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- Andersson, Gunnel, 1958-
(författare)
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Urinary incontinence : prevalence, treatment seeking behaviour, experiences, and perceptions among persons with and without urinary leakage
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis is to describe urinary incontinence (UI) from a population perspective and to describe experiences and perceptions of UI from an individual perspective. This includes assessing the prevalence of urinary incontinence as well as describing treatment seeking and experiences of living with UI. A secondary aim was to describe the perception of UI among cultures other than the Swedish mainstream, exemplified in this case by Syrian women living in Sweden. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used, including questionnaires and interviews. Studies I and II were quantitative studies based on a population-based study. Together with a postal survey on general health and living conditions “Life & Health”, a questionnaire on urinary incontinence was sent out to 15 360 randomly-selected residents aged 18-79 in Orebro County, Sweden. In Study I, UI was found to affect 19%. The majority of the respondents experienced minor problems, and only 18% of those reporting UI wanted treatment. However, there was also a group who reported severe problems, but despite this 42% of them did not want treatment. Study II investigated why people with UI refrain from seeking care and treatment. It was found that the desire for treatment was regulated by the frequency of UI, being restricted from participating in various activities, the degree of inconvenience, and the type of UI. Studies III and IV were both qualitative interview studies, describing older women’s experiences of living with UI (Study III) and Syrian women’s perceptions of UI (Study IV). There were similarities between the results of these two studies; the women described UI as a normal and expected problem, and they knew that the district nurse could prescribe incontinence protections and that treatments existed. In both studies, the women expressed difficulties in making contact with the health care service, while the women who did not speak Swedish (Study IV) also had difficulties due to different communication problems. In conclusion, it is important that health care resources are optimized to identify and meet the needs of those who experience major problems with UI, and that there is awareness of the communication difficulties that can be present in meeting with people who speak other languages. However it is also important not to medicalize those who experience minor problems and who have the desire to manage on their own.
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| 2. |
- Andrén, Ove, 1963-
(författare)
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Natural history and prognostic factors in localized prostate cancer
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The natural history of localized prostate cancer is not fully understood. In most patients the tumor will never progress to a lethal disease, while a subset of patients will ultimately die of the disease. Efficient tools to separate indolent from lethal disease is currently lacking which means that many patients will be offered treatment without any benefit, but still be at risk of experiencing treatment related side effects. The aims of these studies were to get more insight into the natural history of untreated localized prostate cancer, to assess the prognostic value of established clinical parameters such as Gleason score, nuclear grade and tumor volume and, moreover, some new prognostic markers Ki-67, AMACR and MUC-1. We also aimed to study time trends in the detection of incidental tumors in Sweden. Patients with localized disease (n=223) and no initial treatment were followed for 21 years. Most patients had a favorable outcome. However, a subset of patients developed lethal disease even beyond 15 years of follow-up and these patients define the group that may benefit most from treatment with curative intent. Patients with poorly differentiated tumors experienced a 9 time higher risk of dying in prostate cancer. The studies on prognostic markers are based on a cohort of patients (n=253) with incidental prostate cancer detected by transurethral resection for presumed benign hyperplasia. All patients were left without initial treatment. Gleason grade, nuclear grade and tumor volume turned all out to be independent prognostic factors. MUC-1, AMACR and Ki-67 also carried prognostic information. However, after adjustment for Gleason grade, nuclear grade and tumor volume only MUC-1 and AMACR remained as statistically significant prognostic factors. When tested for sensitivity and specificity they all failed and, consequently, they seem to be of less value in daily practice for cancelling an individual patient regarding the choice of treatment. Time trends in incidental prostate tumors in Sweden were analyzed in a cohort of patients with prostate tumors detected by transurethral resection (TUR-P). Through linkage of the national registration number (NRN) with several registers, e.g. the Swedish Cancer Registry, the National Inpatient registry and the Cause of Death Registry we identified, during the period 1970 through 2003, in total 23288 patients with incidental prostate cancer, who constituted the study group. As comparison group we choose all patients diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1970-2003 excluding those with incidental cancer, in total 112204 patients. Our result confirms earlier findings that there has been a dramatic change over time in incidence of incidental prostate cancers in Sweden, which parallels the introduction of prostate specific antigen. We also found that the cumulative incidence of prostate cancer death is high in the incidental group, opposing earlier findings that incidental tumours are a non-lethal disease.
