General Swedish Population Research Articles

Depression was associated with younger age, female sex, obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity, in 1027 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: a Swedish multicentre cross-sectional study

BackgroundDepression is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aims were to explore the prevalence of depression, anxiety, antidepressant use, obesity, Hemoglobin A1c > 64 mmol/mol, life-style factors, pre-existing CVD, in patients with newly diagnosed T2D; to explore associations with depression; and to compare with Swedish general population data.MethodsMulticentre, cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria: adults with serologically verified newly diagnosed T2D. Included variables: age, sex, current depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), previous depression, antidepressant use, obesity (BMI ≥ 30 and ≥ 40 kg/m2), Hemoglobin A1c, pre-existing CVD. Logistic regression analyses were performed.ResultsIn 1027 T2D patients, aged 18–94 years, depression was associated with age (per year) (inversely) (odds ratio (OR) 0.97), anxiety (OR 12.2), previous depression (OR 7.1), antidepressant use (OR 4.2), BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 (OR 1.7), BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 (OR 2.3), smoking (OR 1.9), physical inactivity (OR 1.8), and women (OR 1.6) (all p ≤ 0.013).Younger women (n = 113), ≤ 59 years, compared to younger men (n = 217) had higher prevalence of current depression (31% vs 12%), previous depression (43 vs 19%), anxiety (42% vs 25%), antidepressant use (37% vs 12%), BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 (73% vs 60%) and BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) (18% vs 9%), and smoking (26% vs 16%) (all p ≤ 0.029).Older women (n = 297), ≥ 60 years, compared to older men (n = 400) had higher prevalence of previous depression (45% vs 12%), anxiety (18% vs 10%), antidepressant use (20% vs 8%), BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 (55% vs 47%), BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 (7% vs 3%) (all p ≤ 0.048), but not of current depression (both 9%).Compared to the Swedish general population (depression (women 11.2%, men 12.3%) and antidepressant use (women 9.8%, men 5.3%)), the younger women had higher prevalence of current depression, and all patients had higher prevalence of antidepressant use.ConclusionsIn patients with newly diagnosed T2D, the younger women had the highest prevalence of depression, anxiety, and obesity. The prevalence of depression in young women and antidepressant use in all patients were higher than in the Swedish general population. Three risk factors for CVD, obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity, were associated with depression.

Short-acting β2 -agonist use and asthma exacerbations in Swedish children: A SABINA Junior study.

In adults and adolescents with asthma, use of ≥3 short-acting β2 -agonist (SABA) canisters/year is associated with increased exacerbation risk. Whether this association is present in younger children remains unknown. In this SABA use IN Asthma (SABINA) Junior study, we assessed the association of SABA collection with exacerbation risk in the general Swedish pediatric asthma population. This population-based cohort study utilized linked data from the Swedish national healthcare registries involving patients with asthma (<18 years) treated in secondary care between 2006-2015. Exacerbation risk, by baseline SABA collection (0-2 vs. ≥3 canisters, further examined as ordinal/continuous variable) and stratified on comorbid atopic disease (allergic rhinitis, dermatitis and eczema, and food/other allergies), was assessed for 1-year follow-up using negative binomial regression. Of 219,561 patients assessed, 45.4%, 31.7%, and 26.5% of patients aged 0-5, 6-11, and 12-17 years, respectively, collected ≥3 SABA canisters during the baseline year (high use). Collection of ≥3 SABA canisters (vs. 0-2) was associated with increased exacerbation risk during follow-up (incidence rate ratios [95% confidence interval]: 1.35 [1.29-1.42], 1.22 [1.15-1.29], and 1.26 [1.19-1.34] for 0-5-, 6-11-, and 12-17-year-olds, respectively); the association persisted with SABA as a continuous variable and was stronger among patients without atopic diseases (32%-44% increased risk versus. 14%-21% for those with atopic disease across groups). High SABA use was associated with increased asthma exacerbation risk in children, particularly in those without comorbid atopic diseases, emphasizing the need for asthma medication reviews and reformative initiatives by caregivers and healthcare providers on SABA use.

