Ann-Britt Wiréhn

Incidence of Lower-Limb Amputation in the Diabetic and Nondiabetic General Population: A 10-year population-based cohort study of initial unilateral and contralateral amputations and reamputations

OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of vascular lower-limb amputation (LLA) in the diabetic and nondiabetic general population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A population-based cohort study was conducted in a representative Swedish region. All vascular LLAs (at or proximal to the transmetatarsal level) performed from 1997 through 2006 were consecutively registered and classified into initial unilateral amputation, contralateral amputation, or reamputation. The incidence rates were estimated in the diabetic and nondiabetic general population aged ≥45 years. RESULTS—During the 10-year period, LLA was performed on 62 women and 71 men with diabetes and on 79 women and 78 men without diabetes. The incidence of initial unilateral amputation per 100,000 person-years was 192 (95% CI 145–241) for diabetic women, 197 (152–244) for diabetic men, 22 (17–26) for nondiabetic women, and 24 (19–29) for nondiabetic men. The incidence increased from the age of 75 years. Of all amputations, 74% were transtibial. The incidences of contralateral amputation and of reamputation per 100 amputee-years in diabetic women amputees were 15 (7–27) and 16 (8–28), respectively; in diabetic men amputees 18 (10–29) and 21 (12–32); in nondiabetic women amputees 14 (7–24) and 18 (10–28); and in nondiabetic men amputees 13 (6–22) and 24 (15–35). CONCLUSIONS—In the general population aged ≥45 years, the incidence of vascular LLA at or proximal to the transmetatarsal level is eight times higher in diabetic than in nondiabetic individuals. One in four amputees may require contralateral amputation and/or reamputation.

Estimating disease prevalence using a population-based administrative healthcare database

Aims: In Östergötland County, Sweden, all data on hospital care and primary healthcare (PHC) have been entered in a diagnosis-related administrative database since 1999. This database was used to estimate the prevalence of four chronic diseases and to examine the capture of data in PHC, outpatient hospital care, and inpatient hospital care, considered in different time frames. Methods: A case-finding algorithm identified patients with at least one healthcare contact involving a diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 1999—2003. Prevalence rates were calculated as the ratio of the number of identified patients alive to the total number of inhabitants on 31 December 2003 (n~415,000). Results: Prevalence rates were 4.4% for diabetes, 10.3% for hypertension, 4.5% for asthma, and 1.2% for COPD. For all four diagnoses, the proportions of patients identified on only one healthcare level were greatest for PHC, reaching rates of 23%, 68%, 53%, and 48%, respectively. The cases identified solely in PHC comprised larger proportions of women and patients over the age of 65 years. Considering the proportion of patients identified in 2003 in relation to the total five-year period gave values of 71%, 50%, 38%, and 58%, respectively, for the four diagnoses. Conclusions: The administrative healthcare databases in Sweden today can be important tools in epidemiological research. However, data on several consecutive years and both PHC and hospital data are needed to achieve valid prevalence estimates.

Alcohol use among university students in Sweden measured by an electronic screening instrument

BackgroundElectronic-based alcohol screening and brief interventions for university students with problem drinking behaviours forms an important means by which to identify risky drinkers.MethodsIn this study an e-SBI project was implemented to assess drinking patterns, and to provide personalised feedback about alcohol consumption and related health problems, to students in a Swedish university. In this study, third semester university students (n = 2858) from all faculties (colleges) at the University were invited to participate in e-SBI screenings. This study employed a randomised controlled trial, with respondents having a equal chance of being assigned to a limited, or full-feedback response.ResultsThe study shows that high risk drinkers tend to underestimate their own consumption compared to others, and that these high risk drinkers experience more negative consequences after alcohol intake, than other respondents. There was a strong belief, for both high- and low-risk drinkers, that alcohol helped celebrations be more festive. This study also confirms findings from other study locations that while males drank more than females in our study population; females reached the same peak alcohol blood concentrations as males.ConclusionObtaining clear and current information on drinking patterns demonstrated by university students can help public health officials, university administration, and local health care providers develop appropriate prevention and treatment strategies.

Age-specific direct healthcare costs attributable to diabetes in a Swedish population: a register-based analysis

Aims  The aim of this population‐based study was to explore the age‐specific additional direct healthcare cost for patients with diabetes compared with the non‐diabetic population.

