Ongoing CRIS projects: multi morbidity

Diabetes in Mental Health

People living with diabetes need to manage their condition on everyday basis to stay well and avoid complications from diabetes. When they come in contact with mental health services, their mental health problems take priority and their needs related to diabetes (e.g. medication, diet, exercise) may be overlooked.

This is why it is important to explore if healthcare professionals in mental health services check if a patient has diabetes and if yes, if this information is used to support both mental health and physical health needs of the patient.

This study is the first step in answering this question and it aims to check if we can use information in the electronic health records to better understand what happens to patients who have diabetes on top of their mental illness (for example if treatment is altered, appropriate recommendations made).

Rare side effects of psychotropics bone marrow toxicity and dysphagia

Some rare but potentially significant side effects such as a reduction in the number of blood cells that help fight infections or stop bleeding have been related to psychotropic medications; another significant side effect can be problems with swallowing. While these side effects are recognised with some medications, little is known about the frequency of these side effects. Here we will use the Oxford Health UK CRIS Database to identify people who are treated with medications such as mirtazapine (an antidepressant) and compare the frequency to another antidepressant such as sertraline. The UK CRIS allows for data on a large number of patients to be investigated and inferences to be made on the frequency of rare and life-threatening side effects of psychotropic medications. The results of this study could inform on management of risk and clinical monitoring and consequently, help to improve patient care.