Sales and regulatory status of fixed dose combination psychotropic drugs in India: a retrospective longitudinal study.

Background: There is limited evidence to support use of fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to examine the sales and regulatory status of psychotropic FDCs in India, in the context of two government regulatory initiatives.

Methods: Official documents were searched to establish an account of the initiatives and measures targeting psychotropic FDCs.

Impact of frailty in older people on health care demand: simulation modelling of population dynamics to inform service planning.

Background: As populations age, frailty and the associated demand for health care increase. Evidence needed to inform planning and commissioning of services for older people living with frailty is scarce. Accurate information on incidence and prevalence of different levels of frailty and the consequences for health outcomes, service use and costs at population level is needed.

Preparing for responsive management versus preparing for renal dialysis in multimorbid older people with advanced chronic kidney disease (Prepare for Kidney Care): Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) prevalence is steadily increasing, in part due to increased multimorbidity in our aging global population. When progression to kidney failure cannot be avoided, people need unbiased information to inform decisions about whether to start dialysis, if or when indicated, or continue with holistic person-centred care without dialysis (conservative kidney management). Comparisons suggest that while there may be some survival benefit from dialysis over conservative kidney management, in people aged 80 years and over, or with multiple health problems or frailty, this may be at the expense of quality of life, hospitalisations, symptom burden and preferred place of death.

Private sector expansion and the widening NHS treatment gap between rich and poor in England: Admissions for NHS-funded elective primary hip and knee replacements between 1997/98 and 2018/19.

Parliament has imposed duties on the government and NHS in England aimed at reducing health inequalities. AIM: to understand the effect on inequalities of government policies, which require the NHS in England to outsource elective surgery to the private sector. We analysed the numbers of admissions for hip and knee replacement surgery from the least and most deprived population quintiles in three time periods: before the introduction of the policies (1997/98-2002/03); following the implementation of the independent sector treatment centre programme (2003/04-2006/07); and after the extension of 'choice at referral' (2007/08-2018/19).

Liver Fibrosis Assessed Via Noninvasive Tests Is Associated With Incident Heart Failure in a General Population Cohort.

Background & Aims: The aim of this study was to determine whether liver fibrosis is associated with heart failure in a general population cohort, and if genetic polymorphisms (PNPLA3 rs738409; TM6SF2 rs58542926), linked to increased risk of liver fibrosis and decreased risk of coronary artery disease, modify this association.

Methods: Using UK Biobank data, we prospectively examined the relationship between noninvasive fibrosis markers (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD] fibrosis score [NFS], Fibrosis-4 [FIB-4] and aspartate transaminase [AST] to platelet ratio index [APRI]) and incident hospitalization/death from heart failure (n = 413,860). Cox-regression estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for incident heart failure.