Danish population health measured by the EQ-5D-5L.

AIMS: The aims of this study were to provide Danish population norms for the EQ-5D-5L and to assess the measurement properties of the instrument in a Danish population setting. METHODS: We used data from the Danish 5L valuation study in which a representative sample of the Danish population completed the EQ-5D-5L and answered socio-demographic questions. We generated population norms for the five EQ-5D-5L dimensions, corresponding utility scores and the EQ-5D visual analogue scale (EQ VAS) according to age and sex. Measurement properties of ceiling effects, known-group construct validity and convergent validity were assessed. RESULTS: The mean EQ-5D-5L utility score for the 1014 respondents completing the EQ-5D-5L was 0.90 (standard deviation (SD)=0.16). No significant differences emerged across age groups (minimum mean utility score=0.88 (SD=0.19); maximum mean utility score=0.93 (SD=0.11)) or sex (mean utility score for women=0.89 (SD=0.17); mean utility score for men=0.91 (SD=0.15)). Statistical differences were found across educational level, occupational status, income and living situation. Similar patterns were observed for the EQ VAS. Generally, respondents most often reported problems with pain and discomfort, but young women most often reported problems with anxiety/depression. There was a significant strong correlation between EQ-5D-5L utility and the EQ VAS and a significant correlation between overall health and each of the five EQ-5D-5L dimensions. The overall ceiling effect for the EQ-5D-5L was 39% (compared to 56% for the EQ-5D-3L). CONCLUSIONS: Danish population norms for the EQ-5D-5L are now available. We found fewer ceiling effects for the EQ-5D-5L compared to the EQ-5D-3L, and we provide evidence for convergent and known-group validity of the EQ-5D-5L.

Cognitive performance in hospitalized patients with severe or extreme anorexia nervosa.

PURPOSE: Severe malnourishment may reduce cognitive performance in anorexia nervosa (AN). We studied cognitive functioning during intensive nutritional and medical stabilization in patients with severe or extreme AN and investigated associations between weight gain and cognitive improvement. METHODS: A few days after admission to a specialized hospital unit, 33 patients with severe or extreme AN, aged 16-42 years, completed assessments of memory, cognitive flexibility, processing speed, and attention. Mean hospitalization was 6 weeks. Patients completed the same assessments at discharge (n = 22) following somatic stabilization and follow-up up to 6 months after discharge (n = 18). RESULTS: The patients displayed normal cognitive performance at admission compared to normative data. During nutritional stabilization, body weight increased (mean: 11.3%; range 2.6-22.2%) and memory, attention, and processing speed improved (p values: ≤ 0.0002). No relationship between weight gain and cognitive improvement was observed at discharge or follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive performance at hospital admission was normal in patients with severe or extreme AN and improved during treatment although without association to weight gain. Based on these results, which are in line with previous studies, patients with severe or extreme AN need not be excluded from cognitively demanding tasks, possibly including psychotherapy. As patients may have other symptoms that interfere with psychotherapy, future research could investigate cognitive functioning in everyday life in patients with severe AN. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02502617). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, cohort study.

Validating the Danish version of the Eating Disorder Quality of Life Scale (EDQLS) in anorexia nervosa.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the factor structure of the Danish translation of the eating disorder quality of life scale and evaluate the internal reliability and convergent validity of the scale in a Danish cohort of women with AN. METHODS: The total sample comprised 211 patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa age 13-40 years. Patients completed questionnaires assessing eating disorder psychopathology, physical and social functioning, and well-being. RESULTS: Factor analyses were not able to support the current division of the scale into 12 factors. We found excellent internal consistency of the eating disorder quality-of-life scale total score. We found relevant associations between quality of life and pre-determined variables. CONCLUSION: This study supports the use of the total score of the eating disorder quality of life scale in assessing quality of life in patients with anorexia nervosa. However, future studies should explore the factor structure of the scale further. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III: Evidence obtained from cohort or case-control analytic studies.

Translation of the updated clinical frailty scale 2.0 into Danish and implications for cross-sectoral reliability.

