General Practice and Primary Care - Research Publications

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    Health issues in newly arrived African refugees attending general practice clinics in Melbourne
    Tiong, CD ; Patel, S ; Gardiner, ; Ryan, ; Linton, S ; WALKER, K ; Scopel, ; BIGGS, B (Australasian Medical Publishing Company, 2006)
    Objective: To identify the most common health issues diagnosed by general practitioners in newly arrived African refugees. Design: Descriptive study based on a purposive sample of six GPs to collate data from medical records of patients from African countries who had attended their clinics for the first time between 1 January and 30 June 2005. Setting: Two community health centres and two private general practices in metropolitan Melbourne. Participants: African refugee patients who arrived in Australia after 1 June 2004 and were seen by the six participating GPs between 1 January and 30 June 2005. Main outcome measures: Demographic characteristics, laboratory test results and final diagnoses. Results: Data were collected from 258 patient files. Most patients were from Sudan (57%) or Liberia (17%). Half were aged under 15 years. The most common health problems identified were inadequate vaccinations, nutritional deficiencies (vitamin D and iron), infectious diseases (gastrointestinal infections, schistosomiasis, and latent tuberculosis) and dental disease. Musculoskeletal, psychological and social problems were common in adults. 37% of patients were tested for latent tuberculosis, and 25% of these tested positive. Conclusions: African refugees require comprehensive health assessments for undiagnosed and untreated health problems. While most of the common diseases identified are non-communicable, if left untreated they will affect the long-term health and productivity of new settlers.
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    Excessive alcohol use and its association with risky sexual behaviour: a cross-sectional analysis of data from Victorian secondary school students
    Agius, P ; Taft, A ; Hemphill, S ; Toumbourou, J ; McMorris, B (WILEY, 2013-02)
    OBJECTIVE: Estimate the prevalence of sexual behaviour and alcohol use and examine the association between excessive alcohol use and risky sexual behaviour in late secondary students in Victoria, Australia. METHOD: The sample of Year 11 students from government and independent schools participating in the 2008 International Youth Development Study (n=450) was representative of the Victorian school population. Logistic regression analyses examined the associations between sexual behaviour, binge and compulsive drinking, adjusting for socio-demographic, school and family factors. RESULTS: Under half (44%) the students had experienced sex in the past year, half (50%) had engaged in binge drinking in the past two weeks and 26% reported compulsive drinking in the past year. Of those who reported sex in the past year (n=197), 34% had sex without a condom at the last sexual encounter and 28% later regretted sex due to alcohol. The likelihood of experiencing sex was increased by binge (OR=2.44, 95%CI 1.44-4.12) and compulsive drinking (OR=2.15, 95%CI 1.29-3.60). For those sexually active, binge drinking increased the risk of having three or more sexual partners (OR=3.37, 95%CI 1.11-10.26) and compulsive drinking increased the likelihood of regretted sex due to alcohol (OR=4.43, 95%CI 2.10-9.31). Excessive drinking was not associated with condom non-use. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Risky sex - multiple sexual partners and regretted sex due to alcohol - and excessive drinking are highly prevalent and co-associated among Victorian late secondary students.
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    Histopathologic indicators of breast cancer biology: insights from population mammographic screening
    Webster, LR ; Bilous, AM ; Willis, L ; Byth, K ; Burgemeister, FC ; Salisbury, ELC ; Clarke, CL ; Balleine, RL (NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2005-04-25)
    Histopathologic features of breast cancer such as tumour size, grade and axillary lymph node (LN) status variably reflect tumour biology and time. Recent evidence suggests that the biological character of breast cancer is established at an early stage and has a major impact on clinical course. The aim of this study was to distinguish the impact of biology on breast cancer histopathology by comparing features of breast cancers diagnosed following population mammographic screening with prevalent vs incident detection and screening interval. Central histopathology review data from 1147 cases of ductal in situ and/or invasive breast cancer were examined. Size, grade and LN status of invasive cancers were positively correlated (P < 0.001). Prevalent invasive cancers were larger (P < 0.001) and more likely to be LN positive (P = 0.02) than incident cases, but grade was not associated with screening episode (P = 0.7). Screening interval for incident cancers was positively associated with invasive cancer size (P = 0.05) and LN status (P = 0.002) but not grade (P = 0.1). Together, these data indicate that biology and time both impact on size and LN status of invasive breast cancer, but grade reflects biology alone. In view of the clinical importance of breast cancer biology, grade as its most direct indicator assumes particular significance.
