Poor monitoring of physical health in patients referred to a mood disorders service
Poor monitoring of physical health in patients referred to a mood disorders service
Background: severe mental illness is associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality, most commonly from cardiovascular disease. Much of the risk is explicable by potentially modifiable factors such as diabetes and dyslipidaemia, and regular screening of patients with severe mental illness is recommended. Screening and intervention for physical illness among people with schizophrenia is often suboptimal, but little is known about monitoring physical health in patients with affective (mood and anxiety) disorders.
Method: electronic and paper records were examined for evidence of monitoring of cardiovascular disease risk factors in the 12 months prior to assessment in patients attending a tertiary referral specialist service for affective disorders over a period of 39 months. The number of contacts with healthcare services was calculated for each patient to provide an estimate of the opportunities for monitoring.
Results: notes for 113 patients were examined. The mean number of contacts with outpatient services in the 12 months before assessment was 6.9 (standard deviation 7.7). Documented evidence of physical-health monitoring was seen in only 29 patients: monitoring was more commonly undertaken in patients with recurrent unipolar depression and in those who had undergone recent inpatient treatment. Contacts that could have allowed monitoring of physical health were common.
Discussion: although most patients had multiple contacts with health services in the 12-month period before their assessment in the service, there was little evidence of use of primary-prevention measures to reduce the risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in this vulnerable population
22-25
Lack, D.
f69a38e3-cde1-4fa7-856c-ff8147006876
Holt, R.I.G.
d54202e1-fcf6-4a17-a320-9f32d7024393
Baldwin, D.S.
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e
February 2015
Lack, D.
f69a38e3-cde1-4fa7-856c-ff8147006876
Holt, R.I.G.
d54202e1-fcf6-4a17-a320-9f32d7024393
Baldwin, D.S.
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e
Lack, D., Holt, R.I.G. and Baldwin, D.S.
(2015)
Poor monitoring of physical health in patients referred to a mood disorders service.
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, 5 (1), .
(doi:10.1177/2045125314560734).
Abstract
Background: severe mental illness is associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality, most commonly from cardiovascular disease. Much of the risk is explicable by potentially modifiable factors such as diabetes and dyslipidaemia, and regular screening of patients with severe mental illness is recommended. Screening and intervention for physical illness among people with schizophrenia is often suboptimal, but little is known about monitoring physical health in patients with affective (mood and anxiety) disorders.
Method: electronic and paper records were examined for evidence of monitoring of cardiovascular disease risk factors in the 12 months prior to assessment in patients attending a tertiary referral specialist service for affective disorders over a period of 39 months. The number of contacts with healthcare services was calculated for each patient to provide an estimate of the opportunities for monitoring.
Results: notes for 113 patients were examined. The mean number of contacts with outpatient services in the 12 months before assessment was 6.9 (standard deviation 7.7). Documented evidence of physical-health monitoring was seen in only 29 patients: monitoring was more commonly undertaken in patients with recurrent unipolar depression and in those who had undergone recent inpatient treatment. Contacts that could have allowed monitoring of physical health were common.
Discussion: although most patients had multiple contacts with health services in the 12-month period before their assessment in the service, there was little evidence of use of primary-prevention measures to reduce the risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in this vulnerable population
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: February 2015
Organisations:
Faculty of Medicine
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 380214
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/380214
ISSN: 2045-1253
PURE UUID: 006b20aa-b014-4515-a1b2-482a21ab665f
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 07 Sep 2015 10:58
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:08
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
D. Lack
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