The Clinical Frailty Scale, which provides a common language about frailty, was recently updated to version 2.0 to cater for its increased use in areas of medicine usually involved in the care and treatment of older patients. We have previously translated the Clinical Frailty Scale 1.2 into Danish and found inter-rater-reliability to be excellent for primary care physicians, community nurses, and hospital doctors often involved in cross-sectoral collaborations. In this correspondence we present the Danish translation and cultural adaption of the Clinical Frailty Scale 2.0. Our recent findings on cross-sectoral inter-rater reliability for the Clinical Frailty Scale 1.2 are likely also applicable for the Clinical Frailty Scale 2.0.

Cross-sectoral inter-rater reliability of the clinical frailty scale - a Danish translation and validation study.

BACKGROUND: Focus on frailty status has become increasingly important when determining care plans within and across health care sectors. A standardized frailty measure applicable for both primary and secondary health care sectors is needed to provide a common reference point. The aim of this study was to translate the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) into Danish (CFS-DK) and test inter-rater reliability for key health care professionals in the primary and secondary sectors using the CFS-DK. METHODS: The Clinical Frailty Scale was translated into Danish using the ISPOR principles for translation and cultural adaptation that included forward and back translation, review by the original developer, and cognitive debriefing. For the validation exercise, 40 participants were asked to rate 15 clinical case vignettes using the CFS-DK. The raters were distributed across several health care professions: primary care physicians (n = 10), community nurses (n = 10), hospital doctors from internal medicine (n = 10) and intensive care (n = 10). Inter-rater reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and sensitivity analysis was performed using multilevel random effects linear regression. RESULTS: The Clinical Frailty Scale was translated and culturally adapted into Danish and is presented in this paper in its final form. Inter-rater reliability in the four professional groups ranged from ICC 0.81 to 0.90. Sensitivity analysis showed no significant impact of professional group or length of clinical experience. The health care professionals considered the CFS-DK to be relevant for their own area of work and for cross-sectoral collaboration. CONCLUSION: The Clinical Frailty Scale was translated and culturally adapted into Danish. The inter-rater reliability was high in all four groups of health care professionals involved in cross-sectoral collaborations. However, the use of case vignettes may reduce the generalizability of the reliability findings to real-life settings. The CFS has the potential to serve as a common reference tool when treating and rehabilitating older patients.

Do Exercisers With Musculoskeletal Injuries Report Symptoms of Depression and Stress?

CONTEXT: Sports injuries in athletes can lead to negative emotional responses in terms of anger, anxiety, confusion, and sadness. Severe injuries can be understood as a stressful life event with increased levels of psychological distress, but injury assessment and rehabilitation typically focus on somatic symptoms. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depression and emotional stress and to measure self-rated health in regular exercisers presenting to a sports medicine clinic with musculoskeletal injury. The secondary aim was to identify psychosocial factors associated with depression in injured exercisers and the potential need for psychological counseling. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey study. SETTING: A sports medicine clinic for injuries of the foot, knee, or shoulder. PARTICIPANTS: Regular exercisers with present injuries (N = 694) and exercisers without injuries (N = 494). Regular exercisers were defined as those undertaking moderate exercise at least once a week. INTERVENTION: A questionnaire survey completed on paper by patients in a sports medicine clinic and a web-based version completed by online sports communities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed the Major Depression Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, health-related quality of life, and questions on sociodemographics, exercise habits, and injury history. RESULTS: Symptoms of depression were reported by 12% of injured exercisers and 5% of noninjured controls (P < .001). Clinical stress was found in 30% of injured exercisers and 22% of controls (P = .002), and the EQ-5D-5L Visual Analog Scale score was lower for injured (69 [SD = 19]) than noninjured exercisers (87 [SD = 13], P < .001). Injured exercisers with symptoms of depression reported high stress levels and impaired daily functioning, were younger, and were more likely to have over 10 days injury-related work absence. CONCLUSIONS: The authors recommend psychological assessment of exercisers attending a sports medicine clinic for musculoskeletal injury and a supplemental clinical psychological interview for suspected depression or stress-related psychopathology.

