The Primary Care Epidemiology Group includes clinicians, statisticians, epidemiologists, and patient representatives. The group undertakes large scale research into:
- The epidemiology of diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, thrombosis, osteoporosis, mental health, motor neurone disease and dementia).
- Safety of commonly prescribed drugs (including antidepressants, antipsychotics, statins, anticoagulants, anticholinergics, NSAID pain killers, Cox-2 inhibitors, oral contraceptive pill, hormone replacement therapy, and drugs used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes).
- Group members are also involved with the development, validation and implementation of risk prediction tools in collaboration with Endeavour Predict CIC.
We make extensive use of a number of databases including QResearch. Set up in 2002 by Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox with EMIS Health (leading supplier of NHS Health Computer Systems), QResearch is the largest database of its kind worldwide, containing a wealth of longitudinal data from over 35 million people in over 1,500 UK practices using linked to secondary care data for hospital admissions, mortality and cancer registration.
Drug safety
Whilst clinical trials are undertaken during the development and testing phases for new and commonly used drugs, these trials tend to be in small numbers of selected participants for limited periods of time. Once a drug is licensed, it tends to be used in large numbers of unselected individuals over long periods of time. It is therefore important to have independent systematic research into the risk and benefits of new and commonly used drugs to identify and quantify both intended and unintended effects on patients. This is to help ensure that we can target the right medication towards the right patients. We use QResearch and other databases to undertake such studies which are of national and international importance.
Risk prediction
Much of clinical practice involves assessing the probability that a patient either has a particular disease or may develop it at some point in the future and also what the risks and benefits of various treatments or interventions are. Doctors need better information to inform discussions with patients and decisions to investigate, refer and treat individuals. Both doctors and patients need better information to ensure patients are fully informed about the risks and benefits of clinical decisions, so they can give consent. New approaches to risk estimation were needed to take account of the characteristics of the population to which the tool should be applied and which can be updated over time as the population changes and national guidelines for prevention evolve.
Our team
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Andrew Snelling
Senior Data Scientist/Research Data Manager
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Carol Coupland
Senior Researcher
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Daniel Chen
Research Fellow
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Defne Saatci
DPhil Student
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Diana Withrow
Senior Research Fellow
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Emma Copland
Research Fellow in Medical Statistics/Data Science
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Emma Mi
Academic Clinical Fellow
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Janice Hoang
Researcher
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Jennifer Hirst
Senior Research Fellow
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Sharon Dixon
NIHR DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW AND GENERAL PRACTITIONER
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Wema Mtika
Researcher in Medical Statistics/Epidemiology/Data Science
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Emma Atakpa
Senior Researcher in Medical Statistics / Data Science / Epidemiology
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Ashley Clift
Honorary Researcher
QResearch is a large consolidated database derived from anonymised health records of over 35 million patients with data coming from approximately 1500 general practices. We host this database, and collaborate with others on health research projects that can improve our understanding of disease and improve patient care.
Selected publications
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Journal article
Copland E. et al, (2024), Nature Communications, 15
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Journal article
Chen DTH. et al, (2024), BMC Medicine, 22
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Journal article
Saatci D. et al, (2024), BMC Cancer, 24
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Journal article
Forbes AK. et al, (2024), BJGP Open
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2024), Frontiers in Reproductive Health, 6
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Preprint
Saatci D. et al, (2024)
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Journal article
Cardwell CR. et al, (2024), Br J Cancer
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Journal article
Khan Z. et al, (2024), The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 74
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2024), The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 74
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Journal article
Preest E. et al, (2024), Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 30, 585 - 621
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2024), Br J Gen Pract, 74, 283 - 285
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Journal article
Copland E. et al, (2024), Nature communications, 15
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Journal article
Hippisley-Cox J. et al, (2024), Nature Medicine, 30, 1440 - 1447
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Journal article
Ahmed H. et al, (2024), Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 33
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2024), Br J Gen Pract, 74, 200 - 201
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Journal article
Hippisley-Cox J. and Coupland C., (2024), Nature Medicine, 30, 1255 - 1256
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Unpacking complexity: Primary Care Practitioners’ perspectives on addressing the contribution of trauma to women’s ill health
Journal article
MACLELLAN J. et al, (2024), British Journal of General Practice
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Journal article
Copland E. et al, (2024), European Journal of Cancer, 201, 113603 - 113603
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Journal article
Saatci D. et al, (2024), British Journal of Cancer
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Journal article
Clift AK. et al, (2024), British Journal of Cancer
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Journal article
Kingsley-Smith H. et al, (2024), BMJ Leader
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Journal article
Carcel C. et al, (2024), Nature Medicine, 30, 51 - 60
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2024), Frontiers in Reproductive Health, 6
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Journal article
Kerr S. et al, (2023), BMJ Open, 13
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2023), BMC Womens Health, 23
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Journal article
Tanner KT. et al, (2023), Diagn Progn Res, 7
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Journal article
Jack RH. et al, (2023), BMC Medicine, 21
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Journal article
Zaccardi F. et al, (2023), BMC Public Health, 23
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2023), BMC Primary Care, 24
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Journal article
Wamil M. et al, (2023), Scientific Reports, 13
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2023), Br J Gen Pract, 73, 524 - 525
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Journal article
Toye F. et al, (2023), The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 73, e760 - e768
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Journal article
Jack RH. et al, (2023), BMJ mental health, 26
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Journal article
Clift AK. et al, (2023), The Lancet Digital Health, 5, e571 - e581
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Journal article
Bidel Z. et al, (2023), Hypertension
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Development and validation of a novel risk prediction algorithm to estimate 10-year risk of oesophageal cancer in primary care: prospective cohort study and evaluation of performance against two other risk prediction models.
Journal article
HIPPISLEY-COX J. et al, (2023), The Lancet Regional Health. Europe
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Journal article
Jack R. et al, (2023), The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 73
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Journal article
Clift AK. et al, (2023), BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 381
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Journal article
Liao W. et al, (2023), eClinicalMedicine, 59
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Journal article
Lyons J. et al, (2023), PLoS ONE, 18
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Journal article
Liao W. et al, (2023), Lancet Respir Med
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Journal article
Tan PS. et al, (2023), BMJ Open, 13
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Journal article
Mills NL. et al, (2023), Circulation, 147
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Journal article
Shakespeare J. et al, (2023), Br J Gen Pract, 73, 104 - 105
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Journal article
Tan PS. et al, (2023), Gut, 72, 512 - 521
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Journal article
Dixon S. et al, (2023), BMJ Open, 13
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Uptake of COVID-19 vaccination in people with blood cancer: population-level cohort study of 12 million patients in England
Journal article
HIRST J., (2023), European Journal of Cancer
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Journal article
Zaccardi F. et al, (2023), Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 25, 611 - 617
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Journal article
Ranger TA. et al, (2023), JAMA Psychiatry, 80, 57 - 65
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Preprint
Chen D. et al, (2023)