Risks for death after admission to pediatric intensive care (PICU)-A comparison with the general population.

The aim of the study was to quantify excess mortality in children after admission to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), compared to the age and sex matched general Swedish population. Single-center, retrospective cohort study. Registry study of hospital registers, a national population register and Statistics Sweden. Children admitted to a tertiary PICU in Sweden in 2008-2016. None. In total, 6,487 admissions (4,682 patients) were included in the study. During the study period 444 patients died. Median follow-up time for the entire PICU cohort was 7.2 years (IQR 5.0-9.9 years). Patients were divided into four different age groups (0-28 d, > 28 d -1 yr, > 1-4 yr, and > 4 yr) and four different risk stratification groups [Predicted Death Rate (PDR) intervals: 0-10%, > 10-25%, > 25-50%, and > 50%] at admission. Readmission was seen in 929 (19.8%) patients. The Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) were calculated using the matched Swedish population as a reference group. The SMR for the entire study group was 49.8 (95% CI: 44.8-55.4). For patients with repeated PICU admissions SMR was 108.0 (95% CI: 91.9-126.9), and after four years 33.9 (95% CI: 23.9-48.0). Patients with a single admission had a SMR of 35.2 (95% CI: 30.5-40.6), and after four years 11.0 (95% CI: 7.0-17.6). The highest SMRs were seen in readmitted children with oncology/hematology (SMR = 358) and neurologic (SMR = 192) diagnosis. Children aged >1-4 years showed the highest SMR (325). In PDR group 0-10% children with repeated PICU admissions (n = 798), had a SMR of 100. Compared to the matched Swedish population, SMRs were greatly elevated up to four years after PICU admission, declining from over 100 to 33 for patients with repeated PICU admissions, and from 35 to 11 for patients with a single PICU admission.

Prevalence and risk factors of angina pectoris and its association with coronary atherosclerosis in a general population, a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Angina pectoris (AP) is a common clinical presentation with low association to significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in selected cohorts, though yet associated with an elevated risk of major cardiovascular adverse events. Current knowledge on AP prevalence is not up to date since contemporary cross-sectional population-based studies using symptom evaluation are sparse and epidemiological studies often use administrative data from routine health care. Also, there is a lack of studies in the general population examining the association between AP and presence of coronary atherosclerosis. Purpose To assess the prevalence of AP, the relationship to CAD, and risk factors associated to the conditions in a population-based, middle-aged Swedish cohort. Methods Data were based on the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS), in which 30,154 men and women aged 50–64 years were recruited from the general population between 2013 and 2018. Exposure variables included information from blood sampling, physiological examinations, coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) and an extensive questionnaire, including WHO Rose questionnaire on AP. Participants that completed the Rose questionnaire were included and categorized as having Rose angina or No angina. Subjects with a valid CCTA were further assessed regarding correlation between having Rose angina and degree of CAD, categorized as obstructive (&amp;gt;50% occlusion, O-CAD), non-obstructive (&amp;lt;50% occlusion, NO-CAD) or normal coronary angiography (Normal CA). Associations between risk factor exposures and outcomes were analysed in both cohorts using bivariate logistic regression. Results The main cohort consisted of N=28,974 individuals, of which n=1025 fulfilled the criteria of Rose angina, giving a prevalence of 3.5%. Out of these, N=24,602 subjects constituted the CCTA-cohort. Coronary atherosclerosis was significantly more common in individuals having Rose angina compared with those with No angina, (p≤0.001; O-CAD 11.8% vs 5.4%, NO-CAD 38.9% vs 37.0%, Normal CA 49.4% vs 57.7%). Factors associated with Rose angina were birthplace outside of Sweden, low educational level, unemployment, poor economic status, symptoms of depression, and high degree of general stress (Table). Physical inactivity, and current or previous cardiopulmonary diseases only marginally attenuated the associations. These findings were consistent in the sub-population of Rose angina with NO-CAD or Normal CA. Conclusion Rose Questionnaire AP was common in a Swedish general population, with a greater association to coronary atherosclerosis at CCTA compared with asymptomatic individuals. O-CAD was though uncommon. Risk factors associated with AP were sociodemographic and psychological, irrespective of degree of CAD. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): SCAPIS has been funded mainly from the Swedish Heart- and Lung foundation and Knut och Alice Wallenberg foundation.

