Yochai Schonmann

• MD
• Lead, Healthcare Quality Indicators Program for Clalit Health Services Hospitals at Clalit Health Services

Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) share several metabolic and inflammatory dysfunctions. Prior studies of the potential link between the diseases either lacked validated T1D diagnoses or established only an indirect association. This study sought to determine the odds of HS developing in patients with a validated d...

Background Liver fibrosis is a prevalent, most often clinically silent condition. Accumulating literature suggests that liver fibrosis may be related to brain health measures. However, its predictive role in assessing dementia risk is conflicting. Hence, we assessed the relationship of liver fibrosis with incident dementia in a large, nation‐based...

Background Telemedicine has expanded rapidly in recent years, and many encounters that were conducted in person now take place remotely. This study aimed to assess primary care physicians’ (PCPs) attitudes towards the different modalities of patient care. Methods This is a cross-sectional nationwide descriptive study conducted in Israel. We asked...

Background While the contribution of environmental factors including smoking, overweight and stress has been validated, data mining for the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and psoriasis prevalence has yielded contradicting observations. Objective To evaluate the association between psoriasis prevalence and SES. Methods This was a n...

BACKGROUND We assessed the relationship of liver fibrosis score with incident dementia in a large, national sample. METHODS For this retrospective cohort study, data of dementia‐free individuals aged 40‐69 years were derived from electronic records of the largest healthcare provider in Israel. The association between liver fibrosis score (FIB‐4),...

A knowledge gap exists regarding the association between vitiligo and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) due to the absence of large-scale cohort studies designed to investigate this association. To investigate the bidirectional epidemiological association between vitiligo and RA. A population-based study was conducted using Clalit Health Services (CHS) dat...

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease associated with a heavy burden of morbidity and cost. Objectives: To provide standardized estimates of trends in HS incidence and prevalence among patients in Israel between 2016 and 2019. Methods: We conducted a population-based analysis of routinely co...

Background: Musculoskeletal corticosteroid injection (CSI) is a frequently used treatment, considered safe with a low incidence of minor side effects. Objective: To investigate whether the incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is increased following corticosteroid injection for musculoskeletal conditions. Methods: Data were reviewed from...

Background: Sepsis is a leading cause of mortality in children. Utilising a screening tool for early recognition of sepsis is recommended. Our centre had no screening tool for sepsis nor standardised protocol for sepsis management. Methods: In December 2020, a screening algorithm for sepsis was implemented. The algorithm consisted of vital-signs...

Background Evidence suggests an association between atopic eczema (AE) or psoriasis and mental illness. However, factors associated with mental illness are unclear. Objectives To synthesise and evaluate all available evidence on factors associated with depression, anxiety, and severe mental illness (SMI) among adults with AE or psoriasis. Methods...

Background It is unknown whether administering the second BNT162B2 vaccine dose on the cross-arm or the same arm as the first dose creates a more robust local and systemic immune response leading to favorable clinical results. We used data from Israel’s largest healthcare provider (Clalit health services [CHS]) to assess the impact on vaccine effec...

Background Obesity is a chronic disease with rising prevalence. Guidelines suggest medications for obesity management if lifestyle interventions do not lead to substantial weight loss. Randomized control trials have shown the efficacy of anti-obesity medications in inducing weight loss, but real-world data are lacking. Therefore, our study aims to...

Objective We sought to test whether administering the second BNT162B2 vaccine dose on the cross-arm or the same arm as the first dose creates a more robust local and systemic immune response leading to favorable clinical results. Methods A retrospective cohort study, conducted on all Clalit Health Services members who received the BNT162b2 vaccine...

Background: The impact of psoriasis on the outcomes of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is yet to be precisely delineated. Objectives: To assess the risk of COVID-19, COVID-19-associated hospitalization, and mortality among patients with psoriasis as compared to age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched control subjects. In addition, we aim to deline...

Background: The effectiveness of messenger RNA coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) is yet to be delineated. It remains largely unknown how AD-related immunosuppressive medications affect the development of vaccine-induced immunity. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of the BNT162b2 mes...

The risk of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection and its complications among patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) treated by dupilumab is yet to be determined. We aimed to assess the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19-associated hospitalization, and mortality among patients with AD treated by dupilumab. A population-based cohort study was c...

Background: To study the relationship between adherence to chronic medications and adherence to preventive medicine recommendations among persons with diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Methods: Data were collected from the Clalit database included all members of Clalit aged 50 to 74 years, diagnosed with diabetes mellitus or hypertension befor...

Background: Although bullous pemphigoid (BP), atopic dermatitis (AD), and allergic rhinitis (AR) are associated with shared pathogenic mechanisms the epidemiological relationship between these conditions remains to be investigated. Objective: To evaluate the bidirectional association of BP with AD and AR. Methods: A population-based retrospect...

Background: Use of medical cannabis (MC) in Israel has increased since its regulatory approval in 2016. Currently, more than 1% of Israeli adults are treated with MC; this requires primary care physicians (PCPs) to be familiar with this treatment option. Objectives: We assessed the attitudes and knowledge of Israeli PCPs toward MC and evaluated...

Background: The burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) is poorly understood. Objectives: The aims of the study were to characterize a large cohort of COVID-19-positive adult patients with AD and to identify predictors of COVID-19-associated hospitalization and mortality. Methods: A population-b...

The risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its complications among patients with psoriasis treated by tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis) remains to be decisively delineated. We aimed to assess the risk of COVID-19 infection, COVID-19-associated hospitalization, and mortality among Israeli patients with psoriasis treated by TNFi relat...

Introduction: Good medication adherence is associated with decreased healthcare expenditure; however, adherence is usually assessed for single medication. We aim to explore the associations of adherence levels to 23 chronic medications with emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations. The primary endpoints are ER visits and hospitalizations in...

