Impact of rurality on processes and outcomes in melanoma care: results from a whole-Scotland melanoma cohort in primary and secondary care.

BACKGROUND: Those living in rural areas have poorer cancer outcomes, but current evidence on how rurality impacts melanoma care and survival is contradictory. AIM: To investigate the impact of rurality on setting of melanoma excision and mortality in a whole-nation cohort. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analysis of linked routine healthcare data comprising every individual in Scotland diagnosed with melanoma, January 2005-December 2013, in primary and secondary care. METHOD: Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between rurality and setting of melanoma excision; Cox proportional hazards regression between rurality and mortality was used, with adjustments for key confounders. RESULTS: In total 9519 patients were included (54.3% [n = 5167] female, mean age 60.2 years [SD 17.5]). Of melanomas where setting of excision was known, 90.3% (n = 8598) were in secondary care and 8.1% (n = 771) in primary care. Odds of primary care excision increased with increasing rurality/remoteness. Compared with those in urban areas, those in the most remote rural locations had almost twice the odds of melanoma excision in primary care (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.33 to 2.77). No significant association was found between urban or rural residency and all-cause mortality. Melanoma-specific mortality was significantly lower in individuals residing in accessible small towns than in large urban areas (adjusted hazards ratio [HR] 0.53; 95% CI = 0.33 to 0.87) with no trend towards poorer survival with increasing rurality. CONCLUSION: Patients in Scottish rural locations were more likely to have a melanoma excised in primary care. However, those in rural areas did not have significantly increased mortality from melanoma. Together these findings suggest that current UK melanoma management guidelines could be revised to be more realistic by recognising the role of primary care in the prompt diagnosis and treatment of those in rural locations.

Maternal Obesity During Pregnancy Associates With Premature Mortality and Major Cardiovascular Events in Later Life.

One in 5 pregnant women is obese but the impact on later health is unknown. We aimed to determine whether maternal obesity during pregnancy associates with increased premature mortality and later life major cardiovascular events. Maternity records of women who gave birth to their first child between 1950 and 1976 (n=18 873) from the Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal databank were linked to the National Register of Deaths, Scotland and Scottish Morbidity Record. The effect of maternal obesity at first antenatal visit on death and hospital admissions for cardiovascular events was tested using time-to-event analysis with Cox proportional hazard regression to compare outcomes of mothers in underweight, overweight, or obese body mass index (BMI) categories compared with normal BMI. Median follow-up was at 73 years. All-cause mortality was increased in women who were obese during pregnancy (BMI>30 kg/m(2)) versus normal BMI after adjustment for socioeconomic status, smoking, gestation at BMI measurement, preeclampsia, and low birth weight (hazard ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.77). In adjusted models, overweight and obese mothers had increased risk of hospital admission for a cardiovascular event (1.16; 1.06-1.27 and 1.26; 1.01-1.57) compared with normal BMI mothers. Adjustment for parity largely unchanged the hazard ratios (mortality: 1.43, 1.09-1.88; cardiovascular events overweight: 1.17, 1.07-1.29; and obese: 1.30, 1.04-1.62). In conclusion, maternal obesity is associated with increased risk of premature death and cardiovascular disease. Pregnancy and early postpartum could represent an opportunity for interventions to identify obesity and reduce its adverse consequences.

Maternal obesity during pregnancy and premature mortality from cardiovascular event in adult offspring: follow-up of 1 323 275 person years.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with increased mortality from cardiovascular events in adult offspring. DESIGN: Record linkage cohort analysis. SETTING: Birth records from the Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal databank linked to the General Register of Deaths, Scotland, and the Scottish Morbidity Record systems. POPULATION: 37 709 people with birth records from 1950 to present day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Death and hospital admissions for cardiovascular events up to 1 January 2012 in offspring aged 34-61. Maternal body mass index (BMI) was calculated from height and weight measured at the first antenatal visit. The effect of maternal obesity on outcomes in offspring was tested with time to event analysis with Cox proportional hazard regression to compare outcomes in offspring of mothers in underweight, overweight, or obese categories of BMI compared with offspring of women with normal BMI. RESULTS: All cause mortality was increased in offspring of obese mothers (BMI >30) compared with mothers with normal BMI after adjustment for maternal age at delivery, socioeconomic status, sex of offspring, current age, birth weight, gestation at delivery, and gestation at measurement of BMI (hazard ratio 1.35, 95% confidence interval 1.17 to 1.55). In adjusted models, offspring of obese mothers also had an increased risk of hospital admission for a cardiovascular event (1.29, 1.06 to 1.57) compared with offspring of mothers with normal BMI. The offspring of overweight mothers also had a higher risk of adverse outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal obesity is associated with an increased risk of premature death in adult offspring. As one in five women in the United Kingdom is obese at antenatal booking, strategies to optimise weight before pregnancy are urgently required.