Venous thromboembolism with JAK inhibitors and other immune-modulatory drugs: a Swedish comparative safety study among patients with rheumatoid arthritis

ObjectiveTo assess and compare the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi), tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) or other biological...

Non-prescription acquisition of antibiotics: Prevalence, motives, pathways and explanatory factors in the Swedish population.

Prior studies indicate prevalence of unregulated non-prescription use of antibiotics also in the northern European countries. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which antibiotics are acquired without prescription in Sweden, and people's attitudes and motives linked to this practice. We use data from an online survey of a representative sample of the Swedish general population which included questions about respondents' antibiotic use, attitudes towards antibiotics, health care contacts, self-rated health and trust in health care. We also asked about their reason for obtaining/not obtaining antibiotics without a prescription. The results show that, in the last five years, 2,3% of the respondents had acquired antibiotics in other ways than from a Swedish physician having issued a prescription, and 4,3% reported that they are likely to do so in the future. We also show that the two most important reasons for non-prescription acquisition were physicians' refusal to prescribe antibiotics followed by travel abroad. The most important reason for not obtaining antibiotics without a prescription was to not contribute to antibiotic resistance. Using logistic regression, we show that non-prescription acquisition of antibiotics, and the intention to engage in this practice in the future, are strongly associated with low trust in health care.

Healthcare costs of adverse drug reactions and potentially inappropriate prescribing in older adults: a population-based study

ObjectivesTo describe the distribution of costs based on potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and adverse drug reaction (ADR) status in terms of total direct costs and costs caused by ADRs, among...

Quality-adjusted life years among people who inject drugs in a needle syringe program in Sweden

PurposeNeedle syringe programs (NSP) significantly reduce risk behavior and HIV and hepatitis transmission in people who inject drugs (PWID). However, PWID are underrepresented in studies on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), representing a barrier to evaluate effects of public health and preventive measures related to injecting drug use. In this study, we investigate how well the two questionnaires EQ-5D-3L and SF-6D measure health in PWID. We also estimate HRQoL in the PWID population.MethodData on demographics, injection drug use, HIV, hepatitis status, and self-reported HRQoL were collected from 550 PWID enrolled in the Stockholm NSP at enrollment and at 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up. Self-rated HRQoL was measured as QALY, using EQ-5D-3L and the SF-6D. Item response theory (IRT) was used to evaluate which of the two instruments that measure health most accurately in this population. Regression analysis was used to estimate population-specific QALYs.ResultsThe IRT analysis showed that SF-6D was better suited to measure health in PWID. More specifically, SF-6D to a larger extent discriminated between persons regardless of their health status, while EQ-5D was more suitable to detect persons with poorer health. Self-rated HRQoL showed that average QALY was lower among PWID compared to the general Swedish population. However, a general increase in self-reported health was noted over time among participants.ConclusionThis study increase knowledge of what instruments are most suitable to measure health among PWID. This is of great importance when evaluating effects of public health and preventive measures in the PWID population.

Survival in Swedish patients with systemic sclerosis: a nationwide population-based matched cohort study.