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| 3. |
- Skeppner, Elisabet [Elisabeth], 1962-
(författare)
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Penile carcinoma : from first symptom to sexual function and life satisfaction following organ-sparing laser treatment
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis was to describe how patients with penile carcinoma experienced their symptoms, treatment seeking and the impact of the diagnosis and treatment on sexual function, sexual activity and life satisfaction. The thesis contains two studies of patients treated with organ-sparing laser therapy, a retrospective study (Papers II and III) of 46 patients treated between 1986-2000 and a prospective study (Papers I and IV) of 50 patients between 2005 and 2009 and additional 34 partners. In both studies face-to-face interviews were used with a structured questionnaire; and self-assessment instruments IIEF-5, LiSat-11, and HADS. An ad hoc comparator population of men aged 34–74 years from a nationally representative investigation of sexual life and life satisfaction in Swedes was chosen for some of the questions concerning sexuality and life satisfaction. We found a delay of more than 6 months in 37% of the patients in the retrospective study and 65% of the patients in the prospective study. The single most important reason for patients’ delay was embarrassment. Nine patients had a doctors’ delay of more than 3 months from first special visit until diagnosis. Eight of these patients consulted dermatologists and were subjected to repeated biopsies, leaving premalignant results (I, II). All patients younger than 75 years (34/46) in the retrospective study reported that they were sexual active before treatment, 80% of these had resumed their activity by the time of the interview. Furthermore, except for satisfaction with somatic health, similar—or even higher—proportions of patients than comparators were satisfied with life as a whole and with other domains of life including satisfaction with sexual life (III). We found that 21/29 couples were sexually active with intercourse before treatment and 17 couples resumed their activity. Two items differed markedly from the comparators; considerably fewer patients were satisfied with their somatic health, and satisfaction with sexual life (at 12 months follow-up). Couples with an active partner-related sexuality at 12 months follow-up, reported coherence in high satisfaction with life as a whole (IV).In conclusion, patients with penile carcinoma delay for a long time after identifying symptoms before seeking contact with the health care system. This delay is mainly caused by embarrassment in describing the symptom to health care personnel and deficient knowledge about the disease. Organ- sparing technique offers good, satisfying cosmetic results and the possibility of maintaining sexual activity and function to a great extent.
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| 4. |
- Windahl, Torgny, 1948-
(författare)
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Clinical aspect of laser treatment of lichen sclerosus and squamous cell carcinoma of the penis
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of these studies was to investigate the efficacy, complications and the long term results after laser treatment of lichen sclerosus et atrophicus and of squamous cell carcinoma of the penis.Patients and Methods: Paper I: In a prospective study from 1985-1991, 62 men with histologically verified lichen sclerosus et atrophicus were given carbon dioxide (CO2) laser treatment following the failure of local corticosteroid treatment. The study was subsequently updated at a median follow-up time of 14 years.Paper II-IV: Sixty-seven men aged 26 to 87 (mean 60 years) with newly diagnosed penile carcinoma were included in a prospective study. The patients were treated by a new combined laser method (CO2 and Nd:YAG) between 1986 and 2000. The median follow-up time was 42 months (range 12-186 months). All patients could be assessed for local recurrence, progression and survival at the end of 2001. Forty-six patients agreed to participate in face-to-face interviews addressing sexual activity, sexual function/dysfunction, satisfaction and cosmetic results.Results: Paper I: The laser treatment was successful in 47 patients (76%) with no local symptoms at a mean follow-up of 30 months. Fifty-three of the 62 men were alive when the update was carried out in February 2004, and we were able to get in contact with 50 of them. Forty of these patients (80%) had no local symptoms or visible lesion. We found concomitant squamous cell carcinoma of the penis in two patients and two further patients had died from anal cancer.Paper II-IV: Local recurrences appeared in 13 patients (19%) at a median follow up of 42 months, and 10 of these patients were successfully retreated with laser treatment. Two patients died from penile carcinoma. The disease-specific 5-years survival rate was 95%. Concomitant lichen sclerosus was found in 11 patients. All patients younger than 75 years reported that they were sexually active before the treatment, and 80% of them had resumed their sexual activity after the treatment. Ten patients (22%) reported decreased erectile function after the treatment, while 33 patients (72%) reported unaltered erectile function. The cosmetic result was regarded as satisfying or very satisfying in 78% of the patients.Conclusion: Carbon dioxide laser treatment is an efficient treatment for lichen sclerosus et atrophicus with excellent long-term results, and the side effects are few. One disadvantages of the treatment is a slow postoperative healing process. Combined CO2 and Nd:YAG laser treatment is effective for treatment of the primary tumour in patients with localized penile carcinoma. It can be safely carried out with good local tumour control and highly satisfactory results with respect to cosmetic aspects and sexual function.
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