Treatment patterns and adherence to lipid-lowering drugs during eight-year follow-up after a coronary heart disease event.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Proper prescription and high adherence to intensive lipid lowering drugs (LLD) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) are crucial and strongly recommended. The aim of this study is to investigate long-term treatment patterns and adherence to LLD following hospitalization for a CHD event. METHODS: Patients admitted to two Norwegian hospitals with a CHD event from 2011 to 2014 (N = 1094) attended clinical examination and completed a questionnaire, median 16 months later. Clinical data were linked to pharmacy dispensing data from 2010 to 2020. The proportions using high-intensity statin therapy (atorvastatin 40/80 mg or rosuvastatin 20/40 mg) and non-statin LLD after the CHD event were assessed. Adherence was evaluated by proportion of days covered (PDC) and gaps in treatment. RESULTS: Median age at hospitalization was 63 (IQR 12) years, 21 % were female. Altogether, 1054 patients (96 %) were discharged with a statin prescription, while treatment was dispensed in 85 % within the following 90 days. During median 8 (SD 2.5) years follow-up, the proportion using high-intensity statin therapy ranged 62-68 %, whereas the use of ezetimibe increased from 4 to 26 %. PDC <0.8 was found in 22 % of statin users and 26 % of ezetimibe users. The proportions with a treatment gap exceeding 180 days were 22 % for statins and 28 % for ezetimibe. Smoking at hospitalization and negative affectivity were significantly associated with reduced statin adherence, regardless of adherence measure. CONCLUSIONS: In this long-term follow-up of patients with CHD, less than 70 % used high-intensity statin therapy with only small changes over time, and only 25 % used additional treatment with ezetimibe. We identified factors associated with reduced statin adherence that may be target for interventions.

The epidemiology and societal costs of myasthenia gravis in Norway: A non-interventional study using national registry data.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: With the emergence of new treatment options for myasthenia gravis (MG), there is a need for information regarding epidemiology, healthcare utilization, and societal costs to support economic evaluation and identify eligible patients. We aimed to enhance the understanding of these factors using nationwide systematic registry data in Norway. METHODS: We received comprehensive national registry data from five Norwegian health- and work-related registries. The annual incidence and prevalence were estimated for the period 2013-2021 using nationwide hospital and prescription data. The direct, indirect (productivity losses) and intangible costs (value of lost life-years [LLY] and health-related quality of life [HRQoL]) related to MG were estimated over a period of 1 year. RESULTS: In 2021, the incidence of MG ranged from 15 to 16 cases per year per million population depending on the registry used, while the prevalence varied between 208.9 and 210.3 per million population. The total annual societal costs of MG amounted to EUR 24,743 per patient, of which EUR 3592 (14.5%) were direct costs, EUR 8666 (35.0%) were productivity loss, and EUR 12,485 (50.5%) were lost value from LLY and reduced HRQoL. CONCLUSION: The incidence and prevalence of MG are higher than previously estimated, and the total societal costs of MG are substantial. Our findings demonstrate that productivity losses, and the value of LLY and HRQoL constitute a considerable proportion of the total societal costs.

