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- Lundberg, Christina, 1972-
(författare)
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Screening for Atherosclerosis with Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Ultrasound
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Atherosclerosis is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Although traditional risk factors can identify the healthy or severely affected individuals, sudden lethal outcome is still frequent in those suggested as intermediate in risk for cardiovascular events (CVE). Adding imaging to the traditional scoring systems might improve risk stratification.This thesis investigates whether the addition of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) to traditional risk factors might render atherosclerosis suitable for mass screening, selective screening or screening in research settings.In paper I the carotid arteries were assessed in six different manners (carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in two different locations, presence of plaque, number of plaques, plaque size and plaque composition) using US. More than 800 Caucasian subjects were assessed at ages 70 and 75, and outcome examined at 80 years of age. Plaques with an area exceeding 10mm2 in the bulb were found to be most closely related to CVE.Paper II established that carotid plaque volume measured with MRI did not correlate with carotid plaque area assessed with US. MRI reached the highest levels of reproducibility of the two methods.Paper III used the previously created total atherosclerotic score (TAS), a scoring system based on whole body magnetic resonance angiography (WBMRA) that assesses global atherosclerosis. TAS was found to predict CVE in 305 PIVUS-subjects at age 70 years during 5 years of follow-up. The risk for CVE was found to be eightfold with TAS>0.In paper IV CIMT was assessed with US at ages 70 and 75 years. CIMT at baseline, but not the change in CIMT over five years, was significantly related to TAS, thus suggesting carotid changes to correlate with atherosclerosis throughout the body.In conclusion, in research settings WBMRA and MRI, as well as US, can be used for screening and following up of atherosclerotic changes, as their predictive values and reproducibility are good. US might be feasible in selective screening but none of these methods are as of now suitable for mass screening.
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| 2. |
- Johansson, Magdalena, 1984-
(författare)
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Epidemiology of venous thromboembolism with focus on risk markers
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a vascular disease with an incidence of approximately 140 cases per 100,000 person-years in adults. The incidence of VTE has increased over the last decades, and more than 20% of affected individuals die in the first year after diagnosis. To reduce the incidence of VTE, it is important to identify modifiable risk factors for the condition.Aims: The aims of this thesis were a) To study the incidence of first-time VTE and the prevalence of risk markers for VTE at the time of VTE diagnosis, b) To determine the validity of diagnoses of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in administrative registries, and c) To study the association between glucose levels, diabetes, alcohol consumption, physical activity and risk of first-time VTE.Methods: To determine the incidence of first-time VTE and the prevalence of risk markers for VTE at the time of VTE diagnosis, a retrospective, population-based cohort study was conducted. The study included all adult residents of Västerbotten County during the year 2006. All other aims were addressed in the prospective, population-based Venous thromboEmbolism In Northern Sweden (VEINS) cohort study. The VEINS cohort included 108,025 residents of Västerbotten County aged 30 to 60 years without previous VTE events. They were included from 1985 onwards and were followed until a VTE event, death, emigration, or the study end on September 5, 2014. All underwent a health examination within the Västerbotten Intervention Programme where weight, height, blood pressure and glucose levels were measured, and answered a questionnaire regarding smoking, education level, medication use, history of diabetes, alcohol intake and physical activity. VTE diagnoses were validated by review of medical records and radiology reports. To study the validity of diagnoses of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in administrative registries, a registry search for International Classification of Diseases diagnosis codes indicating pulmonary embolism and/or deep vein thrombosis events was made in the Swedish National Patient Registry and the Cause of Death Registry. An additional search using an extended set of International Classification of Diseases diagnosis codes was performed in order to identify misclassified events.Results: The incidence of first-time VTE was 137 (95% confidence interval [CI] 122–154) per 100,000 adults per year. The most common risk markers for VTE were recent hospitalization and concurrent malignancy. The positive predictive value for a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was 80.7% (95% CI 78.4–82.9), and that of deep vein thrombosis 59.2% (95% CI 56.7–61.7). Misclassification occurred in 1.1% (95% CI 0.4–1.7) of pulmonary embolism events and in 16.4% (95% CI 14.2–18.7) of deep vein thrombosis events. In the VEINS cohort, a total of 2,054 participants experienced an objectively verified first-time VTE event during approximately 1.5 million person-years of follow-up. In univariable analysis, there were associations between fasting plasma glucose, oral glucose tolerance test two-hour post-load plasma glucose, diabetes and increased risk of first-time VTE. These associations were attenuated after adjustment for potential confounders, and were no longer significant. There was an association between alcohol consumption and risk of first-time VTE in men (P for trend 0.02 after adjustments for increased risk of first-time VTE over quartiles of weekly alcohol consumption). Alcohol dependence was associated with risk of first-time VTE in men (hazard ratio [HR] 1.30; 95% CI 1.07–1.59 after adjustments). In women, there were no significant associations between alcohol consumption and risk of first-time VTE. Women who performed leisure time physical activity at least once a week had a lower risk of first-time VTE (HR 0.83; 95% CI 0.71–0.98 after adjustments) compared to women with less or no physical activity. Women with high occupational physical activity also had a lower risk of first-time VTE (HR 0.85; 95% CI 0.74–0.98 after adjustments). In men, there were no consistent association between either measure of physical activity and risk of first-time VTE. Conclusions: VTE is a common vascular disease. Registry data on diagnoses of pulmonary embolism, but not deep vein thrombosis, is of acceptable quality and can be considered for use in registry-based studies. Glucose levels and diabetes are not associated with risk of first-time VTE. Alcohol intake and alcohol dependence are associated with an increased risk of first-time VTE in men, whereas high leisure time physical activity and occupational physical activity are associated with a decreased risk of first-time VTE in women.
