International Trends in Opioid Prescribing by Age and Sex from 2001 to 2019: An Observational Study Using Population-Based Databases from 18 Countries and One Special Administrative Region.

Objective: To characterize multinational trends and patterns of opioid analgesic prescribing by sex and age.

Design, Setting, And Participants: We studied opioid analgesic prescribing from 2001 to 2019 with common protocol using population-based databases from eighteen countries and one special administrative region.

Main Outcome Measures: We measured opioid prescribing by geographical region, sex and age, estimating annual prevalent, incident, and nonincident opioid prescribing per 100 population with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and meta-analyzed the multinational and regional opioid prescribing with a random-effects model.

A qualitative exploration of community pharmacist views on providing a mental health and well-being intervention for long-term condition patients.

Background: Subthreshold depression and anxiety are common, affecting up to 24 % of people over their lifetime and are often associated with long-term conditions. Community pharmacists, who often have an established relationship with people who have long-term conditions, are well placed to identify and address subthreshold depression and anxiety and reduce the risk of progression to clinical mental health disorders.

Methods: Semi-structured individual qualitative interviews were conducted with community pharmacists to explore their perspectives on a pharmacy service for long-term condition patients with subthreshold depression and anxiety.

Collecting behavioural data across countries during pandemics: Development of the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Tool.

Tools that can be used to collect behavioural data during pandemics are needed to inform policy and practice. The objective of this project was to develop the Your COVID-19 Risk tool in response to the global spread of COVID-19, aiming to promote health behaviour change. We developed an online resource based on key behavioural evidence-based risk factors related to contracting and spreading COVID-19.

A multinational cohort study of trends in survival following dementia diagnosis.

Abatract: BACKGROUND: Information on the survival of people living with dementia over time and across systems can help policymakers understand the real-world impact of dementia on health and social care systems. This multinational cohort study examines the trends in relative mortality risk following a dementia diagnosis.

Methods: A common protocol was applied to population-based data from the UK, Germany, Finland, Canada (Ontario), New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Global, Regional, and National Burden of Nontraumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: The Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Importance: Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) represents the third most common stroke type with unique etiologies, risk factors, diagnostics, and treatments. Nevertheless, epidemiological studies often cluster SAH with other stroke types leaving its distinct burden estimates obscure.

Objective: To estimate the worldwide burden of SAH.

The Identification and Management of Subthreshold Depression and Anxiety in Primary Care for People With Long-Term Conditions.

Subthreshold depression (sDep) and anxiety (sAnx) are common conditions and are associated with significant suffering, impaired functioning, increased healthcare utilisation and economic costs. Furthermore, they are risk factors for crossing the clinical threshold and developing mental health disorders. Subthreshold conditions are associated with long-term conditions (LTCs).

The effect of anti-seizure medications on Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk and AD-related symptoms: A scoping review.

BackgroundAs the fastest-growing segment of the population, adults over 65 are at the most significant risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Older adults often use anti-seizure medications (ASMs), which can negatively impact cognitive function, mood, and behavior, mimicking AD or its symptoms. Understanding the effects of ASMs across diverse older adults is crucial, given that some ethnoracial groups are at higher risk for AD or more severe symptoms compared to non-Hispanic Whites.

Outcomes Related to New Persistent Opioid Use After Surgery or Trauma: A Population-based Cohort Study.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of persistent opioid use (POU) following surgery or trauma on health outcomes using linked data.

Background: Surgery and trauma can lead to POU, characterized by continuous opioid consumption following hospital discharge. Outside the United States, there is a lack of population-based studies on POU outcomes in opioid-naive patients following these events.

Treatment outcomes of standardized injectable shorter regimen for multi-drugs resistant tuberculosis in Ethiopia: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The injectable shorter multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) regimen, has been reported to be less costly and more effective in the treatment of MDR-TB compared to the longer regimen. Ethiopia introduced the injectable shorter regimen (SR) in April 2018 following official recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016. While the WHO recommendation was based on evidence coming from extensive programmatic studies in some Asian and African countries, there is paucity of information on patient outcomes in the Ethiopian context.

Traumatic Brain Injury, Seizures, and Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults.

Importance: Traumatic brain injury (TBI), seizures, and dementia increase with age. There is a gap in understanding the associations of TBI, seizures, and medications such as antiseizure and antipsychotics with the progression of cognitive impairment across racial and ethnic groups.

Objective: To investigate the association of TBI and seizures with the risk of cognitive impairment among cognitively normal older adults and the role of medications in moderating the association.

Persistent opioid use after hospital admission due to trauma: a population-based cohort study.

Persistent opioid use (POU) is a common marker of harm related to opioid use after trauma. This study determined the incidence and risk factors for POU after hospitalisation due to trauma in New Zealand, among opioid-naïve patients. This was a population-based, retrospective cohort study, using linked data, involving all trauma patients of any age admitted to all NZ hospitals between 2007 and 2019.

Asthma Control and Associated Factors Among Children with Current Asthma - Findings from the 2019 Child Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System - Asthma Call-Back Survey.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and correlates of uncontrolled asthma among children with current asthma in four US states. We also determined the rates and correlates of asthma-related hospitalization, urgent care center (UCC), or emergency department (ED) visits.

