Clinical factors for predicting cardiovascular risk, need for renal replacement therapy, and mortality in patients with non-dialysis-dependent stage 3-5 chronic kidney disease from the Salford Kidney Study.

Background: Established cardiovascular risk assessment tools lack chronic kidney disease-specific clinical factors and may underestimate cardiovascular risk in non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of a cohort of patients with stage 3-5 non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease in the Salford Kidney Study (UK, 2002-2016) was performed. Multivariable Cox regression models with backward selection and repeated measures joint models were used to evaluate clinical risk factors associated with cardiovascular events (individual and composite cardiovascular major adverse cardiovascular events), mortality (all-cause and cardiovascular-specific), and need for renal replacement therapy.

How Well do Polygenic Risk Scores Identify Men at High Risk for Prostate Cancer? Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: Genome-wide association studies have revealed over 200 genetic susceptibility loci for prostate cancer (PCa). By combining them, polygenic risk scores (PRS) can be generated to predict risk of PCa. We summarize the published evidence and conduct meta-analyses of PRS as a predictor of PCa risk in Caucasian men.

Epidemiology and treatment patterns of UK women diagnosed with vasomotor symptoms: Findings from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD database.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiology and treatment of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) in the UK.

Study Design: Retrospective study that used electronic medical records from UK primary care centers.

Main Outcome Measures: The prevalence and incidence of moderate-to-severe VMS, the proportion treated, persistence with initial treatment, treatment patterns, and menopausal hormone therapy (HT) experience were investigated over the study period (Jan.

Author Correction: Introducing PIONEER: a project to harness big data in prostate cancer research.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Introducing PIONEER: a project to harness big data in prostate cancer research.

Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Enhancement Through the Power of Big Data in Europe (PIONEER) is a European network of excellence for big data in prostate cancer, consisting of 32 private and public stakeholders from 9 countries across Europe. Launched by the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 and part of the Big Data for Better Outcomes Programme (BD4BO), the overarching goal of PIONEER is to provide high-quality evidence on prostate cancer management by unlocking the potential of big data. The project has identified critical evidence gaps in prostate cancer care, via a detailed prioritization exercise including all key stakeholders.

Factors associated with receiving surgical treatment for menorrhagia in England and Wales: findings from a cohort study of the National Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Audit.

Objective: To examine the factors associated with receiving surgery for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) in England and Wales.

Design: National cohort study.

Setting: National Health Service hospitals.

Elevated blood pressure and risk of aortic valve disease: a cohort analysis of 5.4 million UK adults.

Aims: To test two related hypotheses that elevated blood pressure (BP) is a risk factor for aortic valve stenosis (AS) or regurgitation (AR).

Methods And Results: In this cohort study of 5.4 million UK patients with no known cardiovascular disease or aortic valve disease at baseline, we investigated the relationship between BP and risk of incident AS and AR using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models.

Sociodemographic differences in symptom severity and duration among women referred to secondary care for menorrhagia in England and Wales: a cohort study from the National Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Audit.

Objective: To examine symptom severity and duration at time of referral to secondary care for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) by socioeconomic deprivation, age and ethnicity DESIGN: Cohort analysis of data from the National HMB Audit linked to Hospital Episode Statistics data.

Setting: English and Welsh National Health Services (secondary care): February 2011 to January 2012.

Participants: 15 325 women aged 18-60 years in England and Wales who had a new referral for HMB to a gynaecology outpatient department METHODS: Multivariable linear regression to calculate adjusted differences in mean symptom severity and quality of life scores at first outpatient visit.

Incidence of G-Induced Loss of Consciousness and Almost Loss of Consciousness in the Royal Air Force.

Introduction: Exposure to sustained +Gz acceleration with inadequate G protection can result in G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) or almost loss of consciousness (A-LOC). The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) last conducted a survey of G-LOC within their military aircrew in 2005 with interventions subsequently introduced. The aim of this study was to repeat the 2005 survey in order to evaluate the impact of those interventions.

Referral for Specialist Follow-up and Its Association With Post-discharge Mortality Among Patients With Systolic Heart Failure (from the National Heart Failure Audit for England and Wales).

For patients admitted with worsening heart failure (HF), early follow-up after discharge is recommended. Whether outcomes can be improved when follow-up is done by cardiologists is uncertain. We aimed to determine the association between cardiology follow-up and risk of death for patients with HF discharged from hospital.

Graphics and Statistics for Cardiology: Data visualisation for meta-analysis.

Graphical displays play a pivotal role in understanding data sets and disseminating results. For meta-analysis, they are instrumental in presenting findings from multiple studies. This report presents guidance to authors wishing to submit graphical displays as part of their meta-analysis to a clinical cardiology journal, such as HeartWhen using graphical displays for meta-analysis, we recommend the following: Use a flow diagram to describe the number of studies returned from the initial search, the inclusion/exclusion criteria applied and the final number of studies used in the meta-analysis.

Influenza vaccination and risk of hospitalization in patients with heart failure: a self-controlled case series study.

