Effect of exercise therapy versus surgery on mechanical symptoms in young patients with a meniscal tear: a secondary analysis of the DREAM trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of early surgery versus exercise and education on mechanical symptoms and other patient-reported outcomes in patients aged 18-40 years with a meniscal tear and self-reported mechanical knee symptoms. METHODS: In a randomised controlled trial, 121 patients aged 18-40 years with a MRI-verified meniscal tear were randomised to surgery or 12-week supervised exercise and education. For this study, 63 patients (33 and 30 patients in the surgery and in the exercise group, respectively) reporting baseline mechanical symptoms were included. The main outcome was self-reported mechanical symptoms (yes/no) at 3, 6 and 12 months assessed using a single item from the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Secondary outcomes were KOOS4 and the 5 KOOS-subscales and the Western Ontario Meniscal Evaluation Tool (WOMET). RESULTS: In total, 55/63 patients completed the 12-month follow-up. At 12 months, 9/26 (35%) in the surgery group and 20/29 (69%) in the exercise group reported mechanical symptoms. The risk difference and relative risk at any time point was 28.7% (95% CI 8.6% to 48.8%) and 1.83 (95% CI 0.98 to 2.70) of reporting mechanical symptoms in the exercise group compared with the surgery group. We did not detect any between-group differences in the secondary outcomes. CONCLUSION: The results from this secondary analysis suggest that early surgery is more effective than exercise and education for relieving self-reported mechanical knee symptoms, but not for improving pain, function and quality of life in young patients with a meniscal tear and mechanical symptoms. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02995551.

The familial and genetic contribution to the association between depression and cardiovascular disease: a twin cohort study.

Depression and cardiovascular disease (ischemic heart disease and stroke) are associated in a bidirectional manner. Their relatively high heritability has led to the hypothesis that this co-occurrence is related to shared familial and genetic factors; this study aims to test this hypothesis. We included 23,498 monozygotic and 39,540 same-sex dizygotic twins from the Danish Twin Registry followed from January 1977 until December 2011 in nationwide Danish registries. We used survival analyses accounting for censoring and competing risk of death to estimate cumulative incidence, casewise concordance, relative recurrence risk, and heritability of the co-occurrence of depression and cardiovascular disease by age using monozygotic and same-sex dizygotic twin pairs. The casewise concordance of ischemic heart disease or stroke in twins whose co-twin was diagnosed with depression was at all ages similar for the monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs and to the cumulative incidence of ischemic heart disease or stroke, respectively, in the entire twin population. A similar pattern was seen in analyses of depression risk given the co-twin being diagnosed with ischemic heart disease or stroke. Relative recurrence risk and heritability estimates were also of modest size and with confidence intervals including unity. Results were similar after stratification by gender as well as when redefining depression to include the use of antidepressant medication from 1995. Our findings do not support that co-occurrence between depression and cardiovascular disease is explainable by shared genetic factors, nor did we find strong evidence of a familial effect.

Increased risk of somatic diseases following anorexia nervosa in a controlled nationwide cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of somatic diseases in connection with anorexia nervosa (AN). METHOD: This matched cohort study was based on Danish registries of all patients born 1961-2008 with a first-time diagnosis of AN in 1994-2018 at age 8-32 and matched controls without an eating disorder. For 13 somatic disease categories, time from inclusion date to time of first somatic diagnosis, accounting for censoring, was studied by use of time-stratified Cox models. RESULTS: A total of 9985 AN patients born 1961-2008 and 49,351 controls were followed for a median (interquartile range) of 9.0 (4.4-15.7) years. During the first 2 years after entry there was a 60% higher hazard for any somatic disease among patients with AN than among controls, while the ratio from three to 11 years was reduced to 1.18. Regardless of age at diagnosis, the hazard among patients and controls were no different at approximately a decade after diagnosis of AN and the cumulative risk for patients for 12 of 13 disease categories was always higher or no less that for controls. For all disease categories, the hazard ratio (HR) was higher when close to entry. For most disease categories, age at diagnosis of AN did not modify the effect. DISCUSSION: While around 90% of all individuals had any somatic disease at the end of follow-up, the cumulative incidence over time was higher for patients with AN than for controls. Large HRs were seen in the early years after diagnosis during which patients require extensive medical interventions. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Based on Danish registries, a large sample of almost 10,000 patients with AN born 1961-2008 and almost 50,000 matched controls were followed for a median of 9 years. While around 90% of all individuals had any somatic disease at the end of follow-up, the cumulative incidence over time was higher for patients with AN than for controls.