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    Effectiveness of a Pragmatic Education Program Designed to Promote Walking Activity in Individuals With Impaired Glucose Tolerance A randomized controlled trial
    Yates, T ; Davies, M ; Gorely, T ; Bull, F ; Khunti, K (AMER DIABETES ASSOC, 2009-08)
    OBJECTIVE To investigate whether a pragmatic structured education program with and without pedometer use is effective for promoting physical activity and improving glucose tolerance in those with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Overweight and obese individuals with IGT were recruited from ongoing screening studies at the University Hospitals of Leicester, U.K. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group 1 received a 3-h group-based structured education program designed to promote walking activity using personalized steps-per-day goals and pedometers. Group 2 received a 3-h group-based structured education program designed to promote walking activity using generic time-based goals. Group 3 received a brief information leaflet (control condition). Outcomes included an oral glucose tolerance test, standard anthropometric measures, ambulatory activity, and psychological variables. Follow-up was conducted at 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS A total of 87 individuals (66% male, mean age 65 years) were included in this study. At 12 months, significant decreases in 2-h postchallenge glucose and fasting glucose of -1.31 mmol/l (95% CI -2.20 to -0.43) and -0.32 mmol/l (-0.59 to -0.03), respectively, were seen in the pedometer group compared with the control group. No significant improvements in glucose control were seen in those given the standard education program. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that a pragmatic structured education program that incorporates pedometer use is effective for improving glucose tolerance in those with IGT. This result is likely to have important implications for future primary care-based diabetes prevention initiatives.
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    Supporting schools to create an inclusive environment for refugee students
    Block, K ; Cross, S ; Riggs, E ; Gibbs, L (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2014)
    In a context of increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers globally, recognition of the importance of the school environment for promoting successful settlement outcomes and inclusion for refugee-background young people is growing. Yet schools may be poorly equipped to recognise and respond to the multiple challenges faced by children and young people who must learn a new language while grappling with unfamiliar educational and social systems. Refugee-background students often have minimal or significantly disrupted formal education prior to arrival in their new country. Young people, and sometimes their families, may lack literacy in first languages and many are coping with the impacts of trauma associated with forced displacement. Evidence for effective interventions in schools that promote an inclusive learning environment is scarce. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the School Support Programme operating in schools in Victoria, Australia. The programme is provided to networks of schools in a region and facilitates partnerships between schools and agencies and provides a holistic model for a whole-school approach focused on the learning, social and emotional needs of refugee-background students. The evaluation concluded that the programme provides an appropriate and feasible model that supports the capacity of schools to provide an inclusive education for this group.