Aims: Evidence supporting yearly influenza vaccination in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) is limited, consequently leading to inconsistent guideline recommendations. We aimed to investigate the impact of influenza vaccination on the risk of hospitalization in HF patients.

Methods And Results: We used linked primary and secondary health records in England between 1990 and 2013.

Variation in hospital performance for heart failure management in the National Heart Failure Audit for England and Wales.

Objective: Investigation of variations in provider performance and its determinants may help inform strategies for improving patient outcomes.

Methods: We used the National Heart Failure Audit comprising 68 772 patients with heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFREF), admitted to 185 hospitals in England and Wales (2007-2013). We investigated hospital adherence to three recommended key performance measures (KPMs) for inhospital care (ACE inhibitors (ACE-Is) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) on discharge, β-blockers on discharge and referral to specialist follow-up) individually and as a composite performance score.

Blood Pressure and Risk of Vascular Dementia: Evidence From a Primary Care Registry and a Cohort Study of Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke.

Background And Purpose: Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia but reliable evidence on age-specific associations between blood pressure (BP) and risk of vascular dementia is limited and some studies have reported negative associations at older ages.

Methods: In a cohort of 4.28 million individuals, free of known vascular disease and dementia and identified from linked electronic primary care health records in the United Kingdom (Clinical Practice Research Datalink), we related BP to time to physician-diagnosed vascular dementia.

Birth "Out-of-Hours": An Evaluation of Obstetric Practice and Outcome According to the Presence of Senior Obstetricians on the Labour Ward.

Background: Concerns have been raised that a lack of senior obstetricians ("consultants") on the labour ward outside normal hours may lead to worse outcomes among babies born during periods of reduced cover.

Methods And Findings: We carried out a multicentre cohort study using data from 19 obstetric units in the United Kingdom between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013 to examine whether rates of obstetric intervention and outcome change "out-of-hours," i.e.

Which Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis Will Develop Cardiovascular or Cerebrovascular Disease? A Clinical Practice Research Datalink Study.

Objective: To evaluate the risk of cerebrovascular disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA), and to identify predictors.

Methods: The UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink 1991-2010 was used for a parallel cohort study of 5827 patients with GCA and 37,090 age-, sex-, and location-matched controls. A multivariable competing risk model (non-cerebrovascular/CV-related death as the competing risk) determined the relative risk [subhazard ratio (SHR)] between patients with GCA compared with background controls for cerebrovascular disease, CVD, or either.

Blood pressure lowering for prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The benefits of blood pressure lowering treatment for prevention of cardiovascular disease are well established. However, the extent to which these effects differ by baseline blood pressure, presence of comorbidities, or drug class is less clear. We therefore performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify these differences.

Variations In Good Patient Reported Outcomes After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

This study identifies optimal OKS values that discriminate post-operative (TKA) patient satisfaction and determines the variation in threshold values by patient characteristics and expectations. It is the first to identify patient improvement using measures (PoPC) that account for patient's pre-operative symptom severity. Of 365 primary TKA patients from a London district general hospital 84% were satisfied at 12 and 24 months.

A novel methodological approach for measuring symptomatic change following total joint arthroplasty.

The OHS/OKS are PROMs for assessing symptomatic pain and function following TJA. However, actual change in pre-operative/post-operative scores cannot distinguish patients of varying baseline symptom severity. The percentage of potential change (PoPC) is a simple method that accounts for this, expressing the actual change attained, as a percentage of the potential change possible.

The relative risk of aortic aneurysm in patients with giant cell arteritis compared with the general population of the UK.

Objectives: To evaluate the risk of aortic aneurysm in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) compared with age-, gender- and location-matched controls.

Methods: A UK General Practice Research Database (GPRD) parallel cohort study of 6999 patients with GCA and 41 994 controls, matched on location, age and gender, was carried out. A competing risk model using aortic aneurysm as the primary outcome and non-aortic-aneurysm-related death as the competing risk was used to determine the relative risk (subhazard ratio) between non-GCA and GCA subjects, after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors.

Recovery of function following hip resurfacing arthroplasty: a randomized controlled trial comparing an accelerated versus standard physiotherapy rehabilitation programme.

Objective: To identify if a tailored rehabilitation programme is more effective than standard practice at improving function in patients undergoing metal-on-metal hip resurfacing arthroplasty.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Specialist orthopaedic hospital.

The association between hip morphology parameters and nineteen-year risk of end-stage osteoarthritis of the hip: a nested case-control study.

Objective: Subtle deformities of the hip joint are implicated in the etiology of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. Parameters that quantify these deformities may aid understanding of these associations. We undertook this study to examine relationships between such parameters and the 19-year risk of total hip arthroplasty (THA) for end-stage OA.

Fracture risk before and after total hip replacement in patients with osteoarthritis: potential benefits of bisphosphonate use.

Objective: The association between osteoarthritis (OA) and fractures remains unclear. OA patients have increased bone mass, but no corresponding decrease in fracture rate. This study was undertaken to determine the fracture rates in patients with hip OA undergoing a total hip replacement (THR), as compared with disease-free controls, and to assess the association between bisphosphonate use and postsurgery fracture risk.