Development of the early warning system on new synthetic drugs at public health level in Belgium

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Development of the early warning system on new synthetic drugs at public health level in Belgium

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Factors associated with excessive polypharmacy in older people

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;BACKGROUND: &lt;/b&gt;Older people are a growing population. They live longer, but often have multiple chronic diseases. As a consequence, they are taking many different kind of medicines, while their vulnerability to pharmaceutical products is increased. The objective of this study is to describe the medicine utilization pattern in people aged 65 years and older in Belgium, and to estimate the prevalence and the determinants of excessive polypharmacy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;METHODS: &lt;/b&gt;Data were used from the Belgian Health Interview Survey carried out in 2008. Each respondent was asked to show to the interviewer all medicines that he/she had taken in the 24 h prior to the interview. Excessive polypharmacy was defined as the use of nine different kind of medicines or more in the past 24 h; the relation with the Region of residence, age, gender and additional factors, such as socioeconomic status, living situation, health status and contacts with health services, was explored through multivariate models.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;RESULTS: &lt;/b&gt;Eight percent of the older people (65 years or more) belong to the excessive polypharmacy group. Factors most strongly associated with excessive polypharmacy are: having a longstanding illness, chronic condition or handicap, at least 1 contact with a general practitioner in past 2 months and self-reported depression during the last year. Ninety percent of persons in the excessive polypharmacy group are taking medicines active on the cardiovascular system.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONCLUSIONS: &lt;/b&gt;In order to optimize the use of medicines, it is necessary to find a balance between adequate treatment of diseases and avoiding adverse effects of medicines. Interventions should aim to increase awareness among healthcare professionals and patients; they should focus on general practitioners and patients with cardiovascular diseases, those suffering from depression and those aged 80 years and over. Monitoring excessive polypharmacy in the older population remains important. Further studies should explore more in depth other and more specific determinants of excessive polypharmacy.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Transformatie van het Belgisch Focal Point voor drugs en drugsverslaving in een Belgisch Waarnemingscentrum voor Drugs en Drugsverslaving: haalbaarheidstudie

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Transformatie van het Belgisch Focal Point voor drugs en drugsverslaving in een Belgisch Waarnemingscentrum voor Drugs en Drugsverslaving: haalbaarheidstudie

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Prevalence of drug-treated diabetes mellitus in Belgium: results of a study with the collaboration of a network of pharmacies

Within the framework of a European concerted action on diabetes mellitus (EURODIAB SubArea C), an epidemiological study was established in Belgium in 1990 in order to estimate the prevalence of drug-treated diabetes mellitus. An assessment was made of the sales of insulin and oral antidiabetic drugs and the average daily dose used. A sample of people with diabetes, clients of 107 pharmacies, provided the data to establish average daily doses. Those pharmacies, spread over the 9 provinces of the country, represent 2% of all private pharmacies in Belgium. Over a 2 month period each pharmacist presented a questionnaire to each client receiving an anti-diabetic drug. In 1990, 164 per 10,000 inhabitants were treated with antidiabetic drugs, which means that there were approximately 163,000 drug-treated diabetics in Belgium. At the time of the survey 65% of the diabetics in the sample were 60 years or older. Overall, 38% of drug-treated diabetics took insulin, and 30% of them took only human insulin. Treatment type varied by the province where the pharmacy was located. The provinces of Hainaut and Luxembourg-Namur had a higher percentage of diabetics on oral treatment. This is the first description in Belgium of the prevalence of drug-treated diabetes and of the pattern of prescribing of these drugs

A sentinel network of microbiological laboratories as a tool for surveillance of infectious diseases in Belgium

In the development of a surveillance programme for infectious diseases in Belgium, a national network of microbiological laboratories has been responsible, since February 1983, for the weekly registration of certain pathogenic agents. Thus, the main epidemiological features of a selected number of infections in Belgium can be characterized. © 1991, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe