Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24844268›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2014

Increased utilisation of eye disorder-related ambulatory medical services prior to the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome in female patients: a longitudinal population-based study in Taiwan.

Ming-Chi Lu, Wen-Hsiung Fa, Tzung-Yi Tsai, Malcolm Koo, Ning-Sheng Lai

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 83% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Ming-Chi LuDivision of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.
Wen-Hsiung FaSchool of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan Department of Ophthalmology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
Tzung-Yi TsaiDepartment of Medical Research, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan Department of Nursing, Tzu Chi College of Technology, Hualien, Taiwan Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Malcolm KooDepartment of Medical Research, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9242-9167
Ning-Sheng LaiDivision of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.
Tzu Chi University · TWTzu Chi College of Technology · TWUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo investigate the utilisation of eye disorder-related ambulatory medical services prior to the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome in female Taiwanese patients.

designA nationwide, population-based case-control study.

settingTaiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.

participantsA total of 347 patients with a diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome from 2005 to 2010 and 1735 controls frequency matched on 10-year age interval and index year were identified from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Diagnoses of eye disorder (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, clinical modification (ICD-9-CM) codes from 360 to 370) were retrospectively screened to 1997.

main outcome measureThe utilisation of eye disorder-related medical service over different intervals prior to diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome between cases and controls were compared using generalised estimating equations with negative binomial distribution and log link function.

resultsA significantly higher proportion of patients with Sjögren's syndrome (7.5%) utilised eye disorder-related ambulatory medical services over an 8-year interval prior to the diagnosis of the disease compared with controls (4.8%). The annual frequency of utilisation of eye disorder-related ambulatory medical services increased significantly faster when closer to the index date in patients with Sjögren's syndrome compared with controls (interaction effect, p=0.010). Subgroup analyses indicated that the changes over time in the utilisation of services related to disorders of lacrimal system (interaction effect, p=0.019) and conjunctiva (interaction effect, p=0.066) were significantly greater in patients with Sjögren's syndrome compared with controls.

conclusionsAn increase in the utilisation of eye disorder-related ambulatory medical services was observed in patients with Sjögren's syndrome several years prior to the diagnosis of the disease. General practitioners and ophthalmologists can play an important role by including Sjögren's syndrome in the diagnostic evaluation of their patients afflicted with relevant symptoms.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAmbulatory CareCase-Control StudiesEye DiseasesFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMiddle AgedSjogren's SyndromeTaiwanTime FactorsYoung AdultOPHTHALMOLOGYRHEUMATOLOGY

Identifiers

PMID24844268
PMCPMC4039788
OpenAlexW2139047567

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.