Are elderly people with co-morbidities involved adequately in medical decision making when hospitalised? A cross-sectional survey

BackgroundMedical decision making has long been in focus, but little is known of the preferences and conditions for elderly people with co-morbidities to participate in medical decision making. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the preferred and the actual degree of control, i.e. the role elderly people with co-morbidities wish to assume and actually had with regard to information and participation in medical decision making during their last stay in hospital.This study was a cross-sectional survey including three Swedish hospitals with acute admittance. The participants were patients aged 75 years and above with three or more diagnoses according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and three or more hospitalisations during the last year.MethodsWe used a questionnaire combined with a telephone interview, using the Control Preference Scale to measure each participants preferred and actual role in medical decision making during their last stay in hospital. Additional questions were asked about barriers to participation in decision making and preferred information seeking role. The results are presented with descriptive statistics with kappa weights.ResultsOf the 297 elderly patients identified, 52.5% responded (n = 156, 46.5% male). Mean age was 83.1 years. Of the respondents, 42 of 153 patients said that they were not asked for their opinion (i.e. no shared decision making). Among the other 111 patients, 49 had their exact preferred level of participation, 37 had less participation than they would have preferred, and 23 had more responsibility than they would have preferred. Kappa statistics showed a moderate agreement between preferred and actual role (κw = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.45-0.69). Most patients wanted to be given more information without having to ask. There was no correlation between age, gender, or education and preferred role. 35% of the patients agreed that they experienced some of the various barriers to decision making that they were asked about: 1) the severity of their illness, 2) doctors with different treatment strategies, 3) difficulty understanding the medical information, and 4) difficulty understanding doctors who did not speak the patients own language.ConclusionsPhysicians are not fully responsive to patient preferences regarding either the degree of communication or the patients participation in decision making. Barriers to participation can be a problem, and should be taken into account more often when dealing with hospitalised elderly people.

Restless legs syndrome during and after pregnancy and its relation to snoring

Objective. To study development of restless legs syndrome (RLS) during and after pregnancy, and whether RLS is related to snoring or other pregnancy‐related symptoms. Design. Prospective study. Setting. Antenatal care clinics in the catchment area of Linköping university hospital, Sweden. Population. Five hundred consecutively recruited pregnant women. Methods. Sleep disturbances, including symptoms of RLS and snoring, were assessed with questionnaires in each trimester. A complementary questionnaire was sent three years after delivery to women experiencing symptoms of RLS during pregnancy. Main outcome measures. Symptoms of RLS in relation to snoring in each trimester. Results. Symptoms of RLS were reported by 17.0% of the women in the first trimester, by 27.1% in the second trimester and by 29.6% in the third trimester. Snoring in the first trimester was correlated to increased prevalence of RLS in all three trimesters (p= 0.003, 0.017 and 0.044 in the first, second and third trimester, respectively). No correlation was found between RLS and anemia, parity or body mass index. Among the women who experienced RLS, 31% still had symptoms three years after delivery. Fifty‐eight per cent of those whose symptoms had disappeared stated that this happened within one month after delivery. Conclusions. Symptoms of RLS progressed most between the first and second trimester. Women who snored in the first or second trimester of pregnancy had a higher prevalence of RLS in the third trimester, which indicates that snoring in early pregnancy might predict RLS later. Symptoms of RLS disappear quite soon after delivery, but about one‐third of women with RLS during pregnancy may still have symptoms three years after childbirth.

Snoring during pregnancy and its relation to sleepiness and pregnancy outcome - a prospective study

BackgroundThe incidence of snoring and sleepiness is known to increase during pregnancy, and this might impact maternal health and obstetric outcome. However, the association between snoring and sleepiness during pregnancy is not fully understood. This study was aimed at investigating the development of snoring during pregnancy and prospectively assessing if there is an association between snoring and sleepiness or adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preeclampsia, mode of delivery, and fetal complications.MethodsConsecutively recruited pregnant women (n = 500) received a questionnaire concerning snoring and sleep at the 1st and 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The women who had rated their frequency of snoring at both occasions (n = 340) were divided into subgroups according to the development of snoring they reported and included in the subsequent analyses. Additional medical data were collected from the medical records.ResultsThe frequency of snoring was 7.9% in the 1st trimester and increased to 21.2% in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The women who snored already in early pregnancy had significantly higher baseline BMI (p = 0.001) than the women who never snored, but snoring was not associated with the magnitude of weight gain during pregnancy. Snoring women were more likely to experience edema in late pregnancy than the non-snorers. Women who started to snore during pregnancy had higher Epworth Sleepiness Scores than the non snorers in both early and late pregnancy. No significant association between obstetric outcome and snoring was found.ConclusionSnoring does increase during pregnancy, and this increase is associated with sleepiness, higher BMI at the start of pregnancy and higher prevalence of edema, but not with weight gain.

QALY weights for diabetic retinopathy : a comparison of health state valuations with HUI-3, EQ-5D, EQ-VAS, and TTO.