Exploring the causal and effect nature of EQ-5D dimensions: an application of confirmatory tetrad analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between the various items in an HRQoL instrument is a key aspect of interpreting and understanding preference weights. The aims of this paper were i) to use theoretical models of HRQoL to develop a conceptual framework for causal and effect relationships among the five dimensions of the EQ-5D instrument, and ii) to empirically test this framework. METHODS: A conceptual framework depicts the symptom dimensions [Pain/discomfort (PD) and Anxiety/depression (AD)] as causal indicators that drive a change in the effect indicators of activity/participation [Mobility (MO), Self-care (SC) and Usual activities (UA)], where MO has an intermediate position between PD and the other two effect dimensions (SC and UA). Confirmatory tetrad analysis (CTA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to test this framework using EQ-5D-5L data from 7933 respondents in six countries, classified as healthy (n = 1760) or in one of seven disease groups (n = 6173). RESULTS: CTA revealed the best fit for a model specifying SC and UA as effect indicators and PD, AD and MO as causal indicators. This was supported by CFA, revealing a satisfactory fit to the data: CFI = 0.992, TLI = 0.972, RMSEA = 0.075 (90% CI 0.062-0.088), and SRMR = 0.012. CONCLUSIONS: The EQ-5D appears to include both causal indicators (PD and AD) and effect indicators (SC and UA). Mobility played an intermediate role in our conceptual framework, being a cause of problems with Self-care and Usual activities, but also an effect of Pain/discomfort. However, the empirical analyses of our data suggest that Mobility is mostly a causal indicator.

Rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of classroom-based physical activity on math achievement.

BACKGROUND: Integration of physical activity (PA) into the classroom may be an effective way of promoting the learning and academic achievement of children at elementary school. This paper describes the research design and methodology of an intervention study examining the effect of classroom-based PA on mathematical achievement, creativity, executive function, body mass index and aerobic fitness. METHODS: The study was designed as a school-based cluster-randomized controlled trial targeting schoolchildren in 1st grade, and was carried out between August 2012 and June 2013. Eligible schools in two municipalities in the Region of Southern Denmark were invited to participate in the study. After stratification by municipality, twelve schools were randomized to either an intervention group or a control group, comprising a total of 505 children with mean age 7.2 ± 0.3 years. The intervention was a 9-month classroom-based PA program that involved integration of PA into the math lessons delivered by the schools' math teachers. The primary study outcome was change in math achievement, measured by a 45-minute standardized math test. Secondary outcomes were change in executive function (using a modified Eriksen flanker task and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire filled out by the parents), creativity (using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, TTCT), aerobic fitness (by the Andersen intermittent shuttle-run test) and body mass index. PA during math lessons and total PA (including time spent outside school) were assessed using accelerometry. Math teachers used Short Message Service (SMS)-tracking to report on compliance with the PA intervention and on their motivation for implementing PA in math lessons. Parents used SMS-tracking to register their children's PA behavior in leisure time. DISCUSSION: The results of this randomized controlled trial are expected to provide schools and policy-makers with significant new insights into the potential of classroom-based PA to improve cognition and academic achievement in children. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02488460 (06/29/2015).

Bone geometry, volumetric bone mineral density, microarchitecture and estimated bone strength in Caucasian females with systemic lupus erythematosus. A cross-sectional study using HR-pQCT.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of fracture. We used high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) to measure bone geometry, volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD), cortical and trabecular microarchitecture and estimated bone strength by finite element analysis (FEA) at the distal radius and tibia to assess bone characteristics beyond BMD that may contribute to the increased risk of fracture. Thirty-three Caucasian women with SLE (median age 48, range 21-64 years) and 99 controls (median age 45, range 21-64 years) were studied. Groups were comparable in radius regarding geometry and vBMD, but SLE patients had lower trabecular number (-7%, p < 0.05), higher trabecular separation (13%, p < 0.05) and lower FEA-estimated failure load compared to controls (-10%, p < 0.05). In tibia, SLE patients had lower total vBMD (-11%, p < 0.01), cortical area (-14%, p < 0.001) and cortical thickness (-16%, p < 0.001) and higher trabecular area (8%, p < 0.05). In subgroup analyses of the premenopausal participants (SLE n = 21, controls n = 63), SLE patients had significantly lower trabecular bone volume fraction [(BV/TV); -17%, p < 0.01], trabecular number (-9%, p < 0.01), trabecular thickness (-9%, p < 0.05) and higher trabecular separation (13%, p < 0.01) and trabecular network inhomogeneity (14%, p < 0.05) in radius along with lower BV/TV (-15%, p < 0.01) and higher trabecular separation (11%, p < 0.05) in tibia. FEA-estimated bone strength was lower in both radius (-11%, p < 0.01) and tibia (-10%, p < 0.05). In conclusion, Caucasian women with SLE compared to controls had fewer and more widely separated trabeculae and lower estimated bone strength in radius and lower total vBMD, cortical area and thickness in tibia.

