Comorbid disease burden among MS patients 1968-2012: A Swedish register-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: People with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) have increased comorbid disease (CMD) risk. Most previous studies have not considered overall CMD burden. OBJECTIVE: To describe lifetime CMD burden among pwMS. METHODS: PwMS identified using Swedish registers between 1968 and 2012 (n = 25,476) were matched by sex, age, and county of residence with general-population comparators (n = 251,170). Prevalence, prevalence ratios (PRs), survival functions, and hazard ratios by MS status, age, and time period compared seven CMD: autoimmune, cardiovascular, depression, diabetes, respiratory, renal, and seizures. RESULTS: The magnitude of the PRs for each CMD and age group decreased across time, with higher PRs in earlier time periods. Before 1990, younger age groups had higher PRs, and after 1990, older age groups had higher PRs. Male pwMS had higher burden compared with females. Overall, renal, respiratory, and seizures had the highest PRs. Before 2001, 50% of pwMS received a first/additional CMD diagnosis 20 years prior to people without MS, which reduced to 4 years after 2001. PwMS had four times higher rates of first/additional diagnoses in earlier time periods, which reduced to less than two times higher in recent time periods compared to people without MS. CONCLUSION: Swedish pwMS have increased CMD burden compared with the general population, but this has reduced over time.

Consumption and direct costs of dental care for patients with head and neck cancer: A 16-year cohort study.

Patients with head and neck (H&N) cancer are commonly treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy, which can increase the risk of oral infection, dental caries, and periodontal disease. The present study investigated dental care consumption and costs in patient with H&N cancer before and after the cancer diagnosis. Data from Swedish regional and national registers were used to follow up dental care utilization and dental procedure costs. The analysis included 2,754 patients who had been diagnosed with H&N cancer (exposed cohort) in Stockholm County, Sweden, during 2000-2012 and 13,036 matched persons without cancer (unexposed cohort). The exposed cohort was sub-grouped into irradiated and non-irradiated patients for analysis. The exposed cohort underwent a moderately higher number of dental procedures per year than the unexposed cohort in both the year of the cancer diagnosis and the year after cancer diagnosis; in addition, these numbers were higher in the irradiated than in the non-irradiated subgroup of the exposed cohort. Dental care consumption and costs in the exposed cohort declined over time but remained at a slightly higher level than in the unexposed cohort over the long term (more than two years). Examinations and preventive procedures accounted for most of the higher consumption in the short term (2 years) and at the longer term follow-up. Swedish national insurance subsidized costs for dental treatment, which were highest in the irradiated subgroup and lowest in the unexposed cohort. Direct costs to the patient, however, were similar among the groups. Swedish national health insurance protects patients with H&N cancer from high dental expenditures. Further studies on the cost-effectiveness of preventive dental care for patients are needed.

Utilization of Stimulants and Atomoxetine for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among 5.4 Million Children Using Population-Based Longitudinal Data.

Use of stimulants to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has increased over the past two decades and varies substantially between countries. The objective of this multinational population-based study was to examine utilization of ADHD drugs (stimulants and atomoxetine) including comedication with other psychotropic drugs in the entire child population in the five Nordic countries. We included longitudinal data on dispensed ADHD drugs from five Nordic prescription registers during 2008-2012, which in 2012 comprised 48,296 individuals among 5.42 million inhabitants aged 0-17 years. Prevalence of filling ≥1 prescriptions of ADHD drugs among children aged 6-17 years increased during 2008-2012 from 5.9 to 11.2 and 19.4 to 31.0 per 1000 girls and boys, respectively. Prevalence by country showed that Iceland, Finland and Sweden had a steady increase during the study period, while in Norway the prevalence was quite stable and in Denmark it levelled off from 2010. Use in preschoolers (aged 0-5 years) was rare. Iceland had much higher prevalence and incidence than the other Nordic countries. The incidence of ADHD drug use increased during the study period, from 4.0 to 4.9 and from 1.5 to 2.3 per 1000 boys and girls, respectively. The increasing number of new users levelled off somewhat after 2010. Comedication with other psychotropic drugs was more common among girls (33.9%) than boys (27.0%) and was mainly melatonin, followed by antidepressants and antipsychotics. Overall prevalence of ADHD drug use increased among Nordic girls and boys aged 6-17 years, whereas the incidence increased slightly during 2008-2010 but levelled off through 2012. The substantial differences in ADHD drug use across the Nordic countries and high degree of comedication with other psychotropic drugs underscore the importance of close monitoring of treatment for ADHD among children.

The Effect of Socioeconomic Status on the Choice of Treatment for Patients With Cruciate Ligament Injuries in the Knee: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The socioeconomic status (SES) of patients has been widely recognized as playing an important role in many health-related conditions, including orthopaedic conditions, in which a higher SES has been associated with a higher utilization of more advanced medical treatments such as drugs, diagnostics, and surgery. However, the association between SES and cruciate ligament surgery has not been thoroughly investigated. PURPOSE: To evaluate the association between SES and choice of treatment in patients with a cruciate ligament injury. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: All Swedish patients with a diagnosed cruciate ligament injury between 1987 and 2010 were identified from the Swedish National Patient Register (N = 98,349). The Longitudinal Integration Database for Health Insurance and Labor Market Studies (LISA) provided information on household income and highest achieved educational level, which were used as socioeconomic indices. The exposure was the SES of patients as determined by the household income and educational level, and the main outcome measure was treatment choice (surgical reconstruction vs nonoperative treatment). Poisson regression models estimated the association. RESULTS: A total of 52,566 patients were included in the study; of these, 20,660 (39%) were treated operatively. Patients in the highest quartile of household income had a significantly higher likelihood of undergoing surgery than those in the lowest quartile (relative risk [RR], 1.16; 95% CI, 1.11-1.20). Patients classified as highly educated had a significantly increased likelihood of being treated operatively compared with those with a low education (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.19-1.39). CONCLUSION: This study provides a population-based validation that having a higher SES as determined by the household income and/or level of education increases the likelihood of undergoing operative treatment after a cruciate ligament injury. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: All Swedish citizens are entitled by law to the same quality of health care; therefore, unmotivated differences in treatment between different socioeconomic groups are to be seen as a challenge. It is important to evaluate the specific mechanisms by which the patient's SES influences the decision of whether to treat a cruciate ligament injury operatively.