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    Alcohol interventions, alcohol policy and intimate partner violence: a systematic review
    Wilson, IM ; Graham, K ; Taft, A (BMC, 2014-08-27)
    BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant global public health issue. The consistent evidence that alcohol use by one or both partners contributes to the risk and severity of IPV suggests that interventions that reduce alcohol consumption may also reduce IPV. This study sought to review the evidence for effects on IPV of alcohol interventions at the population, community, relationship and individual levels using the World Health Organization ecological framework for violence. METHODS: Eleven databases including Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and EMBASE were searched for English-language studies and grey literature published 1 January 1992 - 1 March 2013 investigating whether alcohol interventions/policies were associated with IPV reduction within adult (≥ 18) intimate relationships. Eleven studies meeting design criteria for attributing effects to the intervention and ten studies showing mediation of alcohol consumption were included in the review. The heterogeneity of study designs precluded quantitative meta analysis; therefore, a critical narrative approach was used. RESULTS: Population-level pricing and taxation studies found weak or no evidence for alcohol price changes influencing IPV. Studies of community-level policies or interventions (e.g., hours of sale, alcohol outlet density) showed weak evidence of an association with IPV. Couples-based and individual alcohol treatment studies found a relationship between reductions in alcohol consumption and reductions in IPV but their designs precluded attributing changes to treatment. Randomized controlled trials of combined alcohol and violence treatment programs found some positive effects of brief alcohol intervention as an adjunct to batterer treatment for hazardous drinking IPV perpetrators, and of brief interventions with non-dependent younger populations, but effects were often not sustained. CONCLUSIONS: Despite evidence associating problematic alcohol use with IPV, the potential for alcohol interventions to reduce IPV has not been adequately tested, possibly because studies have not focused on those most at risk of alcohol-related IPV. Research using rigorous designs should target young adult populations among whom IPV and drinking is highly prevalent. Combining alcohol and IPV intervention/policy approaches at the population, community, relationship and individual-level may provide the best opportunity for effective intervention.
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    Stepwise screening for diabetes identifies people with high but modifiable coronary heart disease risk. The ADDITION study
    Sandbaek, A ; Griffin, SJ ; Rutten, G ; Davies, M ; Stolk, R ; Khunti, K ; Borch-Johnsen, K ; Wareham, NJ ; Lauritzen, T (SPRINGER, 2008-07)
    AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The Anglo-Danish-Dutch study of intensive treatment in people with screen-detected diabetes in primary care (ADDITION) is a pragmatic randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of intensified multi-factorial treatment on 5 year cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rates in people with screen-detected type 2 diabetes in the Netherlands, UK and Denmark. This paper describes the baseline characteristics of the study population, their estimated risk of coronary heart disease and the extent to which that risk is potentially modifiable. METHODS: Stepwise screening strategies were performed using risk questionnaires and routine general practice data plus random blood glucose, HbA(1c) and fasting blood glucose measurement. Diabetes was diagnosed using the 1999 World Health Organization criteria and estimated 10 year coronary heart disease risk was calculated using the UK Prospective Diabetes Study risk engine. RESULTS: Between April 2001 and December 2006, 3,057 people with screen-detected diabetes were recruited to the study (mean age 59.7 years, 58% men) after a stepwise screening programme involving 76,308 people screened in 334 general practices in three countries. Their median estimated 10 year risk of coronary heart disease was 11% in women (interquartile range 7-16%) and 21% (15-30%) in men. There were differences in the distribution of risk factors by country, linked to differences in approaches to screening and the extent to which risk factors had already been detected and treated. The mean HbA(1c) at recruitment was 7.0% (SD 1.6%). Of the people recruited, 73% had a blood pressure > or =140/90 and of these 58% were not on antihypertensive medication. Cholesterol levels were above 5.0 mmol/l in 70% of participants, 91% of whom were not being treated with lipid-lowering drugs. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: People with type 2 diabetes detected by screening and included in the ADDITION study have a raised and potentially modifiable risk of CHD. ClinicalTrials.gov ID no.: NCT 00237549.
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    Ethnic Differences in Diabetes Management in Patients With and Without Comorbid Medical Conditions A cross-sectional study
    Alshamsan, R ; Majeed, A ; Vamos, EP ; Khunti, K ; Curcin, V ; Rawaf, S ; Millett, C (AMER DIABETES ASSOC, 2011-03)
    OBJECTIVE: To examine ethnic disparities in diabetes management among patients with and without comorbid medical conditions after a period of sustained investment in quality improvement in the U.K. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study examined associations between ethnicity, comorbidity, and intermediate outcomes for mean A1C, total cholesterol, and blood pressure levels in 6,690 diabetes patients in South West London. RESULTS: The presence of ≥ 2 cardiovascular comorbidities was associated with similar blood pressure control among white and South Asian patients when compared with whites without comorbidity but with worse blood pressure control among black patients, with a mean difference in systolic blood pressure of +1.5, +1.4, and +6.2 mmHg, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite major reforms to improve quality, disparities in blood pressure management have persisted in the U.K., particularly among patients with cardiovascular comorbidities. Policy makers should consider the potential impacts of quality initiatives on high-risk groups.
