Diabetes incidence in Austria: The role of famines on diabetes and related NCDs.

Undernutrition in early life associates with increased risk for type 2 diabetes in later life. Whether similar associations hold for other diseases remains unclear. We aim to quantify how perinatal exposure to famines relates to the risk of becoming incident with type 2 diabetes in later life. Using population-wide medical claims data for Austrians aged >50y, yearly diabetes incidence was measured in an epidemiological progression model. We find incidence rates that increase from 2013 to 2017 and observe two famine-related birth cohorts of 5,887 patients with incidence rate increases for diabetes of up to 78% for males and 59% for females compared to cohorts born two years earlier. These cohorts show increased risks for multiple other diagnoses as well. Public health efforts to decrease diabetes must not only focus on lifestyle factors but also emphasize the importance of reproductive health and adequate nutrition during pregnancy and early postnatal life.

Trends in diabetes incidence in Austria 2013-2017.

This study aims to quantify whether age and sex groups in Austrian regions are equally affected by the rise of type 2 diabetes. Population-wide medical claims data was obtained for citizens in Austria aged above 50 year, who received antihyperglycemic treatments or underwent HbA1c monitoring between 2012 and 2017. Diabetes incidence was measured using an epidemiological diabetes progression model accounting for patients who discontinued antihyperglycemic therapy; the erratic group. Out of 746,184 patients, 268,680 (140,960 females) discontinued their treatment and/or monitoring for at least one year. Without adjusting for such erratic patients, incidence rates increase from 2013 to 2017 (females: from 0·5% to 1·1%, males: 0·5% to 1·2%), whereas they decrease in all groups after adjustments (females: - 0·3% to - 0·5%, males: - 0·4% to - 0·5%). Higher mortality was observed in the erratic group compared to patients on continued antihyperglycemic therapy (mean difference 12% and 14% for females and males, respectively). In summary, incidence strongly depends on age, sex and place of residency. One out of three patients with diabetes in Austria discontinued antihyperglycemic treatment or glycemic monitoring for at least one year. This newly identified subgroup raises concern regarding adherence and continuous monitoring of diabetes care and demands further evaluation.

Diabetes mellitus is associated with a higher relative risk for venous thromboembolism in females than in males.

AIMS: The risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) is about equal in both sexes. Research suggests diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, both forms of VTE. We aimed at investigating the sex-specific impact of DM on VTE risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical claims data were analyzed in a retrospective, population-level cohort study in Austria between 1997 and 2014. 180,034 patients with DM were extracted and compared to 540,102 sex and age-matched controls without DM in terms of VTE risk and whether specific DM medications might modulate VTE risk. RESULTS: The risk to develop VTE was 1.4 times higher amongst patients with DM than controls (95% CI 1.36-1.43, p < 0.001). The association of DM with newly diagnosed VTE was significantly greater in females (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.46-1.58, p < 0.001) resulting in a relative risk increase of 1.17 (95% CI 1.11-1.23) across all age groups with a peak of 1.65 (95% CI 1.43-1.89) between 50 and 59 years. Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors were associated with a higher risk for VTE amongst female DM patients (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.3-4.3, p = 0.0096). CONCLUSION: Amongst DM patients, females appear to be associated with a higher relative risk increase in VTE than males, especially during perimenopause.

Stress-testing the resilience of the Austrian healthcare system using agent-based simulation.

Patients do not access physicians at random but rather via naturally emerging networks of patient flows between them. As mass quarantines, absences due to sickness, or other shocks thin out these networks, the system might be pushed to a tipping point where it loses its ability to deliver care. Here, we propose a data-driven framework to quantify regional resilience to such shocks via an agent-based model. For each region and medical specialty we construct patient-sharing networks and stress-test these by removing physicians. This allows us to measure regional resilience indicators describing how many physicians can be removed before patients will not be treated anymore. Our model could therefore enable health authorities to rapidly identify bottlenecks in access to care. Here, we show that regions and medical specialties differ substantially in their resilience and that these systemic differences can be related to indicators for individual physicians by quantifying their risk and benefit to the system.

Sex Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients with SARS-CoV-2-Infection Admitted to Intensive Care Units in Austria.