Comparative retention and effectiveness of migraine preventive treatments: A nationwide registry-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Little is known about the comparative effects of migraine preventive drugs. We aimed to estimate treatment retention and effectiveness of migraine preventive drugs in a nationwide registry-based cohort study in Norway between 2010 and 2020. METHODS: We assessed retention, defined as the number of uninterrupted treatment days, and effectiveness, defined as the reduction in filled triptan prescriptions during four 90-day periods after the first preventive prescription, compared to a 90-day baseline period. We compared retention and efficacy for different drugs against beta blockers. Comparative retention was estimated with hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted for covariates, using Cox regression, and effectiveness as odds ratios (ORs) using logistic regression, with propensity-weighted adjustment for covariates. RESULTS: We identified 104,072 migraine patients, 81,890 of whom were female (78.69%) and whose mean (standard deviation) age was 44.60 (15.61) years. Compared to beta blockers, botulinum toxin (HR 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-0.44) and calcitonin gene-related peptide pathway antibodies (CGRPabs; HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.59-0.66) were the least likely to be discontinued, while clonidine (HR 2.95, 95% CI 2.88-3.02) and topiramate (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.31-1.37) were the most likely to be discontinued. Patients on simvastatin, CGRPabs, and amitriptyline were more likely to achieve a clinically significant reduction in triptan use during the first 90 days of treatment, with propensity score-adjusted ORs of 1.28 (95% CI 1.19-1.38), 1.23 (95% CI 0.79-1.90), and 1.13 (95% CI 1.08-1.17), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We found a favorable effect of CGRPabs, amitriptyline, and simvastatin compared with beta blockers, while topiramate and clonidine were associated with poorer outcomes.

Gaps and discontinuation of statin treatment in Norway: potential for optimizing management of lipid lowering drugs.

Aims: In clinical practice, many patients do not reach the recommended treatment targets for LDL-cholesterol levels. We aimed to examine treatment patterns and adherence for patients on lipid lowering drugs in Norway to inform future strategies to improve therapies. Methods and results: We obtained information on all dispensed statins, ezetimibe, and proprotein convertase subtilisin/-kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors 2010-2019 from the Norwegian Prescription Database. Treatment gaps were assessed assuming patients take one tablet per day and were defined to occur if a patient did not refill a prescription when the previous one should have been depleted. Treatment was defined as discontinued when the preceding prescription would have been used and no new subsequent prescription was filled. The mean proportion of days covered (PDC) was calculated by aggregating the total number of tablets dispensed during each calendar year and dividing by 365. Patients 80 years were excluded. A considerable proportion of statin users in Norway had long treatment gaps or discontinuation in treatment. The 19.6% of the patients had treatment gaps of 180 days or more, and 10.8% had gaps or greater than 365 days. Similar results were found for patients on antidiabetics and hypertensives. PDC ranged from 84.9% for simvastatin to 72.2% for ezetimibe (2019). The most common lipid lowering drugs in 2019 were atorvastatin, simvastatin, and ezetimibe. Conclusion: There is a great potential for improving drug adherence and optimizing lipid lowering therapy by switching to more effective statins in greater doses, and more often add ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors to treatment.

Cancer-related costs should be allocated in a comparable way-benchmarking costs of cancer in Nordic countries 2012-2017.

BACKGROUND: High costs of cancer, and especially the increase in treatment costs, have raised concerns about the financial sustainability of publicly funded health care systems around the world. As cancers get more prevalent with age, treatment costs are expected to keep rising with aging populations. The objective of the study is to analyze the changes in cost of cancer care broken down into separate cost components and outcomes of cancer treatment in the Nordic countries 2012-2017. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We estimated direct costs of cancer based on retrospective data from national registers: outpatient care and inpatient care in primary care and specialized care as well as medicine costs. The number of cancer cases and survival data was obtained from NORDCAN. Cancer was defined as ICD-10 codes C00-C97. RESULTS: Healthcare costs of cancer in real terms increased in all countries: CAGR was between 1 and 6% depending on the country. Medicine costs have increased rapidly (37-125%) in all countries during the observation period. In Finland and Denmark, inpatient care costs have decreased, whereas in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, they have increased, although the number of inpatient days has decreased everywhere. The age-standardized cancer mortality has decreased constantly over time. CONCLUSION: Cancer care in Nordic countries has significant differences in both cost structures and in the development of cost drivers, indicating differences in the organization of care and different focus in health policy. It is important to compare the cancer care costs internationally on a detailed level to understand the reasons for cost development. The registration of cost data, especially medicine costs, should be more standardized to enable better cost and outcomes comparisons between countries in the future.

