Why are some children with early onset of asthma getting better over the years?--diagnostic failure or salutogenetic factors.

Among children earlier having been identified with a hospital or primary care diagnosis of asthma at least once between 0-7 years of age, almost 40 % of their parents reported in the ISAAC-questionnaire as never having had asthma (NA). These are further analysed and compared with the persisting asthma cases (A) in this study. All these children's medical records were scrutinized concerning their asthma diagnose retrospectively.The aim of this study was to analyse possible factors related to the outcome in an Asthma diagnosis reassessment by parental questionnaire at the age of ten of the children earlier having been identified with a hospital or primary health care diagnosis of asthma at least once between 0-7 years of age in a total birth-year cohort in a defined Swedish geographical area.A multiple logistic analysis revealed four significant and independent factors associated to the improvement/non-report of asthma at the age of ten. These factors were; not having any past experiences of allergic symptoms (p<0.0001), only having one or two visits at the hospital for asthma diagnosis in the 0-7 interval (p=0.001), not living in a flat but a villa at the age of ten (p=0.029) and no previous perception of mist or mould damage in the house (p=0.052).In the early postnatal stage, obstructive and bronchospastic symptoms typical of asthma may be unspecific, and those cases not continuing to persisting disease tend to have identifiable salutogenetic factors of constitutional rather than environmental nature, namely, an overall reduced allergic predisposition.

Measuring health inequalities in Albania: a focus on the distribution of general practitioners.

BACKGROUND: The health workforce has a dynamically changing nature and the regular documentation of the distribution of health professionals is a persistent policy concern. The aim of the present study was to examine available human medical resources in primary care and identify possible inequalities regarding the distribution of general practitioners in Albania between 2000 and 2004. METHODS: With census data, we investigated the degree of inequality by calculating relative inequality indices. We plotted the Lorenz curves and calculated the Gini, Atkinson and Robin Hood indices and decile ratios, both before and after adjusting for mortality and consultation rates. RESULTS: The Gini index for the distribution of general practitioners in 2000 was 0.154. After adjusting for mortality it was 0.126, while after adjusting for consultation rates it was 0.288. The Robin Hood index for 2000 was 11.2%, which corresponds to 173 general practitioners who should be relocated in order to achieve equality. The corresponding figure after adjusting for mortality was 9.2% (142 general practitioners), while after adjusting for consultation rates the number was 20.6% (315). These figures changed to 6.3% (100), 6.3% (115) and 19.8% (315) in 2004. CONCLUSION: There was a declining trend in the inequality of distribution of general practitioners in Albania between 2000 and 2004. The trend in inequality was apparent irrespective of the relative inequality indicator used. The level of inequality varied depending on the adjustment method used. Reallocation strategies for general practitioners in Albania could be the key in alleviating the inequalities in primary care workforce distribution.

Clinically diagnosed childhood asthma and follow-up of symptoms in a Swedish case control study.

BACKGROUND: Childhood asthma has risen dramatically not only in the western societies and now forms a major and still increasing public health problem. The aims of this study were to follow up at the age of ten the patterns of asthma symptoms and associations among children with a clinically diagnosed asthma in a sizeable urban-rural community and to in compare them with demographic controls using a standardised questionnaire. METHODS: In a defined region in Sweden with a population of about 150,000 inhabitants, all children (n = 2,104) born in 1990 were recorded. At the age of seven all primary care and hospital records of the 1,752 children still living in the community were examined, and a group of children (n = 191) was defined with a well-documented and medically confirmed asthma diagnosis. At the age of ten, 86 % of these cases (n = 158) and controls (n = 171) completed an ISAAC questionnaire concerning asthma history, symptoms and related conditions. RESULTS: Different types of asthma symptoms were highly and significantly over-represented in the cases. Reported asthma heredity was significantly higher among the cases. No significant difference in reported allergic rhinitis or eczema as a child was found between cases and controls. No significant difference concerning social factors or environmental exposure was found between case and controls. Among the control group 4.7 % of the parents reported that their child actually had asthma. These are likely to be new asthma cases between the age of seven and ten and give an estimated asthma prevalence rate at the age of ten of 15.1 % in the studied cohort. CONCLUSION: A combination of medical verified asthma diagnosis through medical records and the use of self-reported symptom through the ISAAC questionnaire seem to be valid and reliable measures to follow-up childhood asthma in the local community. The asthma prevalence at the age of ten in the studied birth cohort is considerably higher than previous reports for Sweden. Both the high prevalence figure and allowing the three-year lag phase for further settling of events in the community point at the complementary roles of both hospital and primary care in the comprehensive coverage and control of childhood asthma in the community.

"HealthOmeter": An Aid in Advancing Preventive Medicine Media Revolution.

Subjective wellbeing is an important issue on the preventive medicine and political agenda and for mutual communication, information, and interaction in society and its individuals "requires new tools for measuring phenomena previously believed unmeasurable, as well as conceptual frameworks for interpreting such measurements…considering both happiness and misery." The task is difficult, however, due to the great span of parameters and variables of age and gender, settings, socioeconomic conditions, wellness and illness, activities and functions, roles and habits, thoughts and feelings, and experiences and expectations involved over the panorama. HealthOmeter is a clinically tested and validated instrument with design and capacity in distinct coherent chapters to meet the new measurement and interpretation demands both contentwise and operationwise. Over the range of subjective and objective health it enables, in a uniform normalized layout in quintile balance between positive and negative, an all-round self-assessment and counsel in multimedia, preferably computer/mobile app distribution including storage, collation, and follow-up in full integrity and secrecy on the individual and aggregated level.

[Geographical inequalities in the distribution of general practitioners in Sweden]. / Geografiska ojämlikheter i Sverige i fördelningen av allmänläkare.

AIM: To estimate trends in the inequalities in the distribution of general practitioners in Sweden during the past fifteen years. METHODS: Relative inequality indicators. We plotted the Lorenz curves and calculated the Gini coefficients for the entire country during 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001. RESULTS: During the past 15 years in all a declining trend was noted in the inequalities in the geographical distribution of general practitioners in Sweden, with the lowest level in 1996. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of inequality in the geographical distribution of general practitioners appeared rather stable during the period, although with some increase in the final year studied. Since equality is part of quality, policy makers in all levels--national, regional and local--should pay attention as to how human resources are distributed.

Medical education in Albania: current situation and perspective, with reference to primary care.

A radical primary health care-oriented reform of the medical services in Albania is now under way, calling for adequate revision in medical education. The reform has started in 1994. In January 1997, the Department of Family Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Tirana, was established for the development of general practice and family medicine, and with it a new era in medical education in Albania has begun. Mutual agreements for international collaborations are being realized, modern medical textbooks are being published, and the importance of continuous medical education is gaining a deserved appreciation. Here we describe medical education in Albania, including undergraduate education, vocational training, and continuing professional development. The emphasis is given on primary care, with some suggestions for concrete actions that would improve the current situation. A brief descriptive account is given of the ongoing Albanian medical education reform, primarily in the field of primary health care, which assumes its most interesting global aspects and at the same time reflects the unique demands of the country.