From translation to version management: a history and review of methods for the cultural adaptation of the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire.

The EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) questionnaire is used worldwide as a patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument for the measurement and valuation of health. Several variants of the instrument now exist, including versions with three and five levels of severity and one for respondents aged 8 to 14 years. From the outset, a demand for new language versions of the EQ-5D questionnaire meant that there was a need to implement standardized procedures, which ensured that such versions were produced following international recommendations for the cultural adaptation of patient-reported outcomes. The availability of new variants and formats of the instrument, such as telephone-administered or electronic formats, complicated the task of providing and controlling the quality of cultural adaptations. Although cultural adaptations of the instrument are widely used, the procedures currently used to produce them have not been widely disseminated. The present article therefore describes the evolution of the production of other language versions of the instrument from the earliest days of simultaneous production and translation of the EQ-5D questionnaire to the more recent, broader-based strategy of version management. We describe current adaptation procedures and innovations within those procedures. We also describe how version management is organized within the EuroQol Group, review aspects related to quality control, and provide an overview of the number of currently available language versions for each variant of the EQ-5D questionnaire: three-level, five-level, and youth versions. We conclude by discussing some of the relevant issues related to cultural adaptation for frequently used instruments such as the EQ-5D questionnaire.

The relationship between health-related quality of life, obesity and testosterone levels in older men.

BACKGROUND: quality of life evaluated by Short-Form 36 (SF-36) is decreased in obesity and hypogonadism, but the importance of regional fat mass is unknown. In the present study, we evaluated associations between SF-36, regional fat deposits and bioavailable testosterone (BioT) in ageing men. METHODS: a population-based cross-sectional study in older men. Data included SF-36 questionnaires with the dimensions such as physical function, role limitations physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social function, role limitations emotional and mental health. Furthermore, waist, lean body mass (measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry), visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) (measured by magnetic resonance imaging) and BioT were established. RESULTS: five hundred and ninety-eight men aged 60-74 years were included. The SF-36 dimensions such as physical function, general health, vitality and role limitations functional were inversely associated with waist and SAT and positively associated with BioT. In multiple regression analysis, waist was the body composition measure with the strongest association with SF-36 dimension scores. CONCLUSION: SF-36 dimension scores were more closely associated with central obesity than with BioT. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00155961.

Measurement properties of the EQ-5D-5L compared to the EQ-5D-3L across eight patient groups: a multi-country study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the measurement properties of the 5-level classification system of the EQ-5D (5L), in comparison with the 3-level EQ-5D (3L). METHODS: Participants (n = 3,919) from six countries, including eight patient groups with chronic conditions (cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, depression, diabetes, liver disease, personality disorders, arthritis, and stroke) and a student cohort, completed the 3L and 5L and, for most participants, also dimension-specific rating scales. The 3L and 5L were compared in terms of feasibility (missing values), redistribution properties, ceiling, discriminatory power, convergent validity, and known-groups validity. RESULTS: Missing values were on average 0.8% for 5L and 1.3% for 3L. In total, 2.9% of responses were inconsistent between 5L and 3L. Redistribution from 3L to 5L using EQ dimension-specific rating scales as reference was validated for all 35 3L-5L-level combinations. For 5L, 683 unique health states were observed versus 124 for 3L. The ceiling was reduced from 20.2% (3L) to 16.0% (5L). Absolute discriminatory power (Shannon index) improved considerably with 5L (mean 1.87 for 5L versus 1.24 for 3L), and relative discriminatory power (Shannon Evenness index) improved slightly (mean 0.81 for 5L versus 0.78 for 3L). Convergent validity with WHO-5 was demonstrated and improved slightly with 5L. Known-groups validity was confirmed for both 5L and 3L. CONCLUSIONS: The EQ-5D-5L appears to be a valid extension of the 3-level system which improves upon the measurement properties, reducing the ceiling while improving discriminatory power and establishing convergent and known-groups validity.

