| 1. |
- Ellingsen, Jens, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of Comorbidities and Commonly Used Drugs on Mortality in COPD - Real-World Data from a Primary Care Setting
- 2020
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Ingår i: The International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. - : DOVE MEDICAL PRESS LTD. - 1176-9106 .- 1178-2005. ; 15, s. 235-245
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Life expectancy is significantly shorter for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than the general population. Concurrent diseases are known to infer an increased mortality risk in those with COPD, but the effects of pharmacological treatments on survival are less established. This study aimed to examine any associations between commonly used drugs, comorbidities and mortality in Swedish real-world primary care COPD patients.Methods: Patients with physician-diagnosed COPD from a large primary care population were observed retrospectively, utilizing primary care records and mandatory Swedish national registers. The time to all-cause death was assessed in a stepwise multiple Cox proportional hazards regression model including demography, socioeconomic factors, exacerbations, comorbidities and medication.Results: During the observation period (1999-2009) 5776 (32.5%) of 17,745 included COPD patients died. Heart failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.74-2.04), stroke (HR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.40-1.64) and myocardial infarction (HR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.24-1.58) were associated with an increased risk of death. Use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS; HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.66-0.94), beta-blockers (HR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76-0.97) and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA; HR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.77-0.98) was dose-dependently associated with a decreased risk of death, whereas use of long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA; HR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.14-1.55) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC; HR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.08-1.48) were dose-dependently associated with an increased risk of death in COPD patients.Conclusion: This large, retrospective, observational study of Swedish real-world primary care COPD patients indicates that coexisting heart failure, stroke and myocardial infarction were the strongest predictors of death, underscoring the importance of timely recognition and treatment of comorbidities. A decreased risk of death associated with the use of ICS, beta-blockers and ASA, and an increased risk associated with the use of LAMA and NAC, was also found.
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| 2. |
- Holmström, Benny, 1974-
(författare)
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Early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer : observational studies in the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden and the Västerbotten Intervention Project
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing has caused a steep increase in the incidence of prostate cancer, especially the incidence of localised low risk disease. In order to decrease the overdiagnosis accompanied by PSA testing, analysis of inherited genetic variants have been suggested as potential tools for clinical assessment of disease risk. With the aim of minimizing overtreatment and postpone side-effects of curative treatment for low risk prostate cancer, active surveillance, a treatment strategy with initial surveillance and deferred radical prostatectomy at the time of progression has evolved. The aim of this thesis was to study the validity of PSA (paper I) and inherited genetic variants (paper II) for early diagnosis of prostate cancer, to assess the extent of PSA testing in Sweden (paper III), and to study the safety of deferred radical prostatectomy in localised low to intermediate risk prostate cancer (paper IV). The study designs were i) case-control studies nested within the Västerbotten intervention project (paper I and II), ii) observational study in the Cancer Register of Sweden (paper III), and iii) observational study in the NPCR Follow-up study (paper IV). PSA had a high validity in predicting a prostate cancer diagnosis with an area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.84 to 0.88). A combined test, including PSA, the ratio of free to total PSA, and 33 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a genetic risk score, increased the area under curve to 0.87 (95% CI, 0.85 to 0.89). The estimated uptake of PSA testing among men aged 55 to 69 years increased from zero to 56% between 1997 and 2007 and there were large variations in the uptake of PSA testing between counties in Sweden. After a median follow-up time of eight years there was no significant difference in presence of any one or more adverse pathology features or prostate cancer specific mortality after primary compared to deferred radical prostatectomy in localised low to intermediate risk prostate cancer. Results from these studies indicate that PSA and the hitherto identified SNPs are not suitable biomarkers in single-test prostate cancer screening. It is possible to estimate the uptake of PSA testing on a population level. Initial surveillance and deferred radical prostatectomy represent a feasible treatment strategy in localised low to intermediate risk prostate cancer.
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| 3. |
- Janson, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Health care resource utilization and cost for asthma patients regularly treated with oral corticosteroids - a Swedish observational cohort study (PACEHR)
- 2018
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Ingår i: Respiratory Research. - : BMC. - 1465-9921 .- 1465-993X. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Patients with severe uncontrolled asthma may receive oral corticosteroid (OCS) treatment regularly. The present study investigated the health care resource utilization and cost in regularly OCS treated Swedish asthma patients.Methods: Primary care medical records data were linked to data from Swedish national health registries. Patients >= 18 years with a drug claim for obstructive pulmonary diseases during 2007-2009 (index date) and a prior asthma diagnosis, were classified by their OCS claims during the 12-months' post index period: regular OCS equals >= 5 mg per day; periodic OCS less than 5 mg per day; or non-OCS users. Cost of asthma-and OCS-morbidity-related health care resource utilization were calculated.Results: A total of 15,437 asthma patients (mean age 47.8, female 62.6%), whereof 223 (1.44%) were regular OCS users, 3054 (19.7%) were periodic, and 12,160 (78.7%) were non-OCS users. Regular OCS users were older and more often females, had lower lung function, greater eosinophil count and more co-morbidities at baseline compared with the other groups. Age-adjusted annual total health care cost was three-times greater in the regular OCS group ((sic)5615) compared with the non-OCS users ((SIC) 1980) and twice as high as in the periodic OCS group ((sic) 2948). The major cost driver in the non-OCS and periodic OCS groups were primary care consultations, whereas inpatient costs were the major cost driver in the regular OCS group. The asthma related costs represented 10-12% of the total cost in all three groups.Conclusion: In this real-life asthma study in Sweden, the total yearly cost of health care resource utilization for a regular OCS user was three times greater than for a patient with no OCS use, indicating substantial economic and health care burden for asthma patients on regular oral steroid treatment.