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    The Prevalence of Depression in White-European and South-Asian People with Impaired Glucose Regulation and Screen-Detected Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
    Aujla, N ; Abrams, KR ; Davies, MJ ; Taub, N ; Skinner, TC ; Khunti, K ; Domschke, K (PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2009-11-09)
    BACKGROUND: There is a clear relationship between depression and diabetes. However, the directionality of the relationship remains unclear and very little research has considered a multi-ethnic population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression in a White-European (WE) and South-Asian (SA) population attending a community diabetes screening programme, and to explore the association of depression with screen-detected Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and impaired glucose regulation (IGR). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants were recruited from general practices in Leicestershire (United Kingdom) between August 2004 and December 2007. 4682 WE (40-75 years) and 1327 SA participants (25-75 years) underwent an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, detailed history, anthropometric measurements and completed the World Health Organisation-Five (WHO-5) Wellbeing Index. Depression was defined by a WHO-5 wellbeing score < or =13. Unadjusted prevalence of depression for people in the total sample with T2DM and IGR was 21.3% (21.6% in WE, 20.6% in SA, p = 0.75) and 26.0% (25.3% in WE, 28.9% in SA, p = 0.65) respectively. For people with normal glucose tolerance, the prevalence was 25.1% (24.9% in WE, 26.4% in SA, p = 0.86). Age-adjusted prevalences were higher for females than males. Odds ratios adjusted for age, gender, and ethnicity, showed no significant increase in prevalent depression for people with T2DM (OR = 0.95, 95%CI 0.62 to 1.45) or IGR (OR = 1.17, 95%CI 0.96 to 1.42). CONCLUSIONS: Prior to the knowledge of diagnosis, depression was not significantly more prevalent in people with screen detected T2DM or IGR. Differences in prevalent depression between WE and SA people were also not identified. In this multi-ethnic population, female gender was significantly associated with depression.
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    Feasibility of a structured group education session to improve self-management of blood pressure in people with chronic kidney disease: an open randomised pilot trial
    Byrne, J ; Khunti, K ; Stone, M ; Farooqi, A ; Carr, S (BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP, 2011)
    Objectives We aimed to test, at pilot level, a structured group educational intervention to improve self-management of blood pressure in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The current paper explores patient acceptability of the intervention. Design This was an open randomised pilot trial. Participants were randomly assigned to either: A control group (n=41) receiving standard clinical management of hypertension. An intervention group (n=40) receiving standard clinical care plus the educational intervention. Setting Renal outpatient clinics at a single study centre. Participants Patients with early CKD and hypertension were identified and approached for recruitment. Intervention An evidence-based structured group educational intervention (CHEERS) using the principles of social cognitive theory to improve knowledge and self-management skills. Outcomes Recruitment, uptake of the intervention and patient satisfaction were evaluated to explore patient acceptability of the intervention and to determine any differences between patients regarding recruitment and retention. Measures Data on age, sex and ethnicity were collected for all patients approached to take part. For recruited patients, data were also collected on self-efficacy (ability to self-manage). Reasons given by patients declining to take part were recorded. Patients attending the educational session also completed an evaluation form to assess satisfaction. Results A total of 267 patients were approached, and 30% were randomly assigned. Lack of time (48%) and lack of interest (44%) were the main reasons cited for non-participation in the study. Men were significantly more likely to be recruited (p=0.048). The intervention was rated enjoyable and useful by 100% of participants. However, 37.5% of the intervention group failed to attend the educational session after recruitment. Participants failing to attend were significantly more likely to be older (p=0.039) and have lower self-efficacy (p=0.034). Conclusion The findings suggest that delivering and evaluating an effective structured group educational intervention to promote better blood pressure control in patients with CKD would be challenging in the current context of kidney care.