To conduct the first-ever nationwide, population-based cohort study investigating survival patterns of all patients with incident SSc in Sweden compared with matched individuals from the Swedish general population. We used the National Patient Register to identify patients with incident SSc diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 and the Total Population Register to identify comparators (1:5), matched on sex, birth year and residential area. We followed them until death, emigration or the end of 2016. Follow-up of the general population comparators started the same date as their matched patients were included. We estimated all-cause survival using the Kaplan-Meier method, crude mortality rates and hazard ratios (HRs) using flexible parametric models. We identified 1139 incident patients with SSc and 5613 matched comparators. The median follow-up was 5.0 years in patients with SSc and 6.0 years for their comparators. During follow-up, 268 deaths occurred in patients with SSc and 554 in their comparators. The 5-year survival was 79.8% and the 10-year survival was 67.7% among patients with SSc vs 92.9% and 84.8%, respectively, for the comparators (P < 0.0001). The mortality rate in patients with SSc was 42.1 per 1000 person-years and 15.8 per 1000 person-years in their comparators, corresponding to an HR of 3.7 (95% CI 2.9, 4.7) at the end of the first year of follow-up and 2.0 (95% CI 1.4, 2.8) at the end of the follow-up period. Despite advances in understanding the disease and in diagnostic methods over the past decades, survival is still severely impacted in Swedish patients diagnosed with SSc between 2004 and 2015.

Hospital-Treated Infections and Increased Risk of Two EBV-Related Malignancies: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Simple SummaryEpstein–Barr virus (EBV) is associated with the risk of several human malignancies, including Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, as EBV infection is widely spread across human populations, whereas only a small proportion of the infected individuals eventually develop such malignancies, additional component causes are likely needed in the development of EBV-related malignancies. We performed a national register-based study in Sweden to examine the role of infections that required hospital treatment on the subsequent risk of HL and NPC. We found that previous hospital-treated infections were associated with a higher risk of HL and NPC and that a positive association was observed for both bacterial and viral infections, especially for respiratory and skin infections. A dose-response relationship was also noted between the number of infections and the risk of HL. These findings suggest that infectious events might contribute to the carcinogenesis of malignancies potentially related to EBV.Background: To assess the association of hospital-treated infections with the subsequent risk of two Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related malignancies, namely Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: We performed a nested case-control study based on several national registers in Sweden. Cases were individuals newly diagnosed with HL or NPC during 1994–2016 in Sweden, according to the Swedish Cancer Register. For each case, we randomly selected five controls individually matched to the case on sex and year of birth from the general Swedish population. Hospital-treated infections (i.e., infections requiring either inpatient or outpatient hospital care) were identified from the Swedish Patient Register. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of HL and NPC, in relation to hospital-treated infections, after adjustment for age, sex, calendar period, educational achievement, and region of residence. Results: The study included a total of 890 cases of HL and 306 cases of NPC. A hospital-treated infection three years ago or earlier was associated with a higher risk of HL (OR = 1.49, 95%CI: 1.26–1.75) as well as NPC (OR = 1.36; 95%CI: 1.01–1.83). The positive association was noted for both bacterial and viral infections and primarily for respiratory and skin infections. A monotonous dose-response relationship was found between a number of hospital-treated infections and the risk of HL (p = 0.02) but less compelling for NPC (p = 0.06). Using a 5-year lag time rendered similar results (OR = 1.43, 95%CI: 1.21–1.70 for HL; OR = 1.43, 95%CI: 1.05–1.95 for NPC). Conclusions: These findings suggest that infections requiring hospital treatment might contribute to the carcinogenesis of malignancies potentially related to EBV.

Sex Differences in Comorbidity Combinations in the Swedish Population.

High comorbidity rates, especially mental–physical comorbidity, constitute an increasing health care burden, with women and men being differentially affected. To gain an overview of comorbidity rates stratified by sex across a range of different conditions, this study examines comorbidity patterns within and between cardiovascular, pulmonary, skin, endocrine, digestive, urogenital, musculoskeletal, neurological diseases, and psychiatric conditions. Self-report data from the LifeGene cohort of 31,825 participants from the general Swedish population (62.5% female, 18–84 years) were analyzed. Pairwise comorbidity rates of 54 self-reported conditions in women and men and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for their comparison were calculated. Overall, the rate of pairwise disease combinations with significant comorbidity was higher in women than men (14.36% vs. 9.40%). Among psychiatric conditions, this rate was considerably high, with 41.76% in women and 39.01% in men. The highest percentages of elevated mental–physical comorbidity in women were found for musculoskeletal diseases (21.43%), digestive diseases (20.71%), and skin diseases (13.39%); in men, for musculoskeletal diseases (14.29%), neurological diseases (11.22%), and digestive diseases (10%). Implications include the need for integrating mental and physical health care services and a shift from a disease-centered to an individualized, patient-centered focus in clinical care.

