1 June 2024 | ARTICLE
Model-based disease mapping using primary care registry data 
BACKGROUND: In Flanders, general practitioners (GPs) were among the first ones to collect data regarding COVID-19 cases. Intego is a GPs' morbidity registry in primary care with data collected from the electronic medical records from a sample o...
OBJECTIVE: Patients with impaired kidney function and increased albuminuria are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous research has revealed that a substantial proportion of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) do no...
BACKGROUND: Dyspepsia is a prevalent condition in the general population. Besides organic causes, the differential diagnosis of dyspepsia includes functional dyspepsia (FD) and gastroparesis (GP) which share similar pathophysiological mechanism...
OBJECTIVE: Medical registries frequently underestimate the prevalence of health problems compared with surveys. This study aimed to determine the registry variables that can serve as a proxy for variables studied in a mental health survey. MATE...
BACKGROUND: It is crucial to understand the trends in paediatric antibiotic prescribing and serious and nonserious infections to improve antibiotic prescribing practices for children in ambulatory care. OBJECTIVES: Assessing trends in paediatri...
Imputation of longitudinal categorical covariates with several waves and many predictors is cumbersome in terms of implausible transitions, colinearity, and overfitting. We designed a simulation study with data obtained from a general practitio...
BACKGROUND: Since 2014, Belgium's Superior Health Council has recommended pneumococcal vaccination for adults aged 19-85 years at increased risk for pneumococcal diseases with a specific vaccine administration sequence and timing. Currentl...
INTRODUCTION: Low back pain (LBP), neck pain (NKP), osteoarthritis (OST) and rheumatoid arthritis (RHE) are among the musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders causing the greatest disability in terms of Years Lived with Disability. The current study aim...
CONTEXT: Since the introduction of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for the treatment of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (Afib), oral anticoagulants (OACs) prescription has evolved. AIM: We aim first to explore the OACs prescription behaviour...
BACKGROUND: Polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use are associated with unplanned hospital admissions. Targeted interventions might reduce the hospitalization risk. Yet, it remains unclear which patient profiles derive the largest benefit...
BACKGROUND: Anxiety is frequently encountered in general practice, but figures regarding prevalence and incidence in this healthcare setting remain scarce. AIM: To provide insight about the trends in prevalence and incidence of anxiety in Belgi...
BACKGROUND: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in general practice remains uncertain. Several studies showed an increase in terms of mental health problems during the pandemic. In Belgium, especially during the first waves of ...
BACKGROUND: Early detection and treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) can prevent further deterioration and complications. Previous studies suggested that the diagnosis is often made when advanced renal failure occurs. The aims of this stud...
Automated audit & feedback as a tool to implement antibiotic stewardship in primary care using the Intego database
BACKGROUND: Contrary to most European guidelines, benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA) are often used continuously at a low dosage, being the most common form of long-term use. In Belgium, BZRA use is monitored by analyzing self-report data ...
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 outbreak had an important impact on general practice, for example the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the switch to telephone consultations. We installed a monitoring instrument and reported the burden t...
BACKGROUND: To improve the management of childhood urinary tract infections, it is essential to understand the incidence rates, testing and treatment strategy. METHODS: A retrospective study using data from 45 to 104 general practices (2000 to ...
BACKGROUND: Depression is a common mental disorder in family practice with an impact on global health. The aim of this study is to provide insight in the trends of epidemiological measures as well as pharmacological treatments and comorbidities...
OBJECTIVES: With the ageing of our population, it seems plausible that the prevalence of both dementia and multimorbidity will increase in the following decades. The aim of this study is to examine the trends in prevalence and incidence of regi...
INTRODUCTION: The Covid-19 pandemic had a tremendous impact on healthcare but uncertainty remains about the extent to which primary care provision was affected. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the impact on primary care provision and the e...
OBJECTIVES: We estimated the effect of pneumococcal vaccination (PV) on acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in various age and risk groups using different methods within a causal inference methodological framework. STUDY DESIGN AND...
BACKGROUND: The use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) data in clinical research is incredibly increasing, but the abundancy of data resources raises the challenge of data cleaning. It can save time if the data cleaning can be done automaticall...
AIMS: This study aims to assess the prevalence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), heart failure (HF), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and their combined presence in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients in primary care for whom the 2019 ...
BACKGROUND: The electronic health record (EHR) of the general physician (GP) is an important tool that can be used to assess and improve the quality of healthcare. However, there are some problems when (re) using the data gathered in the EHR fo...
AIMS: We aimed to assess the prevalence, components and evolution of polypharmacy and to evaluate risk factors associated with polypharmacy. METHODS: A retrospective dynamic cohort study was performed, using a primary healthcare database compri...
BACKGROUND: In case-control studies most algorithms allow the controls to be sampled several times, which is not always optimal. If many controls are available and adjustment for several covariates is necessary, matching without replacement mig...
OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between the use of oral antibiotics and subsequent colorectal cancer risk. DESIGN: Matched case-control study. SETTING: General practice centres participating in the Integrated Computerised Network databas...
BACKGROUND: Estimates on the incidence rates of infections are needed to assess the burden of disease in the community. OBJECTIVE: To assess incidence rates of potentially serious infections in patients aged 65 years and over presenting to Flem...