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- Akner, Gunnar, 1953-
(author)
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Geriatric medicine in Sweden : a study of the organisation, staffing and care production in 2000-2001
- 2004
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In: Age and Ageing. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0002-0729 .- 1468-2834. ; 33:4, s. 338-341
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: the organisation of long-term medicine and geriatric medicine has undergone many changes during the last 15 years. The aim of this study is to gain an overall perspective of the present organisation of geriatric medicine in Sweden.DESIGN: questionnaire survey.METHODS: The Swedish Society for Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, in collaboration with the Federation of County Councils and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities, sent out a survey to people in all county councils in Sweden. The subject of the survey was the speciality of geriatric medicine in the Swedish healthcare system, with regard to healthcare organisation, staffing and care production in 2000/2001.RESULTS: there were 52 separate geriatric units, 41 independent 'clinics' and 11 'sections' within other departments. There were a total of 3,101 geriatric inpatient beds. On average, there was one geriatric bed for every 799 individuals within the local population aged 65 years and over, with a 10-fold variation between counties. Four counties had no geriatric provision. The 'geriatric clinics' were mainly located in university towns and averaged 85 beds per clinic, again with a 10-fold variation. There were 604 established positions for doctors within geriatrics, of which 63% were at geriatric clinics. On average, the clinics had 16 positions each (of which 75% were filled with geriatric specialists) with 7 beds per doctor. The corresponding averages for nurses and paramedics could not be summarised due to organisational differences between the county councils. In general, there were very few nurses with specialist training in geriatric medicine.CONCLUSIONS: the field of geriatric medicine in Sweden is very heterogeneous regarding terminology, designations, structure, staffing and care production. There is no overall structural plan for the role of geriatric medicine in Swedish healthcare, with the desired close connection between content and dimensioning of geriatric specialist training and the practical organisation of the activities. The county councils designate geriatric medicine so differently that it is hardly possible to compare different geriatric facilities today. Considering how many patients at hospitals today are elderly and suffer from multiple illnesses, it is a major quality issue to ensure that these patients have access to geriatric specialists.
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| 2. |
- Akner, Gunnar, 1953-, et al.
(author)
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Individual assessment of intake of energy, nutrients and water in 54 elderly multidiseased nursing-home residents
- 2003
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In: The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. - 1279-7707 .- 1760-4788. ; 7:1, s. 1-12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: Examination of the individual intake of energy, nutrients and water in clinically stable multidiseased nursing-home residents. METHODS: Comprehensive clinical assessment of 54 elderly nursing-home residents (80 +/- 10 years, mean +/- SD). The intake of food and beverages was measured by the weighed food intake method during five consecutive week days followed by computerized transformation to energy, 21 different nutrients, dietary fiber, alcohol and water. The resting energy expenditure was determined by indirect calorimetry. RESULTS: There was at least 2-3-fold, variation in intake of energy, nutrients and water, present also when expressed per kg body weight. For some micronutrients the relative intake variation was more than 8-fold. The results are compared with the present swedish recommended dietary allowances as well as with seven other studies of dietary intake in elderly using the weighed food intake method. The residents had on average 14.1 (range 6-31) different current clinical problems and were treated with a mean of 9.5 different drugs. The nursing staff spent 40 % of the total daytime working hours (7 am to 7 pm) on nutrition related issues. CONCLUSIONS: The nursing-home residents exhibited a large interindividual heterogeneity regarding intake of energy, nutrients and water. More emphasis should be given to individualized nutrition assessment in clinical geriatric care as a more solid base for nutrition treatment programmes integrated with the regular medical management and evaluation.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Akre [Fall], Katja, 1971-, et al.
(author)
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Aspirin and risk for gastric cancer : a population-based case-control study in Sweden
- 2001
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In: British Journal of Cancer. - Edinburgh, United Kingdom : Churchill Livingstone. - 0007-0920 .- 1532-1827. ; 84:7, s. 965-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While aspirin and other non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are associated with gastric mucosal damage, they might reduce the risk for gastric cancer. In a population-based case-control study in 5 Swedish counties, we interviewed 567 incident cases of gastric cancer and 1165 controls about their use of pain relievers. The cases were uniformly classified to subsite (cardia/non-cardia) and histological type and information collected on other known risk factors for gastric cancer. Helicobacter pylori serology was tested in a subset of 542 individuals. Users of aspirin had a moderately reduced risk of gastric cancer compared to never users; odds ratio (OR) adjusted for age, gender and socioeconomic status was 0.7 (95% CI = 0.6-1.0). Gastric cancer risk fell with increasing frequency of aspirin use (P for trend = 0.02). The risk reduction was apparent for both cardia and non-cardia tumours but was uncertain for the diffuse histologic type. No clear association was observed between gastric cancer risk and non-aspirin NSAIDs or other studied pain relievers. Our finding lends support to the hypothesis that use of aspirin reduces the risk for gastric cancer.
