The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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After decades of steady progress, life expectancy at birth has stalled in England. Inequalities are also rising, and life expectancy has fallen for females living in the most deprived areas. However, less attention has been given to trends in other measures of population health, particularly health-related quality of life (HRQoL). ⋯ Developing interventions to address these worrying trends should be a policy priority. A particular focus should be on mental health in younger populations, especially for females and in deprived areas.
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is commonly comorbid with hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the extent of comorbidity in CKD across a range of concordant (shared pathophysiology and/or treatment) conditions and discordant (unrelated pathophysiology and/or different or contradictory treatment) conditions is not well documented. ⋯ Chronic kidney disease is associated with extreme comorbidity across a wide range of mental and physical conditions. Routine care for people with CKD should include recognition and management of comorbidities, and clinical guidelines should support clinicians to do this.
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Remote consulting was introduced quickly into UK general practice in March 2020 as an emergency response to COVID-19. In July 2020, 'remote-first' became long-term government policy. ⋯ As the first wave of the pandemic came and went, media depictions of remote consulting evolved from an 'efficiency and safety' narrative to a 'risks, inequalities, and lack of choice' narrative. To restore public trust in general practice, public communication should emphasise the wide menu of consulting options now available to patients and measures being taken to assure safety and avoid inequity.