Kiran, A;
Geary, RS;
Gurol-Urganci, I;
Cromwell, DA;
Bansi-Matharu, L;
Shakespeare, J;
Mahmood, T;
(2018)
Sociodemographic differences in symptom severity and duration among women referred to secondary care for menorrhagia in England and Wales: a cohort study from the National Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Audit.
BMJ Open
, 8
(2)
, Article e018444. 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018444.
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Abstract
Objective: To examine symptom severity and duration at time of referral to secondary care for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) by socioeconomic deprivation, age and ethnicity. / Design: Cohort analysis of data from the National HMB Audit linked to Hospital Episode Statistics data. / Setting: English and Welsh National Health Services (secondary care): February 2011 to January 2012. / Participants: 15 325 women aged 18–60 years in England and Wales who had a new referral for HMB to a gynaecology outpatient department. / Methods: Multivariable linear regression to calculate adjusted differences in mean symptom severity and quality of life scores at first outpatient visit. Multivariable logistic regression to calculate adjusted ORs. Adjustment for body mass index, parity and comorbidities. / Primary outcome measures: Mean symptom severity score (0=best, 100=worst), mean condition-specific quality of life score (0=worst, 100=best) and symptom duration (≥1 year). / Results: Women were on average 42 years old and 12% reported minority ethnic backgrounds. Mean symptom severity and condition-specific quality of life scores were 61.8 and 34.7. Almost three-quarters of women (74%) reported having had symptoms for ≥1 year. Women from more deprived areas had more severe symptoms at their first outpatient visit (difference −6.1; 95% CI−7.2 to −4.9, between least and most deprived quintiles) and worse condition-specific quality of life (difference 6.3; 95% CI 5.1 to 7.5). Symptom severity declined with age while quality of life improved. / Conclusions: Women living in more deprived areas reported more severe HMB symptoms and poorer quality of life at the start of treatment in secondary care. Providers should examine referral practices to explore if these differences reflect women’s health-seeking behaviour or how providers decide whether or not to refer.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Sociodemographic differences in symptom severity and duration among women referred to secondary care for menorrhagia in England and Wales: a cohort study from the National Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Audit |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018444 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018444 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10044019 |
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