OBJECTIVES Severe mental illness (SMI) is associated with premature cardiovascular disease, prompting the UK primary care payment-for-performance system (Quality and Outcomes Framework, QOF) to incentivise annual physical health reviews. This study aimed to assess the QOF's impact on detection and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors in people with SMI. METHODS A retrospective open cohort...

Sarcopenia is associated with increased wait-list mortality, but a standard definition is lacking. In this retrospective study, we sought to determine the optimal definition of sarcopenia in end-stage liver disease (ESLD) patients awaiting liver transplantation (LT). Included were 396 patients newly listed for LT in 2012 at 5 North American transplant centers. All computed tomography scans were...

OBJECTIVE We investigated the association between skeletal muscle mass and dietary protein intake, habitual physical activity, body composition, and metabolic variables. METHODS One hundred three healthy postmenopausal women from southern Brazil (age 55.2 ± 4.9 y, body mass index 27.2 ± 4.6 kg/m) were enrolled. Bone mineral density, %body fat, %trunk fat mass, and appendicular lean mass were ...

BACKGROUND Skeletal muscle mass declines after the age of 50. Loss of skeletal muscle mass is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE This study aims to identify predictors of low skeletal muscle mass in older adults toward development of a practical clinical assessment tool for use by clinicians to identify patients requiring dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) screen...

BACKGROUND Cancer wasting is characterized by muscle loss and may contribute to fatigue and poor quality of life (QoL). Our aim was to investigate associations between skeletal muscle index (SMI) and skeletal muscle radiodensity (SMD) and selected QoL outcomes in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at diagnosis. METHODS Baseline data from patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC and performa...

Current guidelines for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) recommend the regular use of inhaled bronchodilator therapy in order to relieve symptoms and prevent exacerbations. A variety of inhaler devices are currently available to COPD patients, and the choice of device is an important consideration because it can influence patients' adherence to treatment, and thus p...

Background Although it is well established that healthy sleep promotes positive mental health, little known about how operates in children and adolescents who experience a range of psychosocial stressors. This study examined the association between duration serious illness (SMI) this pathway moderated by stressors (discrimination, bullying, perceived school neighborhood safety). Methods A cross...

People with severe mental illness (SMI) experience a reduction in life expectancy of 15-20 years. Physical health and mortality experience may be even worse for ethnic minority groups with SMI, but evidence is limited. We suggest clinical, policy and research recommendations to address this inequality.

OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to examine the role of gender as it relates to access to housing among individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) in Canada. DESIGN An exploratory, qualitative approach was used to assess the perspectives of Canadian housing experts. The focus of inquiry was on the role of gender and associated intersections (eg, ethnicity) in pathways to housing access a...

BACKGROUND The life span of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) is shorter compared to the general population. This excess mortality is mainly due to physical illness. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence rates of different physical illnesses in individuals with SMI and to examine how these are being managed. METHODS The study was a cross-sectional retrospective ch...