THU002 - Biomarkers for prediction of alcohol-related liver cirrhosis in the Swedish general population

THU002 - Biomarkers for prediction of alcohol-related liver cirrhosis in the Swedish general population

The Importance of Secretor-Status in Norovirus Infection Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Background. Human secretor-status is a strong susceptibility factor for norovirus infection in immunocompetent people. The predominant norovirus genotype GII.4 almost exclusively infects secretors and is also associated with more severe symptoms. However, it is not known to what extent this also applies to immunocompromised individuals. Our objective was to determine the importance of secretor-status and norovirus genotype for the susceptibility and/or the clinical course of norovirus infection in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) patients. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 89 HCT patients diagnosed with norovirus infection. Secretor-status and norovirus genotype were determined using stored extracted DNA or blood (n = 89) and fecal samples (n = 22), respectively. Results: Seven of eighty-nine (8%) of the patients were secretor-negative, a small proportion compared to the expected rate of at least 20% non-secretors in the general Swedish population. Among the genotyped samples, norovirus genotype GII.4 was predominant (n = 12) and only detected in secretor-positive individuals. Patients with norovirus GII.4 had a median symptom duration of 36 (3–681) days compared to 15 (1–94) days in patients infected with other norovirus genotypes (n = 10, p = 0.1). Conclusions: The results suggest that secretor-status affects the susceptibility to norovirus infection even when the immune system is severely compromised. The norovirus genotype may also be a risk factor for chronic norovirus symptoms in immunocompromised patients.

Long-term time trends in reactivated herpes simplex infections and treatment in Sweden

BackgroundOur aim was to describe the annual prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) reactivation in relation to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation and antiviral drug use in the Swedish adult population.MethodsThe study comprised 2879 anti-HSV-1 immunoglobulin (Ig) G positive subjects from five different cohorts who had donated serum from 1988 to 2010. The sera were analyzed for anti-HSV IgM using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Associations between the presence of anti-HSV IgM antibodies, the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele and the serum sampling year were assessed by logistic regression. Seasonality of anti-HSV IgM was evaluated in a UV radiation model.Data of antiviral drugs for the entire Swedish population were compiled from two different nationwide databases: the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and the Swedish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry.ResultsCross-sectional and longitudinal analyses indicated that the prevalence of anti-HSV IgM antibodies declined between 1988 and 2010 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.912, p < .001), while the total annual use of antiviral drugs in Sweden gradually increased from 1984 to 2017. Higher UV radiation was associated with higher prevalence of anti-HSV IgM antibodies (OR = 1.071, p = .043).ConclusionThe declining time trend of HSV reactivation in a Swedish cohort coincides with a steady increase of antiviral drug use in the Swedish general population.

Unmet financial obligations and alcohol-related mortality: A nationwide register-based follow-up study

This study sets out to explore whether experiencing financial indebtedness is related to alcohol-related mortality. For this purpose, people aged between 20 and 64 having a registration date for a debt in the Swedish Enforcement Authority's register during 2015 (n = 48,541) were followed up for a five-year period for alcohol-related mortality and were compared with a sample from the general Swedish population (n = 261,148). On the basis of logistic regression analysis, it is shown that people who had experienced financial indebtedness were almost two and a half times more likely to suffer from alcohol-related death than those who had not lived through this experience (OR = 2.43), controlling for several demographic, socio-economic, and health conditions prior to the date of the registration at the Enforcement Authority. The results provide support for the notion that debt repayment problems may, in itself, be an important indicator to consider in the study of alcohol-related harm. Consequently, debt counselling and other programs directed toward mitigating debt-related stress may play an important role in alleviating the adverse effects of indebtedness.

