Occupational burden of disease in the Netherlands

Ongunstige arbeidsomstandigheden veroorzaken 3,9% (onzekerheidsmarge 1,5%-7,2%) van de totale ziektelast in Nederland. De ziektelast is een maat om het verlies aan gezondheid uit te drukken. Het combineert vroegtijdige sterfte, de mate van vóórkomen van gezondheidsproblemen en de ernst van de gezondheidsproblemen. De ongunstige arbeidsomstandigheden die leiden tot de meeste ongezondheid zijn werkdruk, beeldschermwerk en blootstelling aan stoffen. Deze omstandigheden kunnen leiden tot burn-out, depressie, KANS (klachten van arm, nek en schouder), COPD (chronisch obstructieve longziekten) en longkanker. In het rapport is de positieve invloed van arbeid op de gezondheid niet meegenomen. Ook in 2020 veroorzaken burn-out, depressie en KANS veel ziektelast in de werkzame beroepsbevolking, bij ongewijzigde economische omstandigheden, een pensioengerechtigde leeftijd van 65 jaar en bij ongewijzigd (arbo)beleid. In 2007 heeft het RIVM voor het eerst laten zien welke arbeidsgerelateerde aandoeningen veel ziektelast in Nederland veroorzaken met gegevens uit 2003. Het huidige rapport biedt een hernieuwde versie met data uit 2007, evenals een toekomstverkenning en een verkenning van de ziektelast per sector. Deze schattingen geven beleidsmakers inzicht in de invloed van arbeidsrisico's op de gezondheid van werknemers. Deze benadering geeft ook aanknopingspunten voor maatregelen om de ziektelast door deze aandoeningen te verminderen.Occupational health risks cause 3.9% (uncertainty 1.5%-7.2%) of the total burden of disease in the Netherlands. The concept of burden of disease is a measure to express the loss of health. It combines the time lost due to premature mortality, prevalence and seriousness of the health problems. A high workload, working with a computer and exposure to harmful chemicals are the most unfavourable working conditions leading to health problems. They contribute most to the occupational burden of disease caused by: burn-out, depression, complaints of arm, neck and shoulder (CANS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. The health benefits of work were not included in this report. In 2020, burn-out, depression and CANS also cause a high burden of disease in the working population, considering unchanged economical conditions, a retirement age of 65 and unchanged health and safety policy. In 2007, the RIVM showed for the first time which occupational conditions contributed most to the burden of disease in 2003. The current report provides an update of the occupational burden of disease with data from 2007, as well as a forecast to 2020 and an exploration of the burden of disease per occupational sector. These estimates give policy makers insight in the influence of occupational risks on the health of employees. The data offer starting points for measures to reduce the burden of disease caused by these complaints.SZ

Overdetection, overtreatment and costs in prostate-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer

Background:Prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has shown to reduce prostate cancer mortality in the European Randomised study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) trial. Overdetection and overtreatment are substantial unfavourable side effects with consequent healthcare costs. In this study the effects of introducing widespread PSA screening is evaluated.Methods:The MISCAN model was used to simulate prostate cancer growth and detection in a simulated cohort of 100 000 men (European standard population) over 25 years. PSA screening from age 55 to 70 or 75, with 1, 2 and 4-year-intervals is simulated. Number of diagnoses, PSA tests, biopsies, treatments, deaths and corresponding costs for 100 000 men and for United Kingdom and United States are compared.Results:Without screening 2378 men per 100 000 were predicted to be diagnosed with prostate cancer compared with 4956 men after screening at 4-year intervals. By introducing screening, the costs would increase with 100% to \[euro]60 695 000. Overdetection is related to 39% of total costs (\[euro]23 669 000). Screening until age 75 is relatively most expensive because of the costs of overtreatment.Conclusion:Introduction of PSA screening will increase total healthcare costs for prostate cancer substantially, of which the actual screening costs will be a small part

