionnaires are used extensively in medical and health care research and depend on validity and reliability. However, participants may differ in interest and awareness throughout long questionnaires, which can affect reliability of their answers. A method is proposed for "screening" of systematic change in random error, which could assess changed reliability of answers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A simulation study was conducted to explore whether systematic change in reliability, expressed as changed random error, could be assessed using unsupervised classification of subjects by cluster analysis (CA) and estimation of intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The method was also applied on a clinical dataset from 753 cardiac patients using the Jalowiec Coping Scale.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The simulation study showed a relationship between the systematic change in random error throughout a questionnaire and the slope between the estimated ICC for subjects classified by CA and successive items in a questionnaire. This slope was proposed as an awareness measure - to assessing if respondents provide only a random answer or one based on a substantial cognitive effort. Scales from different factor structures of Jalowiec Coping Scale had different effect on this awareness measure.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Even though assumptions in the simulation study might be limited compared to real datasets, the approach is promising for assessing systematic change in reliability throughout long questionnaires. Results from a clinical dataset indicated that the awareness measure differed between scales.</p

Is sense of coherence a pathway for improving the quality of life of patients who grow up with chronic diseases? A hypothesis

A recent study indicated that the quality of life in adult patients with congenital heart disease was better than that of their healthy counterparts. A possible explanation for this is that these patients have a stronger sense of coherence than do their healthy counterparts. This enhanced sense of coherence develops in childhood through the successful application of generalized resistance resources. Here, we advance the hypothesis that sense of coherence may be a potential pathway for improving the quality of life in patients who grow up with a chronic health condition. This hypothesis needs to be tested in long-term longitudinal studies. If such studies can confirm the hypothesis, SOC can be an important target for interventions in childhood to improve patients' quality of life during adulthood.status: publishe