Participants And Methods: We analyzed the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) Asthma Call-back Survey (ACBS) datasets.

Persistent Opioid Use After Hospital Admission From Surgery in New Zealand: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Persistent opioid use (POU) is common after surgery and is associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity. There have been no population-based studies exploring POU in opioid-naïve surgical patients in New Zealand (NZ). This study aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors for POU in opioid-naïve patients undergoing surgery in all NZ hospitals.

Evaluating the Feasibility of a Community Pharmacy-Delivered Behaviour Change Intervention to Reduce Reliever Reliance in Asthma.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a community pharmacy-delivered intervention to shift patients' beliefs about short-acting beta agonists (SABA) in asthma management. The study targeted individual beliefs about SABA and assessed actual SABA use, focusing on reducing SABA use as well as adherence to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) as a preventive measure.

Patients And Methods: This non-randomized, before-and-after feasibility study enrolled participants with asthma from four community pharmacies in Auckland, New Zealand.

Patterns of opioid use in New Zealand older adults, 2007-2018.

Objectives: Opioid use has increased globally, dramatically increasing opioid overdose, dependence, abuse and mortality. Limited research is available on opioid use patterns in older adults in New Zealand and internationally. This study aims to address this gap by determining the incidence and prevalence of opioid use among older adults (age ≥65 years) in New Zealand from 2007 to 2018.

Falls Risk in Long-Term Care Residents With Cognitive Impairment: Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on falls rates in long-term care residents with cognitive impairment.

Design: An observational study using routinely collected national interRAI data.

Setting And Participants: Participants were from long-term care residents (age ≥60 years) who received an interRAI Long Term Care Facility assessment anywhere in New Zealand between August 17, 2018, and August 16, 2022.

Beliefs about antibiotics, perceptions of antimicrobial resistance, and antibiotic use: initial findings from a multi-country survey.

Objectives: To examine public beliefs about antibiotics, AMR, and knowledge of antibiotic use, and how these relate to self-reported antibiotic use.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty participants from 23 countries completed a cross-sectional, online survey assessing beliefs about antibiotics and AMR, knowledge of antibiotics, and antibiotic use. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests and Spearman's ρ correlations were used to understand relationships between outcomes.

Asthma control and associated risk factors among adults with current asthma: Findings from 2019 behavioral risk factor surveillance system asthma call-back survey.

Background: Despite the availability of effective treatments, many adults with asthma have uncontrolled asthma. Uncontrolled asthma can lead to severe exacerbations. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of uncontrolled asthma among adults (≥18 years) with current asthma in the United States.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on asthma exacerbations in New Zealand: An interrupted time series analysis.

Background: New Zealand (NZ) implemented some of the strictest restrictions during the novel coronavirus pandemic (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). How this impacted asthma exacerbation rates in NZ is unknown.

Objective: We sought to explore the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on asthma exacerbations in NZ during 2020.

Medication and Road Test Performance Among Cognitively Healthy Older Adults.

Importance: Older adults are increasingly prescribed medications that have adverse effects. Prior studies have found a higher risk of motor vehicle crashes to be associated with certain medication use.

Objective: To determine whether specific medication classes were associated with performance decline as assessed by a standardized road test in a community sample of cognitively healthy older adults, to evaluate additional associations of poor road test performance with comorbid medical conditions and demographic characteristics, and to test the hypothesis that specific medication classes (ie, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, sedatives or hypnotics, anticholinergics, antihistamines, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen) would be associated with an increase in risk of impaired driving performance over time.

Predictors of persistent opioid use in non-cancer older adults: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Long-term opioid use and associated adverse outcomes have increased dramatically in recent years. Limited research is available on long-term opioid use in older adults.

Objective: We aimed to determine the incidence and predictors of long-term or persistent opioid use (POU) amongst opioid-naïve older adults without a cancer diagnosis.

Asthma exacerbations in New Zealand 2010-2019: A national population-based study.

Introduction: Asthma is one of the most common long-term conditions in the world, with New Zealand (NZ) having one of the highest rates of asthma symptoms. Despite the significant burden of asthma in NZ, there is a lack of data on asthma exacerbation rates in NZ and how these have varied over time. This study is a national population-based study of asthma exacerbation rates in NZ between 2010 and 2019, and explores how these rates vary amongst different demographic groups.

Global Epidemiology of Hip Fractures: Secular Trends in Incidence Rate, Post-Fracture Treatment, and All-Cause Mortality.

In this international study, we examined the incidence of hip fractures, postfracture treatment, and all-cause mortality following hip fractures, based on demographics, geography, and calendar year. We used patient-level healthcare data from 19 countries and regions to identify patients aged 50 years and older hospitalized with a hip fracture from 2005 to 2018. The age- and sex-standardized incidence rates of hip fractures, post-hip fracture treatment (defined as the proportion of patients receiving anti-osteoporosis medication with various mechanisms of action [bisphosphonates, denosumab, raloxifene, strontium ranelate, or teriparatide] following a hip fracture), and the all-cause mortality rates after hip fractures were estimated using a standardized protocol and common data model.