Cardiovascular disease and mortality in people with schizophrenia or antipsychotic treatment: A cohort study in primary care.

Unlabelled: People with schizophrenia (SZ) or under treatment with antipsychotic drugs (TAD) are considered to be at high risk of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality, but the reasons are not fully understood. In addition, no longitudinal studies in the setting of primary care in Spain have been performed. We aimed at analysing the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CV mortality in the population with SZ and in the population without SZ but under TAD (NS-TAD).

Assessing the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 disease based on a predictive tree model: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Primary care is the major point of access in most health systems in developed countries and therefore for the detection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. The quality of its IT systems, together with access to the results of mass screening with Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, makes it possible to analyse the impact of various concurrent factors on the likelihood of contracting the disease.

Methods And Findings: Through data mining techniques with the sociodemographic and clinical variables recorded in patient's medical histories, a decision tree-based logistic regression model has been proposed which analyses the significance of demographic and clinical variables in the probability of having a positive PCR in a sample of 7,314 individuals treated in the Primary Care service of the public health system of Catalonia.

Risk of underdiagnosis of hypertension in schizophrenia patients.

Aim: Arterial hypertension requires proper screening and management, and its underdiagnosis in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and/or antipsychotic treatment has been postulated. The objective of the study is to assess whether there are differences in the proportion of screened patients with a blood pressure >140/90 mmHg that are undiagnosed or not confirmed later (risk of underdiagnosis).

Methods: Cross-sectional study of clinical records from SIDIAPQ (Spain) during the 2006-2011 period.

Screening of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with schizophrenia and patients treated with antipsychotic drugs: are we equally exhaustive as with the general population?

Unlabelled: Many studies have previously shown increased cardiovascular risk factors related to schizophrenia independently from the use of antipsychotic drugs. However, a poorer effort in clinical detection and management of cardiovascular risk in patients with severe mental illness could also explain these results. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the differences in screening and incidence of cardiovascular risk factors between schizophrenia, non-schizophrenic patients on treatment with antipsychotic drugs (NS-TAD) and the general population.

Intervention for Smokers through New Communication Technologies: What Perceptions Do Patients and Healthcare Professionals Have? A Qualitative Study.

Background: The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the health service is increasing. In spite of limitations, such as lack of time and experience, the deployment of ICTs in the healthcare system has advantages which include patient satisfaction with secure messaging, and time saving benefits and utility for patients and health professionals. ICTs may be helpful as either interventions on their own or as complementary tools to help patients stop smoking.

Effectiveness of an intensive E-mail based intervention in smoking cessation (TABATIC study): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Intensive interventions on smoking cessation increase abstinence rates. However, few electronic mail (E-mail) based intensive interventions have been tested in smokers and none in primary care (PC) setting. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive E-mail based intervention in smokers attending PC services.

Comparison of the information provided by electronic health records data and a population health survey to estimate prevalence of selected health conditions and multimorbidity.

Background: Health surveys (HS) are a well-established methodology for measuring the health status of a population. The relative merit of using information based on HS versus electronic health records (EHR) to measure multimorbidity has not been established. Our study had two objectives: 1) to measure and compare the prevalence and distribution of multimorbidity in HS and EHR data, and 2) to test specific hypotheses about potential differences between HS and EHR reporting of diseases with a symptoms-based diagnosis and those requiring diagnostic testing.

[What do men between 50 and 70 know about the effectiveness, the benefits, and the risks of prostate cancer screening?].

Objective: To evaluate the understanding of the population on prostate cancer screening.

Design: Descriptive study.

Setting: Primary care teams in the province of Barcelona, Spain, from april to september 2005.

[Follow-up and monitoring of hypertension. Is this performed the same in the autochthonous and immigrant populations?].

Objectives: To evaluate the degree of control of blood pressure (BP) in the autochthonous and immigrant populations and to find the variables linked to good control.

Design: Cross-sectional, observational study.

Setting: Urban primary care team, Spain.