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| 5. |
- Akre [Fall], Katja, 1971-, et al.
(author)
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Risk for gastric cancer after antibiotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing hip replacement
- 2000
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In: Cancer Research. - Birmingham, USA : American Asoociation for Cancer Research. - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 60, s. 6376-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite strong evidence of an association between Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer, the benefit of eradicating H. pylori infection is unknown. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that exposure to high doses of antibiotics reduces risk for gastric cancer via possible eradication of H. pylori We conducted a nationwide case-control study nested in a cohort of 39,154 patients who underwent hip replacement surgery between 1965 and 1983. Such patients frequently receive prophylactic antibiotic treatment. During follow-up through 1989, we identified 189 incident cases of gastric cancer. For each case, three controls were selected from the cohort. Exposure data were abstracted from hospital records. Blood samples from a separate cohort undergoing hip replacement surgery were analyzed for anti-H. pylori IgG before and after surgery. Both long-term antibiotic treatment before surgery [odds ratio (OR), 0.3; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.1-0.7] and prophylactic antibiotic treatment (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.5-1.1) conferred a reduction in gastric cancer risk. The reduction appeared stronger after 5 years (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3-1.2) than during shorter follow-up after hip replacement (OR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.4-1.7). There was an apparent decrease in risk with increasing body weight-adjusted doses of antibiotics (P = 0.13). However, the rate of H. pylori antibody disappearance was not strikingly higher in the cohort of patients undergoing hip replacement than in a control cohort. Our findings provide indirect support for the hypothesis that treatment with antibiotics at a relatively advanced age reduces the risk of gastric cancer.
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| 6. |
- Al-Khalili, L, et al.
(author)
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Human skeletal muscle cell differentiation is associated with changes in myogenic markers and enhanced insulin-mediated MAPK and PKB phosphorylation
- 2004
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In: Acta Physiologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0001-6772 .- 1365-201X. ; 180:4, s. 395-403
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIM: We hypothesized that myogenic differentiation of HSMC would yield a more insulin responsive phenotype.METHODS: We assessed expression of several proteins involved in insulin action or myogenesis during differentiation of primary human skeletal muscle cultures (HSMC).RESULTS: Differentiation increased creatine kinase activity and expression of desmin and myocyte enhancer factor (MEF)2C. No change in expression was observed for big mitogen-activated protein kinase (BMK1/ERK5), MEF2A, insulin receptor (IR), hexokinase II, and IR substrates 1 and 2, while expression of glycogen synthase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2 MAP kinase) and the insulin responsive aminopeptidase increased after differentiation. In contrast to protein kinase B (PKB)a, expression of (PKB)b increased, with differentiation. Both basal and insulin-stimulated PI 3-kinase activity increased with differentiation. Insulin-mediated phosphorylation of PKB and ERK1/2 MAP kinase increased after differentiation.CONCLUSION: Components of the insulin-signalling machinery are expressed in myoblast and myotube HSMC; however, insulin responsiveness to PKB and ERK MAP kinase phosphorylation increases with differentiation.
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| 7. |
- Anand, K J S, et al.
(author)
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Effects of morphine analgesia in ventilated preterm neonates : primary outcomes from the NEOPAIN randomised trial
- 2004
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In: The Lancet. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 363:9422, s. 1673-82
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Opioid analgesia is commonly used during neonatal intensive care. We undertook the Neurologic Outcomes and Pre-emptive Analgesia in Neonates (NEOPAIN) trial to investigate whether pre-emptive morphine analgesia decreases the rate of a composite primary outcome of neonatal death, severe intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH), and periventricular leucomalacia (PVL) in preterm neonates.METHODS: Ventilated preterm neonates (n=898) from 16 centres were randomly assigned masked placebo (n=449) or morphine (n=449) infusions. After a loading dose (100 microg/kg), morphine infusions (23-26 weeks of gestation 10 microg kg(-1) h(-1); 27-29 weeks 20 microg kg(-1) h(-1); 30-32 weeks 30 microg kg(-1) h(-1)) were continued as long as clinically justified (maximum 14 days). Open-label morphine could be given on clinical judgment (placebo group 242/443 [54.6%], morphine group 202/446 [45.3%]). Analyses were by intention to treat.FINDINGS: Baseline variables were similar in the randomised groups. The placebo and morphine groups had similar rates of the composite outcome (105/408 [26%] vs 115/419 [27%]), neonatal death (47/449 [11%] vs 58/449 [13%]), severe IVH (46/429 [11%] vs 55/411 [13%]), and PVL (34/367 [9%] vs 27/367 [7%]). For neonates who were not given open-label morphine, rates of the composite outcome (53/225 [24%] vs 27/179 [15%], p=0.0338) and severe IVH (19/219 [9%] vs 6/189 [3%], p=0.0209) were higher in the morphine group than the placebo group. Placebo-group neonates receiving open-label morphine had worse rates of the composite outcome than those not receiving open-label morphine (78/228 [34%] vs 27/179 [15%], p<0.0001). Morphine-group neonates receiving open-label morphine were more likely to develop severe IVH (36/190 [19%] vs 19/219 [9%], p=0.0024).INTERPRETATION: Pre-emptive morphine infusions did not reduce the frequency of severe IVH, PVL, or death in ventilated preterm neonates, but intermittent boluses of open-label morphine were associated with an increased rate of the composite outcome. The morphine doses used in this study decrease clinical signs of pain but can cause significant adverse effects in ventilated preterm neonates.