Conceptual framework for acute community health care services - Illustrated by assessing the development of services in Denmark.

Acute community health care services can support continuity of care by acting as a bridge between the primary and secondary health care sectors in the early detection of acute disease and provision of treatment and care. Although acute community health care services are a political priority in many countries, the literature on their organization and effect is limited. We present a conceptual framework for describing acute community health care services that can be used to support the policies and guidelines for such services. For illustrative purposes, we apply the framework to the Danish acute community health care services using implementation data from 2020 and identify gaps and opportunities for learning. The framework identifies two key pairs of dimensions: (1) capacity & capability, and (2) coordination & collaboration. These dimensions, together with the governance structure and quality assurance initiatives, are of key importance to the effect of acute community health care services. While all Danish municipalities have implemented acute community health care services, application of the framework indicates considerable variation in their approaches. The conceptual framework provides a systematic approach supporting the development, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring of acute community health care services and can assist policymakers at both national and local levels in this work.

Cognitive Flexibility in Hospitalized Patients with Severe or Extreme Anorexia Nervosa: A Case-Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether cognitive inflexibility could be identified using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in patients with severe and extreme anorexia nervosa (AN) compared to healthy control participants (HCs). METHOD: We used the WCST to assess 34 patients with AN (mean age: 25.9 years, mean body mass index (BMI): 13.2 kg/m2) 3-7 days after admission to a specialized nutrition unit and 34 HCs. The Beck Depression Inventory II and the Eating Disorder Inventory 3 were distributed. RESULTS: The patients displayed more perseveration than HCs controlled for age and years of education, with moderate effect sizes (perseverative responses (%): adjusted difference = -7.74, 95% CI: -14.29-(-1.20), p-value: 0.021; perseverative errors (%): adjusted difference = -6.01, 95% CI: -11.06-(-0.96), p-value: 0.020). There were no significant relationships between perseveration and depression, eating disorder symptoms, illness duration, or BMI. DISCUSSION: Patients with severe and extreme AN demonstrated lower cognitive flexibility compared to HCs. Performance was not related to psychopathology or BMI. Patients with severe and extreme anorexia nervosa may not differ from less severe patients in cognitive flexibility performance. As this study exclusively focused on patients suffering from severe and extreme AN, potential correlations might be masked by a floor effect.

