Introduction: a small group of frequent attenders is responsible for a disproportional large percentage of all daytime consultations in general practice. High attendance rates are related to demographic and psychological characteristics. Differences in attendance rates are only partly explained by chronic diseases. Furthermore, lifestyles might be relevant too. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of lifestyle on attendance rates.
Method: this study is part of the Study of Medical Information and Lifestyles in Eindhoven, the Netherlands (SMILE). Generalized estimated equations were used to determine the relation between attendance rate and the different lifestyle factors (N = 4444).
Results: a higher body mass index was related to increased attendance rate in both male [relative risk (RR) 1.02; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.03] and female patients (RR 1.01; 95% CI 1.01-1.02). Lifestyles were not related to the attendance rate, except for a sedentary lifestyle in women (RR 1.08; 95% CI 1.04-1.12).
Discussion: since half of the Dutch population suffers from overweight or obesity and this number is still increasing, attendance rates will rise further. In order to relieve the GPs, nurse practitioners could play a more prominent role in lifestyle interventions concerning overweight and obesity and its related diseases.