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| 8. |
- Andersson, Gerhard, et al.
(author)
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Delivering cognitive behavioural therapy for mild to moderate depression via the Internet : Predicting outcome at 6-month follow-up
- 2004
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In: Verhaltenstherapie (Basel). - : S. Karger AG. - 1016-6262 .- 1423-0402. ; 14:3, s. 185-189
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Mild to moderate depression has been successfully treated with cognitive-behavioural (CBT) bibliotherapy, including minimal therapist contact. More recently, the Internet has been used to deliver the treatment, with obvious gains in terms of cost reduction and increased accessibility. In the present study we analysed pre-treatment predictors of improvement following Internet-based self-help treatment of mild to moderate depression. Patients and Methods: Included were 71 participants from a randomised trial who completed a 6-month follow-up. Change indexes were calculated from the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Results: In line with the literature on depression, the number of previous episodes of depression was negatively associated with improvement after treatment. Follow-up scores on the BDI and MADRS were associated with pre-treatment levels of depression, anxiety and low levels of quality of life. Discussion: As indicated by traditional psychotherapy studies, finding predictors of outcome is a difficult task. Patients with repeated episodes of depression might benefit less from self-help over the Internet, but as the correlation is weak, no firm conclusions can be drawn.
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| 9. |
- Andersson Grönlund, Marita, 1959-, et al.
(author)
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Acupuncture treatment in patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca : a pilot study
- 2004
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In: Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Inc.. - 1395-3907 .- 1600-0420. ; 82:3 Pt 1, s. 283-290
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIM: To evaluate the effects of acupuncture in patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS).MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients (20 women, five men) with KCS were randomly assigned to an acupuncture treatment group or a control group. The effects of acupuncture were evaluated by a questionnaire on symptoms, visual analogue scale recordings, registration of drop frequency, and dry eye tests. Ten acupuncture sessions were given. Follow-up was carried out after 2-3 weeks and again after a mean period of 8 months.RESULTS: Patients receiving acupuncture felt better at the first follow-up compared with the control group (p = 0.036). However, no statistical significance could be found concerning any change, or difference, in the total number of subjective symptoms, dosage frequency or, as indicated by the dry eye tests, tear quality, tear secretion and ocular surface disease.CONCLUSION: The results indicate that acupuncture has subjective beneficial effects in patients with KCS and could therefore be tried as a complement to ordinary treatment.
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| 10. |
- Asplund, R., et al.
(author)
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Sleep and sleepiness 1 and 9 months after cataract surgery
- 2004
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In: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics (Print). - : Elsevier. - 0167-4943 .- 1872-6976. ; 38:1, s. 69-75
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study was undertaken to analyze sleep development in a group of patients during the first 9 months after cataract extraction. Men and women (n=407) undergoing cataract surgery at the Department of Ophthalmology, Sundsvall Hospital during two periods in 2000-2002 were asked to complete a questionnaire on the state and change of sleep and sleepiness 1 and 9 months after the operation. The response rate was 90.8%. The mean ages of the participating men and women were 74.5 and 75.6 years, respectively. One week after cataract extraction the visual acuity in the treated eye was 0.67 (+/-0.31) in men and 0.69 (+/-0.28) in women (NS), and showed an inverse relationship to age in both men (P<0.01) and women (P<0.0001). One month after cataract extraction 28.3% of the men and 37.5% of the women experienced poor sleep, and after 9 months the figures were 15.8 and 31.4%, respectively. Frequent awakenings and difficulty in falling asleep after nocturnal awakenings improved correspondingly. Being well rested in the morning increased and daytime sleepiness decreased. The results indicate that in elderly persons with cataract sleep is improved 1 month after cataract extraction and further improvement during the first 9 months may be experienced.
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