IMPORTANCE: A male predominance is reported in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 alongside a higher mortality rate in men compared to women. OBJECTIVE: To assess if the reported sex bias in the COVID-19 pandemic is validated by analysis of a subset of patients with severe disease. DESIGN: A nationwide retrospective cohort study was performed using the Austrian National COVID Database. We performed a sex-specific Lasso regression to select the covariates best explaining the outcomes of mechanical ventilation and death using variables known before ICU admission. We use logistic regression to construct a sex-specific "risk score" for the outcomes using these variables. SETTING: We studied the characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in Austria. PARTICIPANTS: 5118 patients admitted to the ICU in Austria with a COVID-19 diagnosis in 03/2020-03/2021. EXPOSURES: Demographic and clinical characteristics, vital signs and laboratory tests, comorbidities, and management of patients admitted to ICUs were analysed for possible sex differences. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The aim was to define risk scores for mechanical ventilation and mortality for each sex to provide better sex-sensitive management and outcomes in the future. RESULTS: We found balanced accuracies between 55% and 65% to predict the outcomes. Regarding outcome death, we found that the risk score for pre-ICU variables increases with age, renal insufficiency (f: OR 1.7(2), m: 1.9(2)) and decreases with observance as admission cause (f: OR 0.33(5), m: 0.36(5)). Additionally, the risk score for females also includes respiratory insufficiency (OR 2.4(4)) while heart failure for males only (OR 1.5(1)). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Better knowledge of how sex influences COVID-19 outcomes at ICUs will have important implications for the ongoing pandemic's clinical care and management strategies. Identifying sex-specific features in individuals with COVID-19 and fatal consequences might inform preventive strategies and public health services.

Meteorological factors and non-pharmaceutical interventions explain local differences in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria.

The drivers behind regional differences of SARS-CoV-2 spread on finer spatio-temporal scales are yet to be fully understood. Here we develop a data-driven modelling approach based on an age-structured compartmental model that compares 116 Austrian regions to a suitably chosen control set of regions to explain variations in local transmission rates through a combination of meteorological factors, non-pharmaceutical interventions and mobility. We find that more than 60% of the observed regional variations can be explained by these factors. Decreasing temperature and humidity, increasing cloudiness, precipitation and the absence of mitigation measures for public events are the strongest drivers for increased virus transmission, leading in combination to a doubling of the transmission rates compared to regions with more favourable weather. We conjecture that regions with little mitigation measures for large events that experience shifts toward unfavourable weather conditions are particularly predisposed as nucleation points for the next seasonal SARS-CoV-2 waves.

Insulin as Monotherapy and in Combination with Other Glucose-Lowering Drugs Is Related to Increased Risk of Diagnosis of Pneumonia: A Longitudinal Assessment over Two Years.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at an increased risk of developing infectious diseases such as pneumonia. Hitherto, there has been uncertainty as to whether there is a relationship between different antidiabetic drug combinations and development of pneumonia in this specific cohort. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this longitudinal retrospective study we used multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the odds ratios (ORs) of pneumonia during an observational period of 2 years in 31,397 patients with T2DM under previously prescribed stable antidiabetic drug combinations over a duration of 4 years in comparison to 6568 T2DM patients without drug therapy over 4 years adjusted for age, sex and hospitalization duration. RESULTS: Of the 37,965 patients with T2DM, 3720 patients underwent stable monotherapy treatment with insulin (mean age: 66.57 ± 9.72 years), 2939 individuals (mean age: 70.62 ± 8.95 y) received stable statin and insulin therapy, and 1596 patients were treated with a stable combination therapy of metformin, insulin and statins (mean age: 68.27 ± 8.86 y). In comparison to the control group without antidiabetic drugs (mean age: 72.83 ± 9.96 y), individuals undergoing insulin monotherapy (OR: 2.07, CI: 1.54-2.79, p < 0.001); insulin and statin combination therapy (OR: 2.24, CI: 1.68-3.00, p < 0.001); metformin, insulin and statin combination therapy (OR: 2.27, CI: 1.55-3.31, p < 0.001); statin, insulin and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-IV inhibitor) combination therapy (OR: 4.31, CI: 1.80-10.33, p = 0.001); as well as individuals treated with metformin and sulfonylureas (OR: 1.70, CI: 1.08-2.69, p = 0.02) were at increased risk of receiving a diagnosis of pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: Stable monotherapy with insulin, but also in combination with other antidiabetic drugs, is related to an increased risk of being diagnosed with pneumonia during hospital stays in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to untreated controls.

Corrigendum: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Antidepressant Medication Are Overrepresented in High-Dose Statin Treatment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.608083.].

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Antidepressant Medication Are Overrepresented in High-Dose Statin Treatment.