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| 3. |
- Lind, Susanne
(författare)
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Implementation of knowledge-based palliative care in acute care settings : obstacles, opportunities and experiences
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background and aim: Quality improvement is continuously ongoing at different levels in our healthcare system. In Sweden, as in other countries, guidelines are important for quality improvement in healthcare, since they summarize the best available evidence. Improved living conditions and enhanced treatments for a variety of diseases have resulted in increased longevity and the need for palliative care has therefore also increased. A high proportion of deaths occur in acute care settings, where the care has been described as inadequate for dying patients. In 2013, the National Board of Health and Welfare published A National knowledgebased guidance for good palliative care in end-of-life care and just prior to this in 2012, the Regional Cancer Centre published the National clinical practice guideline for palliative care. The overarching aim of this thesis was to study implementation of knowledge-based palliative care in acute care settings.Methods and results of the studies: The first and second studies covered aspects that were to be taken into account for the implementation of the documents described above. In study I, national policy documents in Sweden were reviewed for quality indicators relevant to palliative care and end-of-life care. In study II, perceptions regarding national palliative care guidelines were investigated and obstacles to and opportunities for implementing these guidelines in acute care hospitals were identified through interviews with local politicians, chief medical officers and healthcare professionals. The results showed scarce knowledge of the two documents at all levels of the healthcare organisation. Palliative care was primarily described as end-of- life care. The environment and culture in hospitals, with heavy workload, poor communication and poor teamwork, were described as obstacles for implementation. However, staff emphasised a need for training and support in palliative care through theoretical knowledge and mentoring to develop clinical skills. An implementation strategy for the use of the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) was developed. The strategy included information, training and facilitation to support the use of the scale. The implementation was performed at three acute care settings and, to gain a broader understanding of the strategy, it was also tested at a palliative care unit. The evaluation of the strategy, presented in study III and IV, was conducted through multiple methods. The findings showed varying prevalence of completed IPOS, indicating shortcomings in implementation.Conclusion: The awareness of the two documents on palliative care varied at all levels in the healthcare organisation, being predominantly low among healthcare professionals in acute care settings. The feasibility of the performed implementation strategy was considered questionable and the components need to be further explored to enhance the impact of implementation and thereby improve the use of IPOS in acute care settings.
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| 4. |
- Lundkvist, Per, 1979-
(författare)
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Metabolic and endocrine effects of SGLT2 inhibition
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are two growing global health problems with similar comorbidity profiles. SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) improve blood glucose control and can relieve both T2D and obesity, as well as their associated health problems such as hypertension, kidney failure, and cardiovascular disease.In paper I, 50 obese patients without diabetes were treated for 24 weeks with SGLT2i dapagliflozin + GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) exenatide or placebo. They were examined regarding body weight loss and body composition. The placebo-adjusted weight loss was 4.13 kg, mostly attributable to adipose tissue loss.In paper II, 43 completers of the study in paper I entered a 28-week extension phase in which all participants received active treatment. We found major reductions in body weight, adipose tissue volume, blood pressure and prediabetes that were sustained at 52 weeks. In paper III, 84 patients with T2D and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease underwent a 12-week treatment with dapagliflozin, omega-3 (n-3) carboxylic acids (OM-3CA), the combination of both or placebo to assess effects on liver fat content. MRI showed significant reductions of liver fat versus baseline and, for the combination, versus placebo.In paper IV: 15 metformin-treated patients with T2D were assessed for changes in plasma glucagon levels following a single dose of dapagliflozin during experiments with stable versus falling plasma glucose. Changes in glucagon levels could largely be explained by changes in glucose levels.In conclusion, SGLT2 inhibition can lower body weight and cardiovascular risk factors in obese patients without diabetes when combined with GLP-1RA, and it can reduce liver fat in T2D patients, in particular when given together with OM-3CA. SGLT2i effects on glucagon secretion can largely be explained by lower glucose levels rather than direct α-cell effects.
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