Familial risk and heritability of ischemic heart disease and stroke in Danish twins.

Aim: Our aim was to explore whether familial factors influence the risk of ischemic heart disease, stroke, and their co-occurrence. Methods: In total, 23,498 monozygotic and 39,540 same-sex dizygotic twins from the Danish Twin Registry were followed from 1977 to 2011 in the Danish National Patient Registry for ischemic heart disease and stroke. Time-to-event analyses accounting for censoring and competing risk of death were used to estimate familial risk (casewise concordance relative to the cumulative incidence) and heritability of ischemic heart disease, stroke, and the co-occurrence by age. Results: During follow-up, we observed 5561 and 4186 twin individuals with ischemic heart disease and stroke respectively, with 936 twin pairs concordant for ischemic heart disease and stroke. Familial risks were significant for both, with higher cumulative risks in monozygotic than in dizygotic twins. Estimates for heritability were significant for ischemic heart disease as well as for stroke diagnosed after the age of 80. The casewise concordance of ischemic heart disease in twins whose co-twin was diagnosed with stroke did not differ for monozygotic and dizygotic twins; however, from age 55 it was 10% higher than the cumulative risk in the overall twin cohort and was 25% higher at age 90. A similar pattern was seen for stroke following the co-twin's ischemic heart disease. Conclusions: As in previous studies, we found a higher heritability of ischemic heart disease than of stroke. There was a significant familial risk but no heritability for the co-occurrence of ischemic heart disease and stroke. The co-occurrence is therefore likely due to other shared familial than genetic factors, highlighting that preventive initiatives should target families rather than individuals.

Comorbid mental disorders during long-term course in a nationwide cohort of patients with anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: Comorbid mental disorders in anorexia nervosa during long-term course require detailed studies. METHOD: This matched cohort study was based on nationwide Danish register data of all patients born 1961-2008 with a first-time ICD-10 diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN) between 1994 and 2018 at age 8-32 and matched controls taken from all individuals without an eating disorder (ED). For nine categories of non-eating mental disorders, time from date of first AN-diagnosis (inclusion date) to time of first diagnosis, accounting for censoring, was studied by use of time-stratified Cox models. RESULTS: A total of 9,985 patients with AN (93.5% females) and 49,351 matched controls were followed for a median (IQR) of 9.0 (4.4-15.7) years. For patients, there was about 25% and 55% risk of receiving any non-ED disorder during the first 2 years and two decades after inclusion, respectively. A hazard ratio (HR) of seven for any non-ED was found for the first 12 months after inclusion, a ratio that reduced to two at five or more years after inclusion. During the first years, large HRs ranging in 6-9 were found for affective, autism spectrum, personality, and obsessive-compulsive disorders with the latter displaying the highest continuous increased risk. The HR at 12 months after inclusion was highest for any non-ED disorder and affective disorders in patients aged 8-13 at diagnosis. DISCUSSION: Comorbid mental disorders in AN are most frequently diagnosed in the first years after diagnosis of AN and on longer terms imply a double immediate risk.

Cancer-Related Reductions in Survival: Extent and Duration Evaluated Using a Large Cohort Study of Twins, 1943-2011.

BACKGROUND: The time during which there is an increased risk of death for cancer survivors was evaluated in a large twin study, which allows for matching on shared components such as age, genes, and socioeconomic factors in childhood. METHODS: By use of data from Danish registers, time to death from initial cancer was studied prospectively in twins in two different settings. The twins were diagnosed with at least one cancer in the period 1943 to 2011. Setting I included 5,680 same-sex twin pairs aged 6 and over, while Setting II included 3,218 twin individuals from age 70 and over. The study provides comparisons within twin pairs and across birth cohorts, age at diagnoses, and time at diagnosis. RESULTS: In 2001 to 2011, the 5-year mortality risk for a twin surviving cancer after the age of 70 was twofold that of the co-twin, regardless of sex and zygosity, and it was 1.5-fold if the twin survived the initial 9 months. After 5 to 6 years, the mortality risk corresponded to that of the co-twin. In previous decades, the excess hazard risk was considerably higher for both older and younger cohorts. There were no indications of change in relative survival across old birth cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: This large twin study suggested that for a cancer-treatment survivor diagnosed at age 70 or later, the additional mortality risk was largely absent 5 years later, by which time the survival relative to the co-twin was 60%. IMPACT: Elevated mortality risk after cancer is offset after 5 to 6 years.