Association between maternal employment status and presence of children with major congenital anomalies in Denmark.

IMPORTANCE: The burden of caring for children with complex medical problems such as major congenital anomalies falls principally on mothers, who in turn suffer a variety of potentially severe economic consequences. As well, health consequences of caregiving often further impact the social and economic prospects of mothers of children with major congenital anomalies (MCMCAs). Evaluating the long-term economic consequences of extensive in-home caregiving among MCMCAs can inform strategies to mitigate these effects. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether MCMCAs face reduced employment and increased need for disability benefits over a 20-year period. DESIGN: A population-based matched cohort study. SETTING: Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: All women who gave birth to a singleton child with a major congenital anomaly in Denmark between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2017 (n = 23,637) and a comparison cohort of mothers matched by maternal age, parity, and infant's year of birth (n = 234,586). EXPOSURES: Liveborn infant with a major congenital anomaly. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was mothers' employment status, stratified by their child's age. Employment status was categorized as employed, outside the workforce (on temporary leave, holding a flexible job, or pursuing education), or unemployed; the number of weeks in each category was measured over time. The secondary outcome was time to receipt of a disability pension, which in Denmark implies permanent exit from the labor market. We used a negative binomial regression model to estimate the number of weeks in each employment category, stratified by the child's age (i.e., 0-1 year, > 1-6 years, 7-13 years, 14-18 years). A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to compute hazard ratios as a measure of the relative risk of receiving a disability pension. Rate ratios and hazard ratios were adjusted for maternal demographics, pregnancy history, health, and infant's year of birth. RESULTS: During 1-6 years after delivery, MCMCAs were outside the workforce for a median of 50 weeks (IQR, 6-107 weeks), while members of the comparison cohort were outside the workforce for a median of 48 weeks (IQR, 4-98 weeks), corresponding to an adjusted rate ratio [ARR] of 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.07). During the first year after delivery, MCMCAs were more likely to be employed than mothers in the comparison cohort (ARR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.06-1.10). At all timepoints thereafter, MCMCAs had a lower rate of workforce participation. The rate of being outside the workforce was 5% higher than mothers in the comparison cohort during 1-6 years after delivery (ARR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.04-1.07), 9% higher during 7-13 years after delivery (ARR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.06-1.12), and 12% higher during 14-18 years after delivery (ARR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.07-1.18). Overall, MCMCAs had a 20% increased risk of receiving a disability pension during follow-up than mothers in the matched comparison cohort [incidence rates 3.10 per 1000 person-years (95% CI, 2.89-3.32) vs. 2.34 per 1000 person-years (95% CI, 2.29-2.40), adjusted hazard ratio, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.11-1.29]. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: MCMCAs were less likely to participate in the Danish workforce, less likely to be employed, and more likely to receive disability pensions than mothers of unaffected children. The rate of leaving the workforce intensified as their affected children grew older. The high demands of caregiving among MCMCAs may have long-term employment consequences even in nations with comprehensive and heavily tax-supported childcare systems, such as Denmark.

Importance of endocrine treatment adherence and persistence in breast cancer survivorship: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Adjuvant endocrine treatment is essential for treating luminal subtypes of breast cancer, which constitute 75% of all breast malignancies. However, the detrimental side effects of treatment make it difficult for many patients to complete the guideline-required treatment. Such non-adherence may jeopardize the lifesaving ability of anti-estrogen therapy. In this systematic review, we aimed to assess the consequences of non-adherence and non-persistence from available studies meeting strict statistical and clinical criteria. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed using several databases, yielding identification of 2,026 studies. After strict selection, 14 studies were eligible for systematic review. The review included studies that examined endocrine treatment non-adherence (patients not taking treatment as prescribed) or non-persistence (patients stopping treatment prematurely), in terms of the effects on event-free survival or overall survival among women with non-metastatic breast cancer. RESULTS: We identified 10 studies measuring the effects of endocrine treatment non-adherence and non-persistence on event-free survival. Of these studies, seven showed significantly poorer survival for the non-adherent or non-persistent patient groups, with hazard ratios (HRs) ranging from 1.39 (95% CI, 1.07 to 1.53) to 2.44 (95% CI, 1.89 to 3.14). We identified nine studies measuring the effects of endocrine treatment non-adherence and non-persistence on overall survival. Of these studies, seven demonstrated significantly reduced overall survival in the groups with non-adherence and non-persistence, with HRs ranging from 1.26 (95% CI, 1.11 to 1.43) to 2.18 (95% CI, 1.99 to 2.39). CONCLUSION: The present systematic review demonstrates that non-adherence and non-persistence to endocrine treatment negatively affect event-free and overall survival. Improved follow-up, with focus on adherence and persistence, is vital for improving health outcomes among patients with non-metastatic breast cancer.

Identifying Valid Algorithms for Number of Lines of Anti-Neoplastic Therapy in the Danish National Patient Registry Among Patients with Advanced Ovarian, Gastric, Renal Cell, Urothelial, and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Attending a Danish University Hospital.

