This study aims to analyze self-perceived health and lifestyles in the European Union Member States Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, examining associations with diabetes prevalence; and to identify the demographic, economic and health variables associated with diabetes in this population. We performed a cross-sectional study of 312,172 people aged 15 years and over (150,656 men and 161,516 women), using data collected from the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). The EHIS includes questions on the health status and health determinants of the adult population, as well as health care use and accessibility. To estimate the magnitudes of the associations with diabetes prevalence, we fitted multivariate logistic models. The EHIS data revealed a prevalence of diabetes in Europe of 6.5% (n = 17,029). Diabetes was associated with being physically inactive (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.02–1.28), obese (OR 2.75; 95% CI 2.60–2.90), male (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.40–1.53) and 65–74 years old (OR 3.47; 95% CI 3.09–3.89); and having long-standing health problems (OR 7.39; 95% CI, 6.85–7.97). These results were consistent in the bivariate and multivariate analyses, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.87 (95% CI 0.87–0.88). In a large European health survey, diabetes was clearly associated with a poorer perceived quality of life, physical inactivity, obesity, and other comorbidities, as well as non-modifiable factors such as older age and male sex.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the association of health determinants, lifestyle and socioeconomic variables on healthcare use in people with diabetes in Europe.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the European Health Interview Survey wave 2 (ie, secondary analysis).SettingThe sample included data from 25 European countries.ParticipantsThe sample included 16 270 patients with diabetes aged 15 years or older (49.1% men and 50.9% women).ResultsThe survey data showed that 58.2% of respondents had seen their primary care physician in the past month and 22.6% had been admitted to the hospital in the past year. Use of primary care was associated with being retired (prevalence ratio (PR) 1.13, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.19) and having very poor self-perceived health (PR 1.80, 95% CI 1.51 to 2.15), long-standing health problems (PR 1.14, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.24), high blood pressure (PR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.10) and chronic back pain (PR 1.07, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.11). Hospital admission was associated with very poor self-perceived health (PR 3.03, 95% CI 2.14 to 4.31), accidents at home (PR 1.54, 95% CI 1.40 to 1.69), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (PR 1.34, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.47), high blood pressure (PR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.17), chronic back pain (PR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.98), moderate difficulty walking (PR 1.33, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.45) and severe difficulty walking (PR 1.67, 95% CI 1.51 to 1.85).ConclusionsIn the European diabetic population, the high cumulative incidences of primary care visits and hospital admissions are associated with labour status, alcohol consumption, self-perceived health, long-standing health problems, high blood pressure, chronic back pain, accidents at home, COPD and difficulty walking.

La isquemia arterial aguda (IAA) es un síndrome causado por la interrupción brusca del aporte sanguíneo a un determinado territorio del organismo, a consecuencia de la obstrucción súbita de la arteria que lo irriga. Puede ir acompañada de un intenso dolor que no responda a la analgesia convencional. La analgesia epidural multimodal es la administración de un anéstesico local con un opioide en el espacio peridural para mantener al individuo libre de dolor. El uso de una técnica multimodal reduce la incidencia y gravedad de los trastornos fisiológicos que ocasiona el dolor agudo. Presentamos un caso de un paciente ingresado a cargo de la Unidad de hospitalización a Domicilio para control evolutivo y manejo del dolor por una IAA en miembro superior izquierdo. Tras intervencionismo, se realizó una analgesia epidural multimodal con fentanilo y bupivacaina con mejoría completa del mismo y sin incidencias clínicas.