Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the August 2025 edition of the Lambeth DataNet bulletin which provides an update on the great research being undertaken to provide insights into the needs of our Lambeth residents, all thanks to DataNet.
The latest published findings using DataNet
Found that people with Affective Disorders (AD) were more likely to have a recorded prescription of calcium and be referred for osteoporosis screening within 2 years after the date of the first AD diagnosis in adjusted analyses. Older age, female sex, having an ethnic minority background, Class A analgesics use were significant predictors for all osteoporosis management pathways within AD patients.
Found high rates of intensive prescribing (16% of patients) and substantial UTI resistance rates (65%). Despite hypothesising higher rates of intensive prescribing would be associated with increased UTI resistance, we found no such relationship. In the UK, primary care practitioners are encouraged to prescribe responsibly, based on acute clinical presentation. Our study suggests that intensive prescribing for individuals (‘many for the few’) may not be any more detrimental to resistance rates, than antibiotic prescribing overall.
Contrary to expectations, people with SMI and CP received more pain management referrals compared to matched controls, particularly in the early post-diagnosis period. These findings were restricted to those with a CP diagnosis already, and further research should investigate whether increased referrals translate to improved clinical outcomes.
This study was reported in a previous bulletin but has now been formally published.
Public Health work
A series of topic focused briefing using Lambeth DataNet have been published. They provide key stakeholders, such as government, health, and policy makers, with up-to-date, evidence based information to guide decisions on health policies and responses. They help to communicate current and emerging health risk in chronic disease.
NHS Health checks study
Since the publication of the last bulletin the NHS Health Checks study was presented at the European Cardiology Conference, and this has been published as an abstract. The link to the abstract can be found here: Effectiveness of NHS cardiovascular prevention programme in reducing all-cause mortality across an inner-city local authority in the United Kingdom | European Journal of Preventive Cardiology | Oxford Academic. The focus of this presentation and abstract was on the impact of premature mortality reduction related to health checks. Further work has now been completed and is currently being peer reviewed for publication.
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) – baseline evaluation of the management according to NICE guidelines
We conducted a baseline evaluation of the management of people on the CKD register in accordance with NICE guidelines. The CESEL team launched the updated guidelines in 2023. This baseline evaluation using Lambeth Datanet extraction, included all patients registered with a Lambeth GP (n = 426,434). This analysis focused on adults 18 years or over (n= 361,692). There are 9,028 adults with CKD in the dataset. Key findings included:
- 5% of the adult population registered with a Lambeth GP had diagnosed CKD (compared to a prevalence of 4.4% for England overall in 2023/24).
- Over half (55%) of CKD patients are female.
- Black ethnic groups make up a disproportionally large proportion of CKD patients. 43.5% of CKD patients are Black African, Caribbean or Black British. Whereas these groups make up 19% of the whole adult population.
- The majority (76%) of CKD patients are over the age of 60 years.
- CKD patients have higher levels of other chronic diseases compared to the rest of the adult population. 73% of CKD patients are coded as having hypertension and 36% have Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM).
- CVD risk factors showed 11% of CKD patients were smokers; 54% has controlled blood pressure (22% uncontrolled and 24% no blood pressure checked in last 12 months); 72% of CKD patients were overweight or obese. Data on alcohol consumption was limited. Just over half of CKD patients were prescribed a statin in the last 6 months prior to extract of the data and about a third of patients had never been prescribed a statin. There were 3,137 CKD patients who also have type 2 diabetes; 54% of these patients have not been referred to the diabetes management programme; 60% of these patients have HbA1c levels above 48mmol/mol.
- More detailed analysis shows that CKD patients from Black and multiple ethnicities groups are less likely to have controlled blood pressure, be prescribed statins and have a healthy weight compared to White groups. Once adjusted deprivation had no significant impact on outcomes between different deprivation groups.
This study provides a baseline and further analysis is recommended to see if the implementation of NICE guidelines since 2023 locally has led to improvements in the management of people on the CKD register from this baseline data.
Sickle Cell briefing
This briefing describes the recorded prevalence of sickle cell to Lambeth GP patients (n = 420,000) across a range of protected characteristics. Sickle cell disorder (SCD) is a group of inherited blood disorders that cause red blood cells (RBCs) to become sickle-shaped, rigid, and sticky instead of being round and flexible. SCD can block blood flow, reduce oxygen delivery, and lead to painful episodes and organ damage. There were 700 people with recorded sickle cell in the dataset. Key findings include:
- Similar recorded prevalence in males (0.15%) and females (0.17%)
- Black ethnic groups make up a disproportionally large proportion of sickle cell patients.
- Highest recorded prevalence, Black African (0.71%), Other Black (0.66%) and Black Caribbean (0.49%) community.
- Highest recorded prevalence seen in the under 18 population.
- Recorded prevalence decrease with age. The population aged 55+ has the lowest recorded prevalence.
Dementia briefing
This briefing describes the recorded prevalence of dementia to Lambeth GP patients (n = 420,000) across a range of protected characteristics. This descriptive analysis aligns with nationally published indicators from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) which focus on the 65+ population. There were 1,500 people with recorded dementia in the dataset. Key findings include:
- 97% of patients recorded as having dementia are aged 65+.
- Females (4.8%) have a higher recorded prevalence of dementia compared to males (3.4%).
- Black ethnic groups make up a large proportion of dementia patients (36%).
- Recorded dementia prevalence increases with deprivation.
- 84% of recorded dementia patients have 3 or more long term conditions.
Want to know more?
If you’re interested in Lambeth DataNet research findings, would like to propose a research question, or would like more information on how Lambeth DataNet has been used in commissioning or policy, please email us at PublicHealth@lambeth.gov.uk