Objective: To examine the dose-dependent relationship of different types of statins with the occurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and prescription of antidepressant medication. Methods: This cross-sectional study used medical claims data for the general Austrian population (n = 7,481,168) to identify all statin-treated patients. We analyzed all patients with MDD undergoing statin treatment and calculated the average defined daily dose for six different types of statins. In a sub-analysis conducted independently of inpatient care, we investigated all patients on antidepressant medication (statin-treated patients: n = 98,913; non-statin-treated patients: n = 789,683). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to calculate the risk of diagnosed MDD and prescription of antidepressant medication in patients treated with different types of statins and dosages compared to non-statin-treated patients. Results: In this study, there was an overrepresentation of MDD in statin-treated patients when compared to non-statin-treated patients (OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.20-1.25). However, there was a dose dependent relationship between statins and diagnosis of MDD. Compared to controls, the ORs of MDD were lower for low-dose statin-treated patients (simvastatin>0- < =10 mg:OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.54-0.64; atorvastatin>0- < =10 mg:OR:0.65, 95%CI: 0.59-0.70; rosuvastatin>0- < =10 mg:OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.53-0.85). In higher statin dosages there was an overrepresentation of MDD (simvastatin>40- < =60 mg:OR: 2.42, 95% CI: 2.18-2.70, >60-80 mg:OR: 5.27, 95% CI: 4.21-6.60; atorvastatin>40- < =60 mg:OR: 2.71, 95% CI: 1.98-3.72, >60- < =80 mg:OR: 3.73, 95% CI: 2.22-6.28; rosuvastatin>20- < =40 mg:OR: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.31-3.34). The results were confirmed in a sex-specific analysis and in a cohort of patients taking antidepressants, prescribed independently of inpatient care. Conclusions: This study shows that it is important to carefully re-investigate the relationship between statins and MDD. High-dose statin treatment was related to an overrepresentation, low-dose statin treatment to an underrepresentation of MDD.

Diabetes Mellitus is Associated with a Higher Relative Risk for Parkinson's Disease in Women than in Men.

BACKGROUND: In general, the risk to develop Parkinson's disease (PD) is higher in men compared to women. Besides male sex and genetics, research suggests diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for PD as well. OBJECTIVE: In this population-level study, we aimed at investigating the sex-specific impact of DM on the risk of developing PD. METHODS: Medical claims data were analyzed in a cross-sectional study in the Austrian population between 1997 and 2014. In the age group of 40-79 and 80+, 235,268 patients (46.6%females, 53.4%males) with DM were extracted and compared to 1,938,173 non-diabetic controls (51.9%females, 48.1%males) in terms of risk of developing PD. RESULTS: Men with DM had a 1.46 times increased odds ratio (OR) to be diagnosed with PD compared to non-diabetic men (95%CI 1.38-1.54, p < 0.001). The association of DM with newly diagnosed PD was significantly greater in women (OR = 1.71, 95%CI 1.60-1.82, p < 0.001) resulting in a relative risk increase of 1.17 (95%CI 1.11-1.30) in the age group 40 to 79 years. In 80+-year-olds the relative risk increase is 1.09 (95%CI 1.01-1.18). CONCLUSION: Although men are more prone to develop PD, women see a higher risk increase in PD than men amongst DM patients.

How Specialist Aftercare Impacts Long-Term Readmission Risks in Elderly Patients With Metabolic, Cardiac, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Cohort Study Using Administrative Data.

BACKGROUND: The health state of elderly patients is typically characterized by multiple co-occurring diseases requiring the involvement of several types of health care providers. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to quantify the benefit for multimorbid patients from seeking specialist care in terms of long-term readmission risks. METHODS: From an administrative database, we identified 225,238 elderly patients with 97 different diagnosis (ICD-10 codes) from hospital stays and contact with 13 medical specialties. For each diagnosis associated with the first hospital stay, we used multiple logistic regression analysis to quantify the sex-specific and age-adjusted long-term all-cause readmission risk (hospitalizations occurring between 3 months and 3 years after the first admission) and how specialist contact impacts these risks. RESULTS: Men have a higher readmission risk than women (mean difference over all first diagnoses 1.9%, P<.001), but similar reduction in readmission risk after receiving specialist care. Specialist care can reduce readmission risk by almost 50%. We found the greatest reductions in risk when the first hospital stay was associated with diagnoses corresponding to complex chronic diseases such as acute myocardial infarction (57.6% reduction in readmission risk, SE 7.6% for men [m]; 55.9% reduction, SE 9.8% for women [w]), diabetic and other retinopathies (m: 62.3%, SE 8.0; w: 60.1%, SE 8.4%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (m: 63.9%, SE 7.8%; w: 58.1%, SE 7.5%), disorders of lipoprotein metabolism (m: 64.7%, SE 3.7%; w: 63.8%, SE 4.0%), and chronic ischemic heart diseases (m: 63.6%, SE 3.1%; w: 65.4%, SE 3.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Specialist care can greatly reduce long-term readmission risk for patients with chronic and multimorbid diseases. Further research is needed to identify the specific reasons for these findings and to understand the detected sex-specific differences.