Risk factors for major gastrointestinal bleeding in the general population in Finland.

BACKGROUND: Data on non-drug related risk-factors for gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in the general population are limited, especially for life-style factors, clinical measurements and laboratory parameters. AIM: To identify and investigate non-drug risk factors for major GIB in the general population of Finland. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using data from the FINRISK health examination surveys, which have been conducted every 5 years across Finland from 1987 to 2007. Participants were adults aged 25 years to 74 years, excluding those with a previous hospitalization for GIB. Follow-up from enrollment was performed through linkage to national electronic health registers and ended at an event of GIB that led to hospitalization/death, death due to any other cause, or after 10 years. Covariates included demographics, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, clinical measurements, laboratory parameters and comorbidities. Variable selection was undertaken using Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) and factors associated with GIB were identified using Cox regression. RESULTS: Among 33,508 participants, 403 (1.2%) experienced GIB [256 men (63.5%); mean age, 56.0 years (standard deviation (SD) ± 12.1)] and 33105 who did not experience GIB [15768 men (47.6%); mean age, 46.8 (SD ± 13) years], within 10 years of follow-up. Factors associated with a significantly increased risk of GIB were baseline age [per 10-year increase; hazard ratio (HR) 1.62, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.42-1.86], unemployment (HR: 1.70, 95%CI: 1.11-2.59), body mass index (BMI) (HR: 1.15, 95%CI: 1.01-1.32), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) (HR: 1.05, 95%CI: 1.02-1.09), precursors of GIB (HR: 1.90, 95%CI: 1.37-2.63), cancer (HR: 1.47, 95%CI: 1.10-1.97), psychiatric disorders (HR: 1.32, 95%CI: 1.01-1.71), heart failure (HR: 1.46, 95%CI: 1.04-2.05), and liver disorders (HR: 3.20, 95%CI: 2.06-4.97). Factors associated with a significantly decreased risk of GIB were systolic blood pressure (SBP) (HR: 0.78, 95%CI: 0.64-0.96), 6-10 cups of coffee a day (HR: 0.67, 95%CI: 0.46-0.99), or > 10 cups (HR: 0.43, 95%CI: 0.23-0.81). CONCLUSION: Our study confirms established risk-factors for GIB and identifies potential risk-factors not previously reported such as unemployment, BMI, GGT, SBP and coffee consumption.

Long-term risk of anaemia after bariatric surgery: results from the Swedish Obese Subjects study.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional deficiencies, such as iron and vitamin B12 deficiencies, are potential adverse consequences of bariatric surgery. Long-term data on anaemia after bariatric surgery are largely lacking. We aimed to investigate the risk of anaemia, iron and vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia, and vitamin B12 deficiency over 20 years in individuals who had bariatric surgery or received usual obesity care. METHODS: The prospective, controlled Swedish Obese Subjects study recruited people with obesity via recruitment campaigns in the mass media and at primary health-care centres, and was done at 480 primary health-care centres and in 25 surgical departments in Sweden. Eligible participants were aged 37-60 years and had a BMI of either 34 kg/m2 or more (for men) or 38 kg/m2 or more (for women). Participants were excluded if they had undergone previous bariatric surgery or had contraindicating conditions. Two main groups were formed: those who chose bariatric surgery, the type of which was determined by the operating surgeon, and a contemporaneously matched control group, created by use of 18 matching variables, who received usual non-surgical obesity care that ranged from lifestyle advice to no treatment. Haemoglobin concentration was measured during examination visits at baseline and at 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 6 years, 8 years, 10 years, 15 years, and 20 years of follow-up. Anaemia was defined as a haemoglobin concentration of less than 120 g/L for women and 130 g/L for men. The primary, non-specified outcome was the incidence of anaemia, and was assessed in the as-treated population, which comprised only patients who received the actual treatment. The associations between treatment type and anaemia are expressed as unadjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and HRs adjusted for age, sex, BMI, menopausal status, education, diabetes, and hypertension, with 95% CIs. This study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01479452, and is closed to new participants, with follow-up ongoing. FINDINGS: Between Sept 1, 1987, and Jan 31, 2001, 6905 individuals were assessed for eligibility, of whom 5335 were eligible. Of these, we included 2007 patients who chose bariatric surgery (266 in the gastric bypass group, 1365 in the vertical-banded gastroplasty group, and 376 in the gastric banding group) and 2040 matched controls who received usual obesity care. During a maximum of 20 years and a median of 10 years (IQR 3-20) of follow-up, there were 133 anaemia events in the gastric bypass group, 359 in the vertical-banded gastroplasty group, 101 in the gastric banding group, and 261 in the control group. Compared with the control group (13 cases per 1000 person-years, 95% CI 11-14), the incidence of anaemia was higher in the gastric bypass group (64 cases per 1000 person-years, 53-74; HR 5·05, 95% CI 3·94-6·48; p<0·0001), the vertical-banded gastroplasty group (23 cases per 1000 person-years, 21-26; 2·67, 2·25-3·18; p<0·0001), and the gastric banding group (26 per 1000 person-years, 21-31; 2·76, 2·15-3·52; p<0·0001). These associations remained after adjustment. INTERPRETATION: Our findings highlight the increased risk of anaemia after bariatric surgery and the importance of long-term compliance to nutritional supplementation and monitoring to enable prevention and early detection of serious nutritional deficiencies after bariatric surgery. FUNDING: Swedish Research Council, the Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish Government and the county councils, the Swedish Diabetes Foundation, the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Do depressive symptoms have an impact on the effectiveness of lifestyle counseling in prevention of type 2 diabetes? One-year follow-up of FIN-D2D.

AIM: To examine whether depressive symptoms are associated with the effectiveness of lifestyle counseling on cardio-metabolic risk profile and glucose homeostasis during one-year follow-up in individuals at high risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS: A total of 10,149 individuals took part in the implementation project of the national diabetes prevention program (FIN-D2D) conducted in primary health care setting in Finland. At baseline, altogether 2798 non-diabetic individuals participated in the one-year follow-up, and 2275 of them had at least one group or individual counseling visit. RESULTS: 4.0% of the individuals (n=78) had depressive symptoms, while 96.0% (n=1889) were free of depressive symptoms at baseline. Individuals who had depressive symptoms had higher body mass index and waist circumference at baseline than individuals without depressive symptoms. In terms of changes in cardio-metabolic risk profile and glucose homeostasis the effectiveness of lifestyle counseling was parallel between individuals with and without depressive symptoms during the one-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Effectiveness of lifestyle counseling did not differ between individuals with and without depressive symptoms. Individuals with depressive symptoms should not be excluded from lifestyle intervention programs.