Emphysema severity index (ESI) associated with respiratory death in a large Swedish general population

Recently, it has been shown and validated that presence and severity of emphysema on computed tomography could be estimated by a novel spirometry based index, the emphysema severity index (ESI). However, the clinical relevance of the index has not been established.We conducted cox-regression analyses with adjustment for age, smoking, sex, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) to study whether ESI was associated with all-cause, respiratory and non-respiratory 10-year mortality. Study population was all participants with acceptable spirometry from the Gott Åldrande i Skåne study, a Swedish general population aged 65–102 years old. ESI is expressed as a continuous numeric parameter on a scale ranging from 0 to 10.Out of the 4453 participants in the main study, 3974 was included in the final analysis. Higher age, higher ESI, lower FEV1 and male sex increased hazard of respiratory death. ESI was significantly correlated to respiratory death but not non-respiratory death, while high age, male sex and low FEV1 was associated with non-respiratory as well as respiratory death. Current smoking habits increased the hazard of respiratory death but did not reach significance (p 0.066) One unit increase in ESI increased hazard of all-cause death by 20% (p 0.0002) and hazard of respiratory death by 57% (p < 0.0001). The ESI is a novel clinical marker of emphysema severity that is associated with respiratory death specifically. Since it can be derived from standard spirometry there are potential benefits for clinical practice in terms of more individualised prognosis and treatment alternatives.

To drink or not to drink: A study of the association between rates of non-drinkers and per drinker mean alcohol consumption in the Swedish general population.

IntroductionUnderstanding how the mean consumption per drinker and rates of non‐drinking interplay to form overall per capita alcohol consumption is imperative for our understanding of population drinking. The aim of the present study is to examine the association between rates of non‐drinkers and per drinker mean alcohol consumption in the Swedish adult population and for different percentiles of drinkers.MethodsData came from a monthly telephone survey of drinking habits in the Swedish adult population between 2002 and 2013. Alcohol consumption and non‐drinking during the last 30 days were measured by beverage‐specific quantity‐frequency questions. Regression models estimated the association between the rate of non‐drinkers and per drinker volume on annual data. Auto‐regressive integrated moving average time‐series models estimated the association on monthly data.ResultsA significant (P < 0.01) negative association (−0.849) was found between the rate of non‐drinkers and per drinker mean volume on annual data. A unit increase in non‐drinking was associated with a decline of 0.85 cl of pure alcohol among drinkers. This finding was mirrored across all percentiles of consumption. The semi‐log models found that a 1% unit increase in the rate of non‐drinkers was followed by a 2% reduction in per drinker mean consumption. Auto‐regressive integrated moving average time‐series models verified these results.Discussion and ConclusionsThere is a significant association between the proportion of non‐drinkers and the amount of drinking among drinkers. The theory of collectivity of drinking cultures should also include the non‐drinking part of the population.

Somatization in women and men with non-cardiac chest pain compared to the general Swedish population