Structured decision support to prevent hospitalisations of community-dwelling older adults in Denmark (PATINA): an open-label, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Ageing populations and health-care staff shortages encourage efforts in primary care to recognise and prevent health deterioration and acute hospitalisation in community-dwelling older adults. The PATINA algorithm and decision-support tool alerts home-based-care nurses to older adults at risk of hospitalisation. The study aim was to test whether use of the PATINA tool was associated with changes in health-care use. METHODS: An open-label, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised controlled trial was done in three Danish municipalities, covering 20 area teams providing home-based care to around 7000 recipients. During a period of 12 months, area teams were randomly assigned to an intervention crossover for older adults (aged 65 years or older) who received care at home. The primary outcome was hospitalisation within 30 days of identification by the algorithm as being at risk of hospitalisation. Secondary outcomes were hospital readmission and other hospital contacts, outpatient contacts, contact with primary care physicians (PCPs), temporary care, and death, within 30 days of identification. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NTC04398797). FINDINGS: In total, 2464 older adults participated in the study: 1216 (49·4%) in the control phase and 1248 (50·6%) in the intervention phase. In the control phase, 102 individuals were hospitalised within 30 days during 33 943 days of risk (incidence 0·09 per 30 days), compared with 118 individuals within 34 843 days of risk (0·10 per 30 days) during the intervention phase. The intervention was not associated with a reduction in the number of first hospitalisations within 30 days (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1·10 [90% CI 0·90-1·40]; p=0·28). Furthermore it was not associated with reduced rates of other hospital contacts (IRR 1·10 [95% CI 0·90-1·40]; p=0·28), outpatient contacts (1·10 [0·88-1·40]; p=0·42), or mortality (0·82 [0·58-1·20]; p=0·25). The intervention was associated with a 59% reduction in readmissions within 30 days of hospital discharge (IRR 0·41 [95% CI 0·24-0·68]; p=0·0007), a 140% increase in contacts with PCPs (2·40 [1·18-3·20]; p<0·0001), and a 150% increase in use of temporary care (2·50 [1·40-4·70]; p=0·0027). INTERPRETATION: Despite having no effect on the primary outcome, the PATINA tool showed other benefits for older adults receiving home-based care. Such algorithms have the potential to shift health-care use from secondary to primary care but need to be tested in other home-based care settings. Implementation of algorithms in clinical practice should be informed by analysis of cost-effectiveness and potential harms as well as the benefits. FUNDING: Innovation Fund Denmark and Region of Southern Denmark. TRANSLATIONS: For the Danish, French and German translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Physical violence and health-related quality of life: Danish cross-sectional analyses.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between experienced physical violence and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by comparing self-reported health status for individuals with and without experience of physical violence. Our hypothesis was that individuals exposed to violence would experience worse HRQoL than non-exposed individuals. We tested whether men and women and different age groups experience similar reductions in HRQoL, and the extent to which such differences might be associated with social circumstances and lifestyle conditions. Finally, we explored the HRQoL consequences of exposure to violence in a longer time perspective. METHODS: We used data from self-completed questionnaires in two Danish nationally representative, cross-sectional health interview surveys. Exposure to violence was indicated through specific survey questions (Straus' conflict tactics scale) enquiring about different types of violence during the last 12 months. Health status of respondents was elicited by the EQ-5D and SF-36 questionnaires. The health status profiles were converted to health score indexes using the Danish algorithm for EQ-5D and the revised Brazier algorithm for SF-6D. Differences in score indexes between the exposed and non-exposed individuals were explored separately for men and women using ordinary least square regression with four age categories as explanatory variables. RESULTS: In the 2000 and 2005 surveys, respectively, 4.9% and 5.7% of respondents indicated that they had been exposed to physical violence within the last 12 months. Exposure to violence was more prevalent in the younger age groups and more prevalent for men than women. Respondents exposed to violence had lower score indexes on both the EQ-5D and the SF-6D compared with the non-exposed. Respondents who reported exposure to violence in both 2000 and 2005 reported lower HRQoL than individuals who only reported exposure in one of the surveys. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide evidence for an association between exposure to physical violence and reduction in health-related quality of life.

Chronic diseases in elderly men: underreporting and underdiagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: prevalence estimates for chronic diseases and associated risk factors are needed for priority setting and disease prevention strategies. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the self-reported and clinical prevalence of common chronic disorders in elderly men. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: a questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 4,975 men aged 60-74 years. An age-stratified randomised sample (n = 1,845) of those with complete questionnaires was invited to participate in a telephone interview (n = 864), followed by physical examination (n = 600). Self-reported data on risk factors and disease prevalence were compared with data from hospital medical records. RESULTS: physical inactivity, smoking and excessive alcohol intake were reported by 27, 22 and 17% of the study population, respectively. Except for diabetes, all the chronic diseases investigated, including hypertension, musculoskeletal and respiratory diseases were underreported by study participants. Erectile dysfunction and hypogonadism were substantially underreported in the study population even though these diseases were found to affect 48 and 21% of the participants, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: the study showed a high prevalence of detrimental life style factors including smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and physical inactivity in elderly Danish men. Except for diabetes and respiratory disease, chronic diseases were underreported and in particular erectile dysfunction and osteoporosis were underdiagnosed in the study population, underlining the importance of awareness of chronic diseases among both the general population and physicians.

Public versus patient health preferences: protocol for a study to elicit EQ-5D-5L health state valuations for patients who have survived a stay in intensive care.