PURPOSE: To develop algorithms to identify number of lines of anti-neoplastic therapy per patient based on the Danish National Patient Registry (DNPR) and identify which algorithm has the highest percentage agreement with a reference standard of documentation in medical records. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 179 patients diagnosed between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016, with stage II, III, or IV urothelial cell carcinoma or stage III or IV epithelial ovarian cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We developed two algorithms for number of lines of anti-neoplastic therapy based on dates and treatment codes (eg, "treatment with cisplatin" or "cytostatic treatment") in the DNPR. First, to denote a change in line of therapy the "Time-based algorithm" used the number of days between consecutive administrations. Second, the "Drug-based algorithm" used information on drug names if available or the number of days between consecutive administrations if no drug names were specified. We calculated the percentage agreement between the algorithms setting the number of allowed days between consecutive administrations from 28 to 50 and the reference standard - information on anti-neoplastic therapy drugs abstracted from medical records and subsequently coded according to lines of anti-neoplastic therapy. RESULTS: For the "Time-based algorithm", the highest percentage agreement with the reference standard was found when using <45 days between consecutive administrations (67.6%; 95% CI: 60.1-73.8%). However, the percentage agreement was higher for the "Drug-based algorithm" using <45 days between consecutive administrations for registrations where the drug name was unspecified (90.5%; 95% CI: 85.0-93.7%). CONCLUSION: The algorithm for number of lines of anti-neoplastic therapy that had the highest percentage agreement with the reference standard (medical records) incorporated both registration of specific drug names and <45 days between consecutive administrations if the drug name was unspecified in routinely recorded data from DNPR.

Socioeconomic position and prognosis in premenopausal breast cancer: a population-based cohort study in Denmark.

BACKGROUND: To investigate how socioeconomic position (SEP) influences the effectiveness of cancer-directed treatment in premenopausal breast cancer patients in terms of breast cancer recurrence and mortality. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study nested in the ProBeCaRe (Predictors of Breast Cancer Recurrence) cohort (n = 5959). We identified all premenopausal women aged 18-55 years diagnosed with non-metastatic breast cancer and prescribed docetaxel-based chemotherapy in Denmark during 2007-2011. Population-based administrative registries provided data on SEP: marital status (married including registered partnership or single including divorced or widowed), cohabitation (cohabiting or living alone), education (low, intermediate, or high), income (low, medium, or high), and employment status (employed, unemployed, or health-related absenteeism). For each SEP measure, we computed incidence rates, cumulative incidence proportions (CIPs), and used Poisson regression to compute incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of recurrence and death. We stratified on estrogen receptor (ER) status/tamoxifen to evaluate interaction. RESULTS: Our study cohort included 2616 women; 286 (CIP 13%) experienced recurrence and 223 (CIP 11%) died during follow-up (median 6.6 and 7.2 years, respectively). Single women had both increased 5-year risks of recurrence (IRR 1.45, 95% CI 1.11-1.89) and mortality (IRR 1.83, 95% CI 1.32-2.52). Furthermore, we observed increased 5-year mortality in women with low education (IRR 1.49, 95% CI 0.95-2.33), low income (IRR 1.37, 95% CI 0.83-2.28), unemployment (IRR 1.61, 95% CI 0.83-3.13), or health-related work absenteeism (IRR 1.80, 95% CI 1.14-2.82), but smaller or no increased risk of recurrence. These findings were especially evident among women with ER+ tumors prescribed tamoxifen. Overall analyses (follow-up max. 10 years) provided similar results. CONCLUSIONS: Low SEP in premenopausal women with non-metastatic breast cancer was associated with increased mortality, but not always recurrence. This suggests underdetection of recurrences in certain groups. Poor prognosis in women with low SEP, especially single women, may partly be explained by tamoxifen adherence.

The relationship between self-reported mental health and redeemed prescriptions of antidepressants: a register-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Poor mental health is a major problem in most western societies, especially predominant among young adults. However, associations of self-reported poor mental health with subsequent psychiatric or medical treatment are unknown. We examined the relation between self-reported mental health and redeeming prescriptions of antidepressants among three age groups. METHODS: We analyzed data from 16,233 individuals aged 16 years and over randomly selected to participate in the 2010 North Denmark Region Health Survey completed in February 2010. Mental health was defined according to the Short-Form 12 instrument (SF-12) and dichotomized into poor and good. Outcome data were retrieved from administrative information on redeemed prescriptions of antidepressants between February 2010 and December 2012. Crude cumulative incidence curves were produced to illustrate the probability of redeeming new prescriptions of antidepressants over time. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate risk of redeeming prescriptions of antidepressants when having poor mental health, adjusted for preselected explanatory covariates. RESULTS: Among the young (16-29 years-old), 620 (23 %) participants suffered from poor mental health. Among the adults (30-59 years-old) and elderly (60 years-old or over), 1592 (18 %) participants and 723 (15 %) reported poor mental health, respectively. Overall, women were more likely than men to rate their mental health as poor. For all age groups, there was an increased probability for redeeming prescriptions of antidepressants when having poor mental health. The hazard ratio [HR] for redeeming prescriptions of antidepressants for those reporting poor versus good mental health, adjusted for sex, ethnicity, marital status, education level, occupational status, smoking and physical activity was 3.1 (95 % confidence interval [CI] 2.20-4.29) for young participants. For adults, the HR was 2.3 (95 % CI 1.86-2.78) and for elderly, it was 3.5 (95 % CI 2.66-4.57). CONCLUSION: Self-reported poor mental health was more frequent among younger than older participants. Overall, antidepressants were the most often used treatment. An increased probability of redeeming antidepressant prescriptions when having self-reported poor mental health was observed in all age groups. These findings suggest that frequent reporting of poor mental health is a common issue for all age groups that needs more attention.