Background The impact of immune-related conditions on the outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is poorly understood. Determinants of COVID-19 outcomes among patients with psoriasis are yet to be established.Objective Th objective of this study was to characterize a large cohort of patients with psoriasis with COVID-19 and to identify pre...

Background The risk of the infection and its complications under this drug class remains to be determined. Objective To evaluate the risk of COVID-19, COVID-19-associated hospitalization, and mortality among patients with psoriasis treated by IL-17I. Methods A population-based cohort study was performed to compare psoriasis patients treated by IL...

Background The burden of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP) and pemphigus is yet to be evaluated. Objective To assess the risk of COVID-19, and COVID-19-associated hospitalization and mortality in patients with BP and pemphigus, and to delineate determinants of severe COVID-19 illness among these patients....

Background Emerging evidence suggests an association between common inflammatory skin diseases and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Objective To explore the association between CKD stages 3‐5 and atopic eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, and hidradenitis suppurativa. Methods We undertook two complementary analyses; a prevalent case‐control and a cohort stu...

The association of bullous pemphigoid (BP) with anxiety and anxiety-depression comorbidity is yet to be established. We aimed to evaluate the bidirectional association of BP with anxiety, depression, and anxiety-depression comorbidity, and to delineate the epidemiological features of patients with BP and the aforementioned psychiatric comorbidities...

Background The association between acne keloidalis nuchae (AKN) and thyroid diseases is yet to be investigated. Objective To evaluate the risk of developing hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism among patients with AKN and to characterize the patients who have AKN and thyroid comorbidities. Methods A population‐based cohort study was conducted compa...

Introduction Evidence indicates that people with the common inflammatory skin diseases atopic eczema or psoriasis are at increased risk of mental illness. However, the reasons for the relationship between skin disease and common mental disorders (ie, depression and anxiety) or severe mental illnesses (ie, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other p...

Background A growing body of evidence suggests that Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and liver fibrosis are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the independent role of liver fibrosis markers in the prediction of CVD in the general population is seldom tested. Aims To assess whether a marker of liver fibrosis predicts th...

Introduction The Ukrainian primary healthcare programme of preventive and screening recommendations has not been evidence-based. The traditional system of continuous medical education in Ukraine places participants in the role of passive listeners. This study explored the effects of an interactive training course on evidence-based prevention and sc...

Background Atopic eczema is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease. Research suggests an association between atopic eczema and obesity, with inconsistent evidence from European populations. Objectives To explore the association between diagnosed atopic eczema and being overweight or obese, and whether increased atopic eczema severity was assoc...

The risk of developing psoriasis during the course of bullous pemphigoid (BP) is yet to be investigated. We aimed to assess the risk of psoriasis among patients with BP and the risk of BP in individuals with a history of psoriasis. A population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted comparing BP patients (n = 3,924) with age-, sex-, and eth...

This letter comments on the letter by Amraotkar et al.

Background: Atopic eczema is a common and debilitating condition associated with depression and anxiety, but the nature of this association remains unclear. Objective: To explore the temporal relationship between atopic eczema and new depression/anxiety. Methods: This matched cohort study used routinely collected data from the UK Clinical Prac...

Objectives: As life expectancy continues to rise, the burden of cardiovascular disease among older people is expected to increase, making cardiovascular prevention in older people an issue of growing interest and public health importance. We aimed to explore the long-term effects of adherence to statins on mortality and cardiovascular morbidity am...

Background: Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with a heavy burden of morbidity, disability and cost. The occurrence of the disease in Israel has not been previously investigated. Objectives: To provide standardised estimates of trends in psoriasis incidence, prevalence and mortality among patients in Israel betwe...

The last decades saw remarkable change in the way healthcare professionals generate and consume medical knowledge. Information management technologies have evolved considerably, yet medical publications continue to use a referencing system that has changed very little since the turn of the 20th century. Research suggests that up to one in five refe...

Understanding of the epidemiology and healthcare service utilization related to atopic dermatitis is necessary to inform the use of new treatments. This cross-sectional study was based on a group of patients with atopic dermatitis and a matched control group comprised of age- and sex- matched enrolees without atopic dermatitis from a large medical...

Purpose Chronic use of sedative-hypnotics is very common, although not guideline-endorsed. The incidence among new users is not well studied, and there are currently no recommendations favoring any specific agent. We quantified the risk for chronic use in first-time hypnotic users, and the association of the initial choice of hypnotic with later us...

Background The coexistence of psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) has been described, but the association between these conditions is yet to be firmly established. Objectives To study the association between psoriasis and HS using a large-scale real-life computerized database. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted comparing the pr...

Background Updated data regarding the epidemiology of psoriasis and related healthcare utilization are lacking. Objective To investigate the epidemiology, comorbidities, healthcare services utilization, and drug use in a large group of patients with psoriasis from Clalit Health Services (CHS) database. Methods A controlled cross‐sectional study w...

Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) cholesterol recommendations in a contemporary non-US cohort. Methods and results This is a historical cohort analysis of electronic records from Israel's largest health provider. All patients in the Tel Aviv district eligible for primary ca...

Objectives: To examine over-screening of older Israelis for colon and breast cancer. Design: Cross sectional. Setting: Clalit Health Services (CHS), Israel's largest health maintenance organization (HMO), provides care for more than half of the country's population and operates a national age-based programs for cancer screening. Participants:...

Aim: To describe the dynamics in the incidence of childhood invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Israel during a 22-year period (1989-2010). Methods: A longitudinal prospective surveillance in all 27 medical centers with pediatric services in Israel. All cases of children <15 years old with positive blood/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture for...