We compare the prevalence of somatization in women and men with NCCP in relation to the general Swedish population, analyze the overlap between somatization, cardiac anxiety, and depressive symptoms, and explore variables associated with somatization. A cross sectional design is implemented with data collected between late October 2013 and early January 2014 from 552 patients with NCCP (mean age of 64 ​± ​17 years, 51% women) from four hospitals in southeast Sweden. Somatization was measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-15, cardiac anxiety with the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire, and depressive symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Data were self-reported. The general population consists of 1898 females and 1508 males. Compared to the general population, somatization was significantly ( p ​< ​.001) more common in both women and men with NCCP. Women with NCCP had significantly ( p ​= ​.003) higher prevalence of somatization than men with NCCP. In patients with NCCP, 12% had only somatization, whereas 39% also reported cardiac anxiety and depressive symptoms. Younger age in women tended to be associated with somatization (OR ​= ​0.98, p ​< ​.073), but also being non-worker (OR ​= ​0.40, p ​= ​.024). In men, somatization tended to be associated with increased healthcare contacts (OR ​= ​1.82, p ​= ​.051). Furthermore, in both women and men, number of co-morbidities (OR ​= ​9.69 p ​< ​.001 and OR ​= ​3.45, p ​= ​.002), cardiac anxiety (OR ​= ​2.93 and OR ​= ​2.09, p ​< ​.001), and depressive symptoms (OR ​= ​8.71 and OR ​= ​4.44, p ​< ​.001) were significantly associated with somatization. Our study demonstrates that somatization is very common among patients with NCCP, especially in women. Patients with NCCP have higher somatization and greater overlap with psychological distress compared to the general population. • Somatization is more common in women and men with NCCP compared to the general population. • Somatization often overlaps with cardiac anxiety and depressive symptoms. • Somatization is associated with increased healthcare use and co-morbidity.

Socioeconomic Status and Risk of Bleeding After Mechanical Aortic Valve Replacement

BackgroundWhether low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with increased risk of anticoagulation-related adverse events in patients with mechanical heart valves is unknown. ObjectivesThis study sought to investigate the impact of patients’ SES on the risk of bleeding after mechanical aortic valve replacement (AVR). MethodsThis nationwide population-based cohort study included all patients aged 18-70 years who underwent mechanical AVR in Sweden from 1997 to 2018. Data were obtained from the SWEDEHEART register and other national health data registers. The exposure was quartiles of household disposable income. The primary outcome was hospitalization for a bleeding event. ResultsAmong 5974 patients, the absolute risk for bleeding after 20 years of follow-up was 20% (95% CI: 17%–24%) in the lowest income quartile (Q1) and 16% (95% CI: 13%–20%) in the highest quartile (Q4). The risk of bleeding decreased with increasing income level and was significantly lower in patients in income level Q3 (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.60–0.99) and Q4 (HR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.50–0.92) than Q1. The risk of death from intracranial hemorrhage was five times higher in the lowest income quartile than the age- and sex-matched general Swedish population (standardized mortality ratio: 5.0; 95% CI: 3.3–7.4). ConclusionsWe observed a strong association between SES and risk of bleeding among patients who underwent mechanical AVR. These findings suggest suboptimal anticoagulation treatment in patients with lower SES and the need for strategies to optimize anticoagulation treatment in patients with a mechanical heart valve. (Health-Data Register Studies of Risk and Outcomes in Cardiac Surgery [HARTROCS]; NCT02276950)

Detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in 994 patients with a cerebrovascular event by intermittent 21-day ECG-monitoring and 7-day continuous Holter-recording

BackgroundThe detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) is of importance in stroke care. The method used is continuous electrocardiogram (ECG)-monitoring or multiple short ECG-recordings during an extended period. Their relative efficiency is a matter of discussion. In a retrospective cohort study on 994 patients with an ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), we have compared continuous 7-day monitoring to intermittent recording 60 sec three times daily with a handheld device during 3 weeks. We related the result to subsequent occurrence of AF as detected in 12-lead ECG recordings.MethodsThe patients were identified in the local database of cardiovascular investigations. Their clinical profile and vital status during the follow-up were obtained from the Swedish Stroke Register and the Swedish general population registry. For comparison, we used an age- and sex-matched population with no known cerebrovascular event and a population with a cerebrovascular event that was not screened.ResultsAF was detected in 7.1% by continuous screening and in 5.1% by intermittent screening (P = 0.3). During follow-up of 32 months, AF in 12-lead ECG was found in 7.0%. In the subgroup with positive screening, 46.3% had AF compared with 6.7% in the subgroup with negative screening (P < 0.0001).ConclusionsThe two screening approaches had a similar yield of arrhythmia, in spite of the group with intermittent monitoring having a more favorable clinical profile. A positive screening was highly predictive of AF in ECG during the follow-up.