Suchergebnisse

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide and will be responsible for almost 10 million deaths in 2020. In the same year, about 19 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed worldwide [1]. The incidence of all cancers increased between 1998 and 2012 in most countries and in all age groups worldwide [2]. However, at least in Europe, the USA and part of Asia, this trend was in line with demographic changes and population ageing [3,4]. Cancer risk increases with age, and more than 60% of cancers are diagnosed in people aged 65 or older [5]. However, recent studies suggest a sharp increase in the incidence of cancer in adults under 50 years of age [6-15]. In young people diagnosed with cancer, the disease is often more advanced at the time of diagnosis than in older people, partly due to delayed diagnosis [16].

The authors analyse the problem of low persistence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and discuss the rationale and potential benefits of patient support programs.

This cross-sectional study evaluated the number of patients with a diagnosis of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and with antibiotic prescriptions from the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA) between January 2019 and December 2022. The number of patients with UTRI diagnoses and antibiotic prescriptions per practice and the duration of sick leave per patient were compared over time. A total of 1,403,907 patients from general practices (GP) were included, 48% of whom were female. The number of URTI patients per practice was significantly higher in 2022 than in 2019 (732 vs. 464, 58%, p<0.001) and this was observed for both women (56%, p<0.001) and men (60%, p<0.001). The post-pandemic increase in the number of URTI diagnoses correlated with age and was highest in the age group between 18–30 years (22%, p<0.001) and lowest in older patients >70 years (3%). Both the number of patients per practice on sick leave due to URTI (184 vs. 92) and the average duration of sick leave (+2 days) increased from 2019 to 2022. Our data suggest a dramatic increase in the incidence of URTI among all demographic subgroups in Germany between 2019 and 2022, which was associated with a tremendous impact on socioeconomic variables such as the frequency or duration of sick leave. These data could be of great importance in current pandemic management and the management of future pandemics.