An economic analysis indicates less strict infection control of COVID-19. / En samfunnsøkonomisk analyse tilsier mindre strenge smitteverntiltak mot covid-19.

The societal burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is hard to determine, but a continuation of the strict infection control measures would be too costly compared to the gains of a lower disease burden, now that a large proportion of the population has been vaccinated.

What are determinants of utilisation of pharmaceutical anticancer treatment during the last year of life in Norway? A retrospective registry study.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate the use of, and predictors for, pharmaceutical anticancer treatment (PACT) towards the end of a patient's life in a country with a public healthcare system. DESIGN: Retrospective registry study. SETTING: Secondary care in Norway. PARTICIPANTS: All Norwegian patients with cancer (International Classification of Diseases tenth revision (ICD-10) codes C00-99, D00-09, D37-48) in contact with a somatic hospital in Norway between 2009 and 2017 (N=420 655). Analyses were performed on a subsample of decedents with follow-back time of more than 1 year (2013-2017, N=52 496). INTERVENTIONS: N/A. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of patients receiving PACT during the last year and month of life. We calculated CIs with block bootstrapping, while predictors of PACT were estimated with logistic regression. RESULTS: 24.0% (95% CI 23.4% to 24.6%) of the patients received PACT during the last year of life and 3.2% (95% CI 3.0% to 3.5%) during their final month. The proportion during the last month was highest for multiple myeloma (12.7%) and breast cancer (6.5%) and lowest for urinary tract (1.1%) and prostate and kidney cancer (1.4%). Patients living in northern (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.94) and western (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.96) Norway had lower odds of PACT during the last month, while patients with myeloma (OR 3.0, 95% CI 2.5 to 3.7) and breast (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6) had higher odds. Kidney cancer (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.2. to 0.4), urinary tract (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.3 to 0.5) and prostate cancer (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.3 to 0.5) were associated with lower probability of receiving PACT within the last month. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of patients receiving PACT in Norway is lower than in several other industrialised countries. Age, type of cancer and area of living are significant determinants of variation in PACT.

Societal cost of cancer in Norway -Results of taking a broader cost perspective.

BACKGROUND: The broader cost consequences of diseases may be of interest for a wide range of stakeholders. We aimed to estimate all relevant societal costs of cancer and to provide insight into the relative magnitude of the different cost categories. METHOD: We used data from eight different health and work-related registries in Norway. Direct, indirect, and intangible costs (value of lost life years) were estimated over a period of one year with a combination of a top-down and a bottom-up costing approach. RESULTS: The indirect costs (EUR 1,997 million per year) are almost as high as direct costs (EUR 2,154 million), and the value of lost life years and quality of life represents the greatest cost related to cancer (EUR 18,200 million). In addition, cancer is associated with other costs which are commonly omitted from cost-of-illness analyses, including informal nursing (EUR 306 million), patient time costs (EUR 85 million), and excess costs of using public funds (EUR 439 million). Breast and cervical cancer had relatively high work absenteeism costs, while pancreatic and lung cancer had relatively high production costs due to premature deaths. DISCUSSION: Direct health care costs represent small proportions of the total societal costs of cancer. Costs commonly omitted in cost-of-illness analyses represent a significant cost and should be measured and valued in these analyses.

Phase- and gender-specific, lifetime, and future costs of cancer: A retrospective population-based registry study.