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| 4. |
- Janson, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Identifying the associated risks of pneumonia in COPD patients : ARCTIC an observational study
- 2018
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Ingår i: Respiratory Research. - : BMC. - 1465-9921 .- 1465-993X. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are associated with an increased risk of pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Other factors such as severity of airflow limitation and concurrent asthma may further raise the possibility of developing pneumonia. This study assessed the risk of pneumonia associated with ICS in patients with COPD.Methods: Electronic Medical Record data linked to National Health Registries were collected from COPD patients and matched reference controls in 52 Swedish primary care centers (2000-2014). Levels of ICS treatment (high, low, no ICS) and associated comorbidities were assessed. Patients were categorized by airflow limitation severity.Results: A total of 6623 patients with COPD and 48,566 controls were analyzed. Patients with COPD had a more than 4-fold increase in pneumonia versus reference controls (hazard ratio [HR] 4.76, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4. 48-5.06). ICS use increased the risk of pneumonia by 20-30% in patients with COPD with forced expiratory volume in 1 s >= 50% versus patients not using ICS. Asthma was an independent risk factor for pneumonia in the COPD population. Multivariate analysis identified independent predictors of pneumonia in the overall population. The highest risk of pneumonia was associated with high dose ICS (HR 1.41, 95% CI: 1.23-1.62).Conclusions: Patients with COPD have a greater risk of pneumonia versus reference controls; ICS use and concurrent asthma increased the risk of pneumonia further.
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| 5. |
- Janson, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Osteoporosis and fracture risk associated with inhaled corticosteroid use among Swedish COPD patients : the ARCTIC study
- 2021
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 57:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effect of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on the risk of osteoporosis and fracture in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to assess this risk in patients with COPD.Electronic medical record data linked to National Health Registries were collected from COPD patients and matched reference controls at 52 Swedish primary care centres from 2000 to 2014. The outcomes analysed were the effect of ICS on all fractures, fractures typically related to osteoporosis, recorded osteoporosis diagnosis, prescriptions of drugs for osteoporosis and a combined measure of any osteoporosis-related event. The COPD patients were stratified by the level of ICS exposure.A total of 9651 patients with COPD and 59 454 matched reference controls were analysed. During the follow-up, 19.9% of COPD patients had at least one osteoporosis-related event compared with 12.9% of reference controls (p<0.0001). Multivariate analysis in the COPD population demonstrated a dose–effect relationship, with high-dose ICS being significantly associated with any osteoporosis-related event (risk ratio 1.52 (95% CI 1.24–1.62)), while the corresponding estimate for low-dose ICS was 1.27 (95% CI 1.13–1.56) compared with COPD patients not using ICS. A similar dose-related adverse effect was found for all four of the specific osteoporosis-related events: all fractures, fractures typically related to osteoporosis, prescriptions of drugs for osteoporosis and diagnosis of osteoporosis.We conclude that patients with COPD have a greater risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis, and high-dose ICS use increased this risk further.
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| 6. |
- Janson, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence, characteristics and management of frequently exacerbating asthma patients : an observational study in Sweden (PACEHR)
- 2018
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 52:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence, management and characteristics of asthma patients with frequent exacerbations. Data from asthma patients (aged >= 18 years) identified in primary care medical records were linked to Swedish national health registries. Exacerbations were defined as hospitalisations, emergency visits and/or collection of oral steroids. Frequent exacerbations were defined as two or more exacerbations per year during the 3-year observation period. Of 18 724 asthma patients, 81.49% had no exacerbations and 6.3% had frequent exacerbations in the year prior to the index date. Frequent exacerbations were observed yearly for 1.8% of the patients. Frequent exacerbators were older, more often females, and had increased eosinophil and neutrophil counts, lower lung function, and more comorbidities than patients without exacerbations. There was a slight increase in asthma medication claims and a slight decrease in physician visits compared with baseline, both in the group with and the group without frequent exacerbations. Patients with frequent exacerbations were characterised by greater age, female predominance, high eosinophil and neutrophil counts, and high prevalence of comorbidities. This study indicates that the Swedish healthcare system lacks efficiency to adjust treatment and management for this patient group. With new