ArticleFamily practice2015
Clinical characteristics of persistent frequent attenders in primary care: case-control study.
Article in Family practice, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Profile of European frequent attenders in primary health care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Family practice · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Determinants of Frequent Attendance in Primary Care. A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Examining the characteristics of patients with long-term impaired work ability in primary health care - a cross-sectional study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Trial
- One-session cognitive behavior treatment for long-term frequent attenders in primary care: randomized controlled trial.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2019Trial
- Frequent attenders in primary health care in Finland: use of primary care services and patient characteristics.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Article
- Rate and Characteristics of Frequent Attenders at Primary Healthcare Centres in Muscat Governorate, Oman:Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2026Article
- Complex mental health difficulties in primary care: a scoping review with thematic synthesis.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Beyond the medical file: A scoping review on patients' perspectives on depression treatment in primary care.PloS one · 2025Article
- Profile and healthcare utilisation patterns of adolescent frequent attenders in Singapore primary care: a retrospective study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Health anxiety is an important driver of healthcare use.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Article
- Risk factors for the frequent attendance of older patients at community health service centers in China: a cross-sectional study based on stratified sampling.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Why parents bring their children with minor health problems to their family practitioners: An unmatched case-control study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2021Article
- Frequent attenders of three outpatient health care schemes in Finland: characteristics and association with long-term sickness absences, 2016-2018.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Differences in physical and psychological health in patients with chronic low back pain: a national survey in general Spanish population.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2020Article
- Article
- Characteristics of Frequent Attenders Compared with Non-Frequent Attenders in Primary Care: Study of Remote Communities in Taiwan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMost frequent attendance in primary care is temporary, but persistent frequent attendance is expensive and may be suitable for psychological intervention. To plan appropriate intervention and service delivery, there is a need for research involving standardized psychiatric interviews with assessment of physical health and health status.
objectiveTo compare the mental and physical health characteristics and health status of persistent frequent attenders (FAs) in primary care, currently and over the preceding 2 years, with normal attenders (NAs) matched by age, gender and general practice.
methodsCase-control study of 71 FAs (30 or more GP or practice nurse consultations in 2 years) and 71 NAs, drawn from five primary care practices, employing standardized psychiatric interview, quality of life, health anxiety and primary care electronic record review over the preceding 2 years.
resultsCompared to NAs, FAs were more likely to report a lower quality of life (P < 0.001), be unmarried (P = 0.03) and have no educational qualifications (P = 0.009) but did not differ in employment status. FAs experienced greater health anxiety (P < 0.001), morbid obesity (P = 0.02), pain (P < 0.001) and long-term pathological and ill-defined physical conditions (P < 0.001). FAs had more depression including dysthymia, anxiety and somatoform disorders (all P < 0.001).
conclusionsPersistent frequent attendance in primary care was associated with poor quality of life and high clinical complexity characterized by diverse and often persistent physical and mental multimorbidity. A brokerage model with GPs working in close liaison with skilled psychological therapists is required to manage such persistent complexity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.