(Press-News.org) People with multiple illnesses are much more likely to be admitted to hospital unexpectedly, and mental health issues and economic hardship further increase the likelihood, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
"We provide strong evidence that physical multimorbidity substantially affects the use of acute hospital services, including admissions considered potentially preventable through management of optimal primary care," writes Dr. Rupert Payne, Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. "This effect was exacerbated by the coexistence of mental illness and socioeconomic deprivation."
Although people with multimorbidity — more than 1 chronic health condition — use more health care services, few studies have examined the link between multimorbidity and unplanned hospital admissions. Researchers in the United Kingdom looked at data on 180 815 people in Scotland to understand the relationship between multimorbidity and unplanned admissions and whether mental health conditions and being from a more deprived background have an effect. More than 10 000 people (10 828, or 6%) had at least 1 unplanned admission. Ten percent of the total population (180 815) had 4 or more health conditions, but accounted for 34% of people with unplanned admissions and 47% of potentially preventable admissions. People in the lowest economic group had a higher rate of unplanned admissions (8%) compared with those in the highest group (4%). Multimorbidity, and especially mental health conditions, increased with lower economic status. The 24% of people with mental health conditions made up 43% and 45% of people with unplanned and potentially preventable unplanned admissions, respectively.
"Even after accounting for physical multimorbidity and mental health conditions, both of which are more common and occur at younger ages among people in socioeconomically deprived areas, the people who are most socioeconomically disadvantaged were still more likely to have an unplanned admission to hospital," write the authors. "This trend may be due to unmeasured social problems creating psychological distress as well to fewer personal and community resources being available to these patients."
The authors call for better coordinated care in the community by family practitioners and in-hospital care by geriatricians and more emphasis on mental health care services.
### END
Unplanned hospitalization more likely in people with several illnesses, mental health conditions
2013-02-19
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
There's room for improvement in women's heart disease awareness
2013-02-19
The number of women aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death has nearly doubled in the last 15 years, but that knowledge still lags in minorities and younger women, according to a new study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Researchers comparing women's views about heart disease in 1997 and today, found:
In 2012, 56 percent of women identified heart disease as the leading cause of death compared with 30 percent in 1997.
In 1997, women were more likely to cite cancer than heart disease as the leading killer (35 percent versus 30 ...
Data paper describes Antarctic biodiversity data gathered by 90 expeditions since 1956
2013-02-19
A new peer-reviewed data paper offers a comprehensive, open-access collection of georeferenced biological information about the Antarctic macrobenthic communities. The term macrobenthic refers to the visible-for-the-eye organisms that live near or on the sea bottom such as echinoderms, sponges, ascidians, crustaceans. The paper will help in coordinating biodiversity research and conservation activities on species living near the ocean bottom of the Antarctic.
The data paper "Antarctic macrobenthic communities: A compilation of circumpolar information", published in the ...
Phosphorus starvation linked to symptoms of citrus disease Huanglongbing in new study
2013-02-19
The citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), meaning "yellow shoot disease" in Chinese and also called citrus greening in English-speaking countries, is the most destructive disease threatening the citrus industry worldwide. Powerful diagnostic tools and management strategies are desired to control it. A new study, 'Small RNA profiling reveals phosphorus deficiency as a contributing factor in symptom expression for citrus Huanglongbing disease', published online today (Friday) in the journal Molecular Plant profiled small Ribonucleic Acids (sRNAs) from both diseased and healthy ...
Moffitt researchers say silencing of retinoblastoma gene regulates differentiation of myeloid cells
2013-02-19
Researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center have found a potential mechanism by which immune suppressive myeloid-derived suppressor cells can prevent immune response from developing in cancer. This mechanism includes silencing the tumor suppressor gene retinoblastoma 1 or Rb1. Their data explains a new regulatory mechanism by which myeloid-derived suppressor cells are expanded in cancer.
Their study appeared in a recent issue of Nature Immunology.
According to the authors, two kinds of myeloid-derived suppressor cells - monocytic M-MDSCs and granulocytic PMN-MDSCs - regulate ...
New scorpion discovery near metropolitan Tucson, Arizona
2013-02-19
A new species of scorpion, Vaejovis brysoni, was found in the Santa Catalina Mountains in southern Arizona. Another scorpion of the same group also inhabits this mountain range, making this the first documented case of two vorhiesi group species distributed on the same mountain. The study was published in the open access, peer-reviewed journal Zookeys.
These mountains overlook the city of Tucson, Arizona. Amazingly, in the 21st century, there are still new species to be discovered right here in the United States. What is even more surprising is that the new species was ...
Using mouthrinse reduces plaque and gingivitis more than toothbrushing alone
2013-02-19
CHICAGO (Feb. 19, 2013)—New research published in the January/February 2013 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), indicates that the use of a germ-killing mouthrinse in addition to regular toothbrushing can significantly reduce plaque and gingivitis, more so than brushing alone.
"It's simple—mouthrinses can reach nearly 100 percent of the mouth's surfaces, while brushing focuses on the teeth, which make up only 25 percent of the mouth," says Christine A. Charles, RDH, BS, lead author of the study and ...
Genetic signs of alcoholism in women studied for the first time
2013-02-19
This press release is available in Spanish.
Research done at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has determined the frequency of genetic variants linked to alcoholism for the Spanish population, and its incidence not only in individuals with a high level of alcohol intake, but also in individuals with alcohol dependence. Furthermore, the broad presence of women in the sample has made it possible, for the first time, to associate some of these genetic variants with a high level of alcohol intake in women. The results have been published in various top, international ...
Coming to a smartphone near you: Personalized experiences
2013-02-19
CHESTNUT HILL, MA (February 19, 2013) – Say au revoir to the concierge.
The proliferation of technology focused on finding the best tickets, the hottest restaurants or the next flight out of town may mean it's time to bid adieu to the concierge and other traditional service information gatekeepers, according to new research.
Face-to-face interactions with front desk clerks and concierges are not essential for personalized service, and increasingly these encounters are being substituted with Smartphone apps and other automated service systems, according to a study in ...
'Growing' medicines in plants requires new regulations
2013-02-19
Scientists say amending an EU directive on GMOs could help stimulate innovation in making vaccines, cheaper pharmaceuticals and organic plastics using plants.
In a paper to be published in Current Pharmaceutical Design, six scientists from the US and Europe compare risk assessment and regulation between the two continents. They will run a web chat on the subject with Sense About Science from 12-1 on Wednesday 20th February.
In the EU, plant-made pharmaceuticals have to be authorised in the same way as GM agricultural crops. In theory, agricultural crops can be grown ...
Quick, efficient chip cleans up common flaws in amateur photographs
2013-02-19
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Your smartphone snapshots could be instantly converted into professional-looking photographs with just the touch of a button, thanks to a processor chip developed at MIT.
The chip, built by a team at MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratory, can perform tasks such as creating more realistic or enhanced lighting in a shot without destroying the scene's ambience, in just a fraction of a second. The technology could be integrated with any smartphone, tablet computer or digital camera.
Existing computational photography systems tend to be software applications ...