Diseases of blood circulation refer to a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) that affect the heart, brain, and blood vessels in the main. Some heart and circulatory conditions are present from birth, while others are acquired later in life. Factors such as family history of CVD, age, gender, diabetes, obesity, diet, smoking and lifestyle can affect the risk of developing some diseases of the circulatory system. The management of CVD is associated with significant healthcare costs and CVD is a common cause of death in the UK.
The aim of this study is to describe, over time, the number of people who have CVD in the UK and estimate the healthcare costs associated with managing these conditions. How often a disease occurs in our population plays an important role in planning NHS services and identifying areas for future research and development.
Research-quality patients with a disease of the circulatory system will be selected. The number of people developing the condition (its incidence) will then be calculated on a yearly basis for the duration of the data source, and the proportion of people having that condition in a given year (its prevalence) will be calculated over the same period. Time to death and patients’ characteristics will be presented. The frequency and cost of primary care consultations, prescriptions, outpatient attendances and inpatient stays will also be determined.
Our aim is to determine the descriptive epidemiology of diseases involving the circulatory system and estimate and cost healthcare use by people with these conditions. Acceptable patients will be selected from CPRD GOLD and Aurum if they have a medical code indicative of a disease of the circulatory system. For sensitivity analyses, a subcohort will comprise English patients eligible for linkage to the HES admitted patient care (APC) and outpatient datasets, and their Office for National Statistics (ONS) death registration data. The start of CPRD follow-up will be defined as the later of the patient’s registration date and, in CPRD GOLD, their practice’s up-to-standard date; the end of CPRD data follow-up will be defined as the earliest of the patient’s transfer-out date, date of death (if applicable), and the last data-collection date for their practice. The presentation date will be defined as that of the patient’s first ever record with a code indicative of the circulatory disease. For incident patients, selected if their presentation date occurs at least 90 days after registration, detailed patient characteristics will be determined. Time to death will be presented using Kaplan–Meier analysis. Healthcare resource use and associated costs will be estimated before and after presentation and comprise primary care contacts, primary care prescriptions, outpatient attendances and hospital admissions. Healthcare costs will be compared with a non-exposed control group of acceptable, HES eligible patients matched in a 1:1 ratio on age, sex, registration status at the date of the case’s start of follow-up and general practice where appropriate. Quintiles of deprivation score (Practice Level Index of Multiple Deprivation) will be described. Incidence and point prevalence will be calculated on a yearly basis.
This study will provide valuable information on the healthcare burden associated with diseases of the circulatory system and help to inform healthcare decision-making.
Patient characteristics; Comorbidities; Healthcare resource use; Healthcare costs; All-cause mortality; Cause-specific mortality; Incidence; Prevalence
- Chief Investigator -
- Corresponding Applicant -
- Collaborator -
Cerys Jenkins - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Chris Shepherd - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Christopher Morgan - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Darren Summers - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Elgan Mathias - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Rhiannon Thomason - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Sara Jenkins-Jones - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Thomas Berni - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Cerys Jenkins - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Christopher Morgan - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Chris Shepherd - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Darren Summers - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Elgan Mathias - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Rhiannon Thomason - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Sara Jenkins-Jones - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Thomas Berni - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
HES Admitted Patient Care;HES Outpatient;ONS Death Registration Data;Practice Level Index of Multiple Deprivation