SynthesisFamily practice2025
Profile of European frequent attenders in primary health care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Family practice, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Frequent attenders in primary health care in Finland: use of primary care services and patient characteristics.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- [Definition of polyconsultant patients in primary health care using Data Science].Atencion primaria · 2026Article
- Short-Term Repeat Healthcare Visits and Area-Level Inequalities in a Primary Care-Centered Health System.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionFrequent attendance is a phenomenon that increases health expenses and affects the environment and development of health-related activities, reducing the quality of the assistance provided and increasing care pressure. This problem is intensified in primary health care (PHC) due to high workload and limited resources. The objective of this study is to describe the sociodemographic, clinical, psychopathological, and psychosocial profile of adult frequent attenders (FAs) of PHC centres in Europe.
methodsA systematic review with meta-analysis was carried out between September 2023 and August 2024, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and consulting the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases. From 1008 records, 17 studies were finally selected, with data extraction into content tables.
resultsFAs in PHC are typically middle-aged women with medium to high educational and socioeconomic levels, unemployed or retired, married, and living with their families. They often present chronic diseases and physical or psychological conditions, such as cardiovascular, respiratory, or locomotor issues. Depression, anxiety, and somatization are the most common psychological diagnoses. Psychosocially, they perceive their health as poorer, experience more social dysfunction, and report higher exposure to stress. The meta-analysis supports these findings but shows high heterogeneity (I² ≥ 50%) due to varying measurement tools and national contexts.
conclusionFAs in PHC are usually middle-aged women with medium-high socioeconomic status, retired or unemployed, and living with family. They often have chronic, physical, and some psychiatric conditions, with limited quantitative psychosocial assessment.
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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.