ABSTRACT: Valid estimates of cancer treatment costs are import for priority setting, but few studies have examined costs of multiple cancers in the same setting.We performed a retrospective population-based registry study to evaluate phase-specific (initial, continuing, and terminal phase) direct medical costs and lifetime costs for 13 cancers and all cancers combined in Norway. Mean monthly cancer attributable costs were estimated using nationwide activity data from all Norwegian hospitals. Mean lifetime costs were estimated by combining phase-specific monthly costs and survival times from the national cancer registry. Scenarios for future costs were developed from the lifetime costs and the expected number of new cancer cases toward 2034 estimated by NORDCAN.For all cancers combined, mean discounted per patient direct medical costs were Euros (EUR) 21,808 in the initial 12 months, EUR 4347 in the subsequent continuing phase, and EUR 12,085 in the terminal phase (last 12 months). Lifetime costs were higher for cancers with a 5-year relative survival between 50% and 70% (myeloma: EUR 89,686, mouth/pharynx: EUR 66,619, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: EUR 65,528). The scenario analyses indicate that future cancer costs are highly dependent on future cancer incidence, changes in death risk, and cancer-specific unit costs.Gender- and cancer-specific estimates of treatment costs are important for assessing equity of care and to better understand resource consumption associated with different cancers.Cancers with an intermediate prognosis (50%-70% 5-year relative survival) are associated with higher direct medical costs than those with relatively good or poor prognosis.

Men receive more end-of-life cancer hospital treatment than women: fact or fiction?

BACKGROUND: An important goal of health care systems is equitable access to health care. Previous research, however, indicates that men receive more cancer care and health care resources than women. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a gender difference in terms of end-of-life cancer treatment in hospitals in Norway. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used nationwide patient-level data from the Norwegian Patient Registry (2013-2017, n = 64,694), and aggregated data from the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry (2013-2018, n = 66,534). We described direct medical costs and utilization of cancer treatment in hospitals (in-patient stays and out-patient clinics) and specialized palliative home care teams by the means of the following variables: gender, type of cancer, age, region of residence, place of death, and use of pharmaceutical anti-cancer treatment last month before death. Generalized linear models with a gamma distribution and log-link function were fitted to identify determinants of direct medical costs in hospital's last year of life. RESULTS: Women aged 0-69 years had an average direct medical cost in hospitals of €26,117 during the last year of life, compared to €29,540 for men, while they were respectively €19,889 and €22,405 for those aged 70 years or older. These gender differences were confirmed in regression models with gender as the only covariate. Adjusted additionally for the type of cancer, the difference was 11%, while including age as a covariate reduced the difference to 6%. When the place of death was also included, the difference was down to 4%. DISCUSSION: The gender difference in hospital costs last year of life can largely be explained by age at death and the proportion dying in hospitals. When adjusting for confounding factors, the differences in end-of-life costs in hospitals are minimal.

Diagnosing heart failure with NT-proBNP point-of-care testing: lower costs and better outcomes. A decision analytic study.

BACKGROUND: Afflicting 1-2% of the adult population, heart failure (HF) is a condition with considerable morbidity and mortality. While echocardiography may be considered the gold standard diagnostic test, GPs have relied on symptoms and clinical findings in diagnosing the condition. AIM: The aim of this study was to estimate 1-year health outcome and costs of three diagnostic strategies: 1) history and clinical findings ('clinical diagnosis'); 2) clinical diagnosis supplemented with NTproBNP point-of-care test ('POC test') in the GP's surgery; or (3) in hospital laboratory ('hospital test'). DESIGN & SETTING: A decision tree model was developed to simulate 1-year patient courses with each strategy in Norway. METHOD: Sensitivity and specificity of clinical diagnosis (56% and 68%), and of N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide test ([NT-proBNP] 90% and 65%), were based on published literature. The probabilities of referral to hospital were based on a survey of Norwegian GPs (n = 103). The costs were based on various Norwegian fee schedules. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to examine the uncertainty of the results. RESULTS: The 1-year per person societal costs were €543, €505, and €607 for clinical diagnosis, POC test, and hospital test, respectively. Even though POC entails higher laboratory costs, the total primary care costs were lower because of fewer re-visits with the GP and less use of spirometry. While 38% of patients had a delayed diagnosis with clinical diagnosis, the proportions were 22% with both POC test and hospital test. Results were most sensitive to the probability of use of spirometry. CONCLUSION: POC testing results in earlier diagnosis and lower costs than the other diagnostic modalities.