Publications

The National Bridges to Health Segmentation Dataset has been used as the key data source for a number of landmark analyses which have both informed and supported NHSE teams and have led to peer reviewed publications in medical journals. See below for links to these publications:

Association between the English National Health Service Diabetes Prevention Programme and incident multiple long-term conditions

Nature Medicine | September 2025

Existing evaluations of the National Health Service Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) in England have demonstrated associated reductions in body weight, haemoglobin A1c and incident type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this study, the fully longitudinal condition registers in the National Segmentation Dataset were used to examine the association between completion of the NHS DPP and the incidence of T2D and 30 other long-term conditions (LTCs). These included LTCs considered linked to the program’s interventional goals of body weight reduction, increased physical activity and improved diet quality (LTC-L), and LTCs considered to be possibly linked to these goals (LTC-PL). Completers of the NHS DPP had lower incidences of T2D, LTC-L, and LTC-PL compared to non-attenders. This study highlights the ability of the National Segmentation Dataset to be used for evaluation of major national programmes that improve population health.

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Constructing multicancer risk cohorts using national data from medical helplines and secondary care

NPJ Digital Medicine | August 2025

Identification of cohorts at higher risk of cancer can enable earlier diagnosis of the disease, which significantly improves patient outcomes. In this study, unique features of the National Segmentation Dataset, including 59 longitudinal condition registers and sociodemographic variables were used alongside data from secondary care and NHS 111 caller data to train machine-learning models. These models were trained to predict the onset of nine cancers with high incidence of late-stage diagnoses for which there are currently no national screening programmes. This is the first study examining multi-cancer prediction modelling using population level data in England.

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Years lived with and years lost to multiple long-term condition combinations that include diabetes

Nature Medicine | August 2024

An increase in obesity-driven early onset type 2 diabetes has occurred alongside diversification of the multiple long-term condition (MLTC) combinations associated with diabetes. Understanding the burden with regards to years lived with and years of life lost due to specific disease combinations is therefore essential, but was previously difficult due to the absence of a sufficiently large dataset. The National Bridges to Health Segmentation Dataset was used to quantify the burden of diabetes-associated MLTC among a population of 46 million adults in England.

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The burden of diabetes-associated multiple long-term conditions on years of life spent and lost

Nature Medicine | August 2024

Diabetes mellitus is a central driver of multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs), but population-based studies have not clearly characterized the burden across the life course. We estimated the age of onset, years of life spent and loss associated with diabetes-related MLTCs among 46 million English adults.

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Prediabetes, participation in the English National Health Service Diabetes Prevention Programme, and associations with COVID-19-related mortality: A whole population study

Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice | June 2024

Assessment of the effects of non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (NDH, also known as pre-diabetes), including the impact of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP), on COVID-19-related mortality during the pandemic. Younger people with diagnosed NDH were at higher relative risk of COVID-19 mortality. Attendance at the NHS DPP was associated with significantly lower COVID-19-related mortality.

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Prevalence of multiple long-term conditions in England: a whole population study of over 60 million people

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine | March 2024

While most health systems internationally have evolved to provide diagnosis and management for single chronic conditions, there is a growing concern about the increase in people with multiple long-term conditions (MLTC), also termed multimorbidity. People with MLTC have poorer health-related quality of life, poorer physical function, greater psychological needs, greater use of healthcare services and higher mortality. Healthcare needs for people with MLTC are often complex, presenting a key challenge for the future of healthcare systems globally.

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Associations of type 1 and type 2 diabetes with COVID-19 – related mortality in England: a whole-population study

The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology | October 2020

Although diabetes has been associated with COVID-19-related mortality, the absolute and relative risks for type 1 and type 2 diabetes are unknown. We assessed the independent effects of diabetes status, by type, on in-hospital death in England in patients with COVID-19 during the period from March 1 to May 11, 2020.

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