INTRODUCTION: The value set used when calculating quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) is most often based on stated preference data elicited from a representative sample of the general population. However, having a severe disease may alter a person's health preferences, which may imply that, for some patient groups, experienced QALYs may differ from those that are estimated via standard methods. This study aims to model 5-level EuroQol 5-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) valuations based on preferences elicited from a sample of patients who have survived a stay in a Danish intensive care unit (ICU) and to compare these with the preferences of the general population. Further, the heterogeneity in the ICU patients' preferences will be investigated. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This valuation study will elicit EQ-5D-5L health state preferences from a sample of 300 respondents enrolled in two randomised controlled trials at Danish ICUs. Patients' preferences will be elicited using composite time trade-off based on the EuroQol Valuation Technology, the same as that used to generate the EQ-5D-5L value set for the Danish general population. The patient-based and the public-based EQ-5D-5L valuations will be compared. Potential underlying determinants of the ICU preferences will be investigated through analyses of demographic characteristics, time since the ICU stay, self-reported health, willingness to trade-off length of life for quality of life, health state reference dependency and EQ-5D dimensions that patients have experienced themselves during their illness. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Under Danish regulations, ethical approval is not required for studies of this type. Written informed consent will be obtained from all patients. The study results will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at national and international conferences. The modelling algorithms will be publicly available for statistical software, such as Stata and R.

Compensation Claims in Danish Emergency Care: Identifying Hot Spots and Blind Spots in the Quality of Care.

BACKGROUND: The Healthcare Complaints Analysis Tool (HCAT) offers a validated way of systematically extracting content from patient complaints for further analysis of complaint hot spots with harm or near misses, and blind spots with, for example, systemic problems or quality problems arising during discharge. This study analyzed a Danish national sample of compensations claims about emergency care using the HCAT. METHODS: Through use of the HCAT, compensation claims about Danish emergency care from 2013 to 2017 (N = 712) were coded and then grouped to identify and highlight hot spot problem areas (harm and near misses) and blind spot problem areas (admission/discharge, systemic problems, errors of omission). Two assessors coded the compensation claims by entering data into a database. RESULTS: The HCAT analyses of the sample resulted in coding of 1,305 problems. Most problems concerned quality and safety issues at the examination/diagnosis stage of care (63.9%). In 91.2% of the cases, the level of harm was moderate or major. Harm hot spots most often involved diagnostic errors (189 problems). Eighty-nine problems related to errors of omission, all causing moderate or major harm. For systemic blind spots, patient harm significantly increased in cases of multiple problem types in the compensation claim (odds ratio = 1.6, 95% confidence interval = 1.3-2.0). CONCLUSION: Systematic coding and analytic approach to the HCAT can highlight potential quality problems in emergency care and point to areas for further consideration. From the perspective of future health care harm prevention, there seems to be a strong incentive for further analysis of the amount, nature, and prevention of diagnostic errors in emergency care.

Quantification of Complaint and Compensation Cases by Introducing a Danish Translated and Cross-Cultural Adapted Edition of the Healthcare Complaints Analysis Tool.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the English version of the HCAT to produce a Danish HCAT version and to test the Danish version's reliability. METHODS: We used best-practice guidelines for linguistic translations and cultural adaptations. For cross-cultural adaptation, we conducted forward and back translation followed by expert committee review. Subsequently, two researchers assessed 140 complaint cases to test intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Danish HCAT version. We used descriptive statistics for distributions and tested for differences between English and Danish editions Intra- and inter-rater reliability used Gwet's AC1 statistics, applying quadratic weights to assign more weight to large discrepancies. RESULTS: The back translations showed both semantic and conceptual differences, and the expert committee thus discussed the meaning of the wording in the HCAT guide and coding form to ensure that the Danish version would be conceptually similar to the English version but also culturally appropriate for Danish settings. There was discussion about how to use the coding form to graduate problem severity, and this led to some altered wording. Pilot testing revealed the need for two new categories of "hospital-acquired infection" and "involvement of patients' relatives". The problem categories of the HCAT-DK showed "substantial" intra- and inter-rater reliability (0.79, and 0.79 to 0.85). In addition, there was a "substantial" agreement (0.70 to 0.73) between the original HCAT and the HCAT-DK version. CONCLUSION: The study translated and cross-culturally adapted the English HCAT version to produce a Danish HCAT version. Cultural and conceptual differences led to adjustments and to addition of two extra items in the HCAT-DK. The Danish version showed "substantial" intra- and inter-rater reliability and is considered suitable for coding complaint and compensation cases in Danish health care.