Predictors of Long-Term Care Utilization by Dutch Hospital Patients aged 65+

Background Long-term care is often associated with high health care expenditures. In the Netherlands, an ageing population will likely increase the demand for long-term care within the near future. The development of risk profiles will not only be useful for projecting future demand, but also for providing clues that may prevent or delay long-term care utilization. Here, we report our identification of predictors of long-term care utilization in a cohort of hospital patients aged 65+ following their discharge from hospital discharge and who, prior to hospital admission, were living at home. Methods The data were obtained from three national databases in the Netherlands: the national hospital discharge register, the long-term care expenses register and the population register. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to determine which variables were the best predictors of long-term care utilization. The model included demographic characteristics and several medical diagnoses. The outcome variables were discharge to home with no formal care (reference category), discharge to home with home care, admission to a nursing home and admission to a home for the elderly. Results The study cohort consisted of 262,439 hospitalized patients. A higher age, longer stay in the hospital and absence of

Cost-effectiveness of opportunistic screening and minimal contact psychotherapy to prevent depression in primary care patients

Background: Depression causes a large burden of disease worldwide. Effective prevention has the potential to reduce that burden considerably. This study aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of minimal contact psychotherapy, based on Lewinsohn's 'Coping with depression' course, targeted at opportunistically screened individuals with sub-threshold depression. Methods and Results: Using a Markov model, future health effects and costs of an intervention scenario and a current practice scenario were estimated. The time horizon was five years. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were expressed in euro per Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) averted. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was employed to study the effect of uncertainty in the model parameters. From the health care perspective the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was € 1,400 per DALY, and from the societal perspective the intervention was cost-saving. Although the estimated incremental costs and effects were surrounded with large uncertainty, given a willingness to pay of € 20,000 per DALY, the probability that the intervention is cost-effective was around 80%. Conclusion: This modelling study showed that opportunistic screening in primary care for sub-threshold depression in combination with minimal contact psychotherapy may be cost-effective in the prevention of major depression

Comparing unilateral and bilateral upper limb training: The ULTRA-stroke program design

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>About 80% of all stroke survivors have an upper limb paresis immediately after stroke, only about a third of whom (30 to 40%) regain some dexterity within six months following conventional treatment programs. Of late, however, two recently developed interventions - constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) and bilateral arm training with rhythmic auditory cueing (BATRAC) - have shown promising results in the treatment of upper limb paresis in chronic stroke patients. The ULTRA-stroke (acronym for Upper Limb TRaining After stroke) program was conceived to assess the effectiveness of these interventions in subacute stroke patients and to examine how the observed changes in sensori-motor functioning relate to changes in stroke recovery mechanisms associated with peripheral stiffness, interlimb interactions, and cortical inter- and intrahemispheric networks. The present paper describes the design of this single-blinded randomized clinical trial (RCT), which has recently started and will take several years to complete.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Sixty patients with a first ever stroke will be recruited. Patients will be stratified in terms of their remaining motor ability at the distal part of the arm (i.e., wrist and finger movements) and randomized over three intervention groups receiving modified CIMT, modified BATRAC, or an equally intensive (i.e., dose-matched) conventional treatment program for 6 weeks. Primary outcome variable is the score on the Action Research Arm test (ARAT), which will be assessed before, directly after, and 6 weeks after the intervention. During those test sessions all patients will also undergo measurements aimed at investigating the associated recovery mechanisms using haptic robots and magneto-encephalography (MEG).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>ULTRA-stroke is a 3-year translational research program which aims (1) to assess the relative effectiveness of the three interventions, on a group level but also as a function of patient characteristics, and (2) to delineate the functional and neurophysiological changes that are induced by those interventions.</p> <p>The outcome on the ARAT together with information about changes in the associated mechanisms will provide a better understanding of how specific therapies influence neurobiological changes, and which post-stroke conditions lend themselves to specific treatments.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>The ULTRA-stroke program is registered at the Netherlands Trial Register (NTR, <url>http://www.trialregister.nl</url>, number NTR1665).</p