OBJECTIVE To estimate quality-adjusted life-year weights for patients with diabetic retinopathy by using various methods and to investigate the empirical validity of the different measures. METHODS The study population comprised 152 patients with diabetes in Östergötland County, Sweden. Participants were interviewed by telephone by using the time trade-off (TTO) method and a visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) (direct valuations) as well as the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D) and the health utilities index mark 3 (HUI-3) (indirect valuations). The quality-adjusted life-year weights were adjusted for potential confounders by using analysis of covariance. The empirical validity of the measures was examined by testing their ability to detect hypothetical differences between severity levels of diabetic retinopathy and by investigating the correlation between the measures and the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25). RESULTS All measures detected significant differences in scores between patient groups classified according to visual impairment in the better eye (analysis of covariance, P < 0.05), but only HUI-3 and EQ-VAS detected significant differences between patient groups classified according to visual impairment or pathological progression in the worse eye. HUI-3 recorded a difference of 0.43 in values between normal vision and blindness in the better eye, which was more than twice the differences captured by the other measures (0.15-0.20). In addition, HUI-3 showed the highest correlation with NEI VFQ-25 (r = 0.54; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In cost-utility analyses, the choice of quality-adjusted life-year measure may affect whether an intervention is considered cost-effective. Furthermore, if decisions are to be based on values from the general public, HUI-3 can be recommended for cost-utility analyses of interventions directed at diabetic retinopathy.

Point-of-care testing has a limited effect on time to clinical decision in primary health care

Objective: To investigate the clinical logistics of laboratory routines at primary health care centres (PHCs). Design and methods: Prospective registration was carried out for each PHC using questionnaires during 2‐week intervals between the end of November 2001 and mid‐January 2002. The study included 9 PHCs in the county of Östergötland and 4 in the county of Jönköping, Sweden, with different numbers of blood tests analysed using point‐of‐care testing (POCT). Data for B‐glucose, HbA1c, C‐reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH), T4, cholesterol, HDL‐cholesterol, LDL‐cholesterol and triglycerides were collected. Main outcome measures were median time from sampling to available test result (TATa) and median time from sampling to clinical decision (TATd), and the proportion of patients informed of the outcome of the blood test in question during the sampling occasion. Results: A total of 3542 samples were collected. The median TATa showed that B‐glucose, ESR and CRP were immediately analysed at all 13 PHCs. For the other tests, TATa varied from immediately to about two days. The median TATd varied from immediately to about a week. When POCT was used, 30% of the patients were informed about the outcome of the test during the sampling occasion. Conclusion: POCT has a limited effect on the clinical logistics in PHCs.

Continuation rates of oral hormonal contraceptives in a cohort of first-time users: a population-based registry study, Sweden 2005–2010

Objective To investigate if continuation rates in first-time users of oral hormonal contraceptives differed between different formulations and to measure if the rates were related to the prescribing categories, that is, physicians and midwives. Design A longitudinal national population-based registry study. Setting The Swedish prescribed drug register. Participants All women born between 1977 and 1994 defined as first-time users of hormonal contraceptives from 2007 to 2009 (n=226 211). Main outcome measures A tendency to switch the type of hormonal contraceptive within 6 months use and repeated dispensation identical to the first were estimated as percentages and relative risks (RRs). Physicians’ and midwives’ prescription patterns concerning the womens continuation rates of oral hormonal contraceptive type. Results In Sweden, there were 782 375 women born between 1977 and 1994 at the time of the study. Of these, 226 211 women were identified as first-time users of hormonal contraceptives. Ethinylestradiol+levonorgestrel, desogestrel-only and ethinylestradiol+drospirenone were the hormonal contraceptives most commonly dispensed to first-time users at rates of 43.3%, 24.4% and 11.1%, respectively. The overall rate of switching contraceptive types in the first 6 months was 11.3%, which was highest for desogestrel-only (14.3%) and lowest for ethinylestradiol+drospirenone (6.6%). The switching rate for all three products was highest in the 16-year to 19-year age group. Having a repeated dispensation identical to the initial dispensation was highest for users of ethinylestradiol either combined with levonorgestrel or drospirenone, 81.4% and 81.2%, respectively, whereas this rate for the initial desogestrel-only users was 71.5%. The RR of switching of contraceptive type within the first 6 months was 1.35 (95% CI 1.32 to 1.39) for desogestrel-only and 0.63 (0.59 to 0.66) for ethinylestradiol+drospirenone compared with ethinylestradiol+levonorgestrel as the reference category. There were no differences in the womens continuation rates depending on the prescriber categories. Conclusions Desogestrel-only users conferred the highest switcher rate to another hormonal contraceptive within a 6-month period. Users of ethinylestradiol+levonorgestrel were more prone to switch to another product within 6 months than women using ethinylestradiol+drospirenone. These findings may be of clinical importance when tailoring hormonal contraceptives on an individual basis.