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8 Sept 2003 : Column 161W—continued
Anaemia
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland are anaemic. [127538]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information on the percentage of people in England who are anaemic was last collected for the Health Survey for England in 1994 1 . The data indicated that 4.1 per cent. of men and
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10.8 per cent. of women aged 16 and over were classified as anaemic using the World Health Organisation definition of anaemia, that is that haemoglobin levels of less than 13g/dl (grams per decilitre) for men and 12g/dl for women.
Information on the percentage of people who are anaemic in Scotland and Wales can be obtained from the devolved administrations. While the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.
- 1 Ref: Health Survey for England 1994 eds. Colhoun, H. and Prescott-Clarke, P. ISBN 011 321 895
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the UK are needlephobic; and what assessment he has made of the need for a needle-free anaemia testing device. [127537]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health has not made an assessment of the numbers of people in the United Kingdom with a needle phobia or the need for a needle-free anaemia testing device.
Angina
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the total cost to the NHS of treating patients with chest-pain caused by angina in each of the last five years. [127442]
Miss Melanie Johnson: No information is held centrally concerning the total cost to the national health service of treating patients with chest-pain caused by angina.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the English population suffers from angina. [127443]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Nationally representative figures on the prevalence of heart disease and its risk factors are available from the Health Survey for England. The most recent estimates of the prevalence of angina were published in The Health Survey for England—Cardiovascular Disease 1998 table 2.1, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department is taking to reduce the need for hospital treatment for patients suffering from angina. [127445]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Patients are usually treated with medical therapy or in more serious cases, surgical revascularisation to relieve symptoms of angina. The national service framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease (CHD) recommends patients receive the following medical therapy:
- sublingual nitrates for immediate treatment control
beta-blockers, nitrates or calcium antagonists
aspirin
statins to reduce cholesterol levels.
The Priorities and Planning Framework requires that primary care, update practice-based registers so that patients with CHD continue to receive appropriate advice and treatment in line with NSF standards and
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by March 2006, ensure practice based registers and systematic treatment regimes, including appropriate advice on diet, physical activity and smoking.
At the same time the Government have been engaged in a wide ranging programme to prevent heart disease, including action on smoking, free fruit in schools and physical activity.
Arthritis
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts have not yet implemented in full the NICE guidance on anti-TNF therapies for rheumatoid arthritis. [128228]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the number of primary care trusts (PCTs) making anti-TNF therapy available to patients is not collected centrally. Funding to meet the recommendations of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has been included in the allocations made to PCTs over the period 2003–04 to 2005–06.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients within the Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT area have been prescribed anti-TNF treatment for severe arthritis in the last 12 months. [127561]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information is not held centrally on the number of patients who have been prescribed anti-TNF drugs (Etanercept and Infliximab). Information is available on the number of prescription items of drugs that are dispensed in the community in England. The use of anti-TNF drugs in the community is negligible, but they are used extensively in hospitals. Although negligible, details of these anti-TNF drugs (contained in the British National Formulary paragraph 10.1.3) are included in the Prescription Cost Analysis publication, which can be accessed at http//www.doh.gov.uk/prescriptionstatistics/index.htm.
Information is not held centrally about drugs prescribed and dispensed in hospitals.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many severe arthritis sufferers there are within the Adur, Arun and Worthing primary care trust area. [127562]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on the incidence of individual conditions is not collected centrally.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts have made TNFa available to arthritis sufferers in 2002–03; and if he will list them. [127697]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the number of primary care trusts making anti-TNF therapy available to patients in 2002–03 is not collected centrally.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been made available to primary care trusts to implement the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines on TNFa therapy. [127698]
Dr. Ladyman: Funding to meet recommendations of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has been included in the allocations made to primary care trusts for the period 2003–04 to 2005–06.
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Asthma
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffer from asthma and how many suffered from asthma in each of the last five years. [128124]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the incidence of individual conditions is not held centrally. It is estimated, however, that asthma affects around 4 per cent. of adults and 4 to 6 per cent. of children sufficiently severely to require medical supervision. This amounts to around 2 million people in England.
Hospital Episode Statistics data, based on finished consultant episodes (FCEs), show a decline in the number of people who were admitted to hospital between 1997–2002. This information is shown in the table.
| Year | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admissions | 71,434 | 69,824 | 66,054 | 60,376 | 60,134 |
Note:An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one healthcare provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may several episodes within the year.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into the relationship between lifestyle and (a) asthma and (b) diabetes. [127346]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body, which receives its grant in aid from the Office of Science and Technology. The Department of Health funds research to support policy and the delivery of effective practice in the national health service.
The lifestyle factors that interact with asthma will be very different for different people and will also change through an individual's life. In 2001–02 the MRC spent £0.3 million on research relating to lifestyle and asthma. The Department is funding research on air pollution and asthma, and a project on the effect of a low allergen indoor environment on exacerbations of asthma.
The importance of healthy lifestyle choices for avoiding or delaying the onset of diabetes and its complications is well established. In 2001–02 the MRC spent £2.7 million on a wide range of research relating to lifestyle and diabetes. The Department and the MRC worked together with Diabetes UK and the Wellcome Trust on the "Review of Current and Future Research on Diabetes", published in October 2002. The review identified a need for genetics and molecular biology to be brought into large-scale epidemiological studies, with definition of lifestyle and environmental factors. A Department led task group with participation from the MRC, Diabetes UK and others has been established to determine how best to take forward the proposals in the review.
The Department, MRC and the Wellcome Trust are to provide an initial £61 million to support the development of the UK Biobank project. This project aims to obtain comprehensive data on the combined
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effects of genotype, lifestyle and environmental exposure to assess the risk of developing the common multi-factorial diseases of later life, including diabetes.
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