Initial risk perception and feeling of preparedness of primary care physicians regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, France and Spain in February 2020.

BACKGROUND: The knowledge of risk perceptions in primary care could help health authorities to manage epidemics. METHODS: A European multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted in France, Belgium and Spain to describe the perceptions, the level of anxiety and the feeling of preparedness of primary healthcare physicians towards the COVID-19 infection at the beginning of the pandemic. The factors associated with the feeling of preparedness were studied using multivariate logistic regressions. RESULTS: A total of 511 physicians participated to the study (response rate: 35.2%). Among them, only 16.3% (n=82) were highly anxious about the pandemic, 50.6% (n=254) had the feeling to have a high level of information, 80.5% (n=409) found the measures taken by the health authorities suitable to limit the spread of COVID-19, and 45.2% (n=229) felt prepared to face the epidemic. Factors associated with feeling prepared were: being a Spanish practitioner (adjusted OR=4.34; 95%CI [2.47; 7.80]), being a man (aOR=2.57, 95%CI [1.69; 3.96]), finding the measures taken by authorities appropriate (aOR=1.72, 95%CI [1.01; 3.00]) and being highly informed (aOR=4.82, 95%CI [2.62; 9.19]). CONCLUSIONS: Regarding the dramatic evolution of the pandemic in Europe in the weeks following the study, it appears that information available at this time and transmitted to the physicians could have given a wrong assessment of the spread and the severity of the disease. It seems essential to better integrate the primary care physicians into the information, training and protection channels. A comparison between countries could help to select the most effective measures in terms of information and communication.

[Validation of the SCORE index and SCORE for old people in the Castilla y Léon cardiovascular disease risk cohort]. / Validación del índice SCORE y el SCORE para personas mayores en la cohorte de riesgo de enfermedad cardiovascular en Castilla y León.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) is the most extended index in Europe for overall cardiovascular risk assessment. This study aims to validate the calculated risk with the observed 10-year cardiovascular mortality in a population cohort aged 40 to 75 years. METHODS: In 2014 the SCORE and the SCORE OP (for older people) were calculated in a population aged 40 to 64 years-old and 65 to 75 years-old, respectively. In 2014 the 10-year mortality was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier estimator and survival model. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, risk ratio of a SCORE value≥5%, and the area under the curve (C statistic) were calculated. RESULTS: Cardiovascular mortality estimated by SCORE was 3 times higher than the observed mortality. The sensitivity of a SCORE≥5% was 20% in women and 28.6% in those less than 65 years old. Predictive positive values were also low, particularly in women with 0.6%. Neither women nor those aged less than 65 years had a significant C statistic. CONCLUSIONS: The SCORE index does not suitably reflect the cardiovascular mortality pattern in Castilla y León. The prediction models for morbidity and mortality need to be periodically updated in order to adjust the prevention and treatment protocols. The SCORE OP has better validity parameters than the SCORE calculated below that age.

Prevalence of cognitive impairment in Spain: The Gómez de Caso study in health sentinel networks. / Prevalencia de deterioro cognitivo en España. Estudio Gómez de Caso en redes centinelas sanitarias.

INTRODUCTION: Cognitive impairment, a clinical entity causing complete or partial intellectual dysfunction, is a major public health concern that poses a challenge for health and social services. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of this disorder in people aged 65 and older visiting the primary care physician in 5 health sentinel networks. METHOD: A sample of patients visiting their primary care doctor on 4 randomly selected days completed the Mini-Cog screening test. Diagnosis of cognitive impairment was confirmed with the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Alzheimer's Questionnaire. We estimated raw and adjusted rates using demographic and social variables. RESULTS: We included 4,624 patients from 5 autonomous communities and representing a population of 1,723,216 inhabitants. The adjusted prevalence rate was 18.5% (95% CI 17.3-19.7], with differences between sentinel networks. Women showed higher adjusted rates than men: 18.5 vs. 14.3%. The highest prevalence rate was observed in people aged 85 and older (45.3%); prevalence rates vary depending on education level and marital status. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive impairment is a frequent reason for consultations in primary care. Its prevalence is higher in women and increases exponentially with age. A number of sensitive, validated tools have been proven useful in screening for and confirming cognitive impairment. Using these tools in primary care settings enables early treatment of these patients.

[Factors associated with control of hypertension in the cohort from the study of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Castilla y León (RECCyL)]. / Factores asociados al control de la presión arterial en la cohorte del estudio del Riesgo de Enfermedad Cardiovascular en Castilla y León (RECCyL).

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular diseases and related risk factors suppose a challenge to public health due to the mortality and health costs involved. This study has aimed to assess the blood pressure control in a population cohort and to identify the factors associated with poor control. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cardiovascular health examination was carried out in a random sample of 4013 individuals aged 15 years and above who were living in Castilla y Leon in 2004. The study included the medical history, physical exam and blood tests. A new health study was performed in 2009, including 2954 people from the initial sample, 1306 of whom were patients with hypertension. Strict blood pressure control was defined as <140/90 mm Hg. Bivariate analysis was performed and odds ratio was calculated by a regression logistic model. RESULTS: Blood pressure levels were above the established levels in 55.9%, without differences between men and women. The regression model showed that diabetes, obesity, smoking habit and previous systolic blood pressure values, with odds ratio of 3.87, 1.58, 1.49 and 1.13 per 5 mm Hg, respectively, are independently associated with uncontrolled blood pressure. Age did not show statistical significance. CONCLUSION: More than half of the patients with hypertension are not well controlled. This study provides information about the characteristics of the patients with poor control of hypertension in Castilla y León, which will allow policy makers to develop new primary and secondary prevention activities.

Hábito tabáquico y diabetes mellitus / Smoking and diabetes mellitus

Introducción: El riesgo cardiovascular del individuo diabético se duplica en pacientes fumadores respecto a los no fumadores. Además, el tabaquismo aumenta el riesgo de aparición y deterioro de complicaciones microvasculares. El objetivo del estudio fue conocer la prevalencia del tabaquismo y algunas características del hábito de fumar en la población diabética de nuestro medio. Pacientes y métodos: Se incluyeron en el estudio 806 individuos diabéticos. Los pacientes se clasificaron en: diabetes tipo 1 (n= 70), tipo 2 (n= 674), gestacional (n= 36) y otras diabetes (n= 26). Además, se consideró el lugar de residencia de los pacientes (urbano/rural). En los pacientes que fumaban, se determinó el grado de dependencia al tabaco mediante el test de Fagerström. Resultados: Ciento diez pacientes (13,6%) fumaban, mientras que los 696 restantes (86,4%) no fumaban. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en el porcentaje de fumadores en el grupo de diabetes tipo 1 (38,6%) respecto a los grupos de tipo 2 (10,5%) y gestacional (11,1%). También se encontraron diferencias en el porcentaje de varones fumadores (24,1%) respecto al de mujeres fumadoras (6,8%), así como en el de fumadores que residían en área urbana (18,1%) respecto a los que vivían en el medio rural (11,6%). En el grupo de fumadores, un 33,3% tenía una alta dependencia del tabaco, mientras que el 48,5% presentaba una dependencia moderada y el 18,2% restante una baja dependencia. Conclusiones: Estos resultados demuestran que un porcentaje considerable de individuos diabéticos fuma, en especial en los grupos de diabetes mellitus tipo 1 y otras diabetes. El sexo masculino, junto con la residencia en área urbana, constituyen factores que predisponen al hábito de fumar. El hecho de que sólo uno de cada tres diabéticos fumadores tenga una alta dependencia a la nicotina sugiere que los programas encaminados a la deshabituación tabáquica podrían tener un notable éxito

Introduction: Cardiovascular risk in individuals with diabetes is two-fold higher among smokers as compared to non-smokers. Moreover, smoking increases the risk of the development and deterioration of microvascular complications. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking and several characteristics of the smoking habit among diabetics in our patient population. Patients and methods: Eight hundred and six diabetic subjects were included in the study. The patients were classified as: type 1 (n= 70), type 2 (n= 674), gestational (n= 36) and other variants (n= 26). Moreover, the place of residence of the patients (urbal/rural) was considered. In the group of smokers, the degree of nicotine dependence was determined by means of the Fagerström test. Results: One hundred and ten patients (13.6%) were smokers, while the remaining 696 (86.4%) were non-smokers. Significant differences were observed in the percentage of smokers among the patients with type 1 diabetes (38.6%) with respect to those with type 2 (10.5%) and gestational (11.1%) diabetes. Moreover, statistically significant differences were observed between the percentage of male smokers (24.1%) as compared to female smokers (6.8%) and between the percentage of urban smokers (18.1%) as compared to those living in rural areas (11.6%). Among the smokers, 33.3% had a strong dependence on nicotine, while 48.5% had a moderate dependence and the remaining 18.2% had a slight dependence. Conclusions: These results show that a substantial percentage of individuals with diabetes are smokers, especially in the group of patients with type 1 diabetes and other variants. Male sex and an urban setting are factors that predispose to the smoking habit. The finding that only a third of the diabetic smokers were strongly dependent on nicotine suggests that the programs focusing on smoking cessation could be highly successful

[Ischemic heart disease risk in the west Valladolid health area]. / Riesgo de enfermedad isquémica del corazón en el área de salud de Valladolid oeste.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular diseases, especially ischemic heart disease present a high morbidity and mortality rate in our country. The aim of this study is to estimate the average coronary risk of people living in the west Valladolid Health District. METHODS: Cross-sectional study in a random sample of 369 people between 35 and 64 years of age from the general population, of systolic blood pressure, total serum cholesterol and cigarette smoking. With these three factors, plus sex and age, individual coronary risk was calculated through the Dundee Coronary Risk-Disk method. RESULTS: The coronary risk in the studied district, which is to say the individual probability of suffering a coronary event within five years of life, was estimated in 5.22 (95% CL: 4.75-5.69), higher among men, 5.66 (95% CL: 4.95-6.36), than among women, 4.63 (95% CL: 4.15-5.11). A descendent trend in coronary risk as age increases was found. CONCLUSIONS: This method is relatively easy to obtain for community studies and simple to use for individual risk. The coronary risk of a person from the studied population has similar levels to figures found in other studies from our settings. The community levels of isolated coronary risk factors do not permit the establishment the best option in coronary risk control, and only a multicausal approach will allow us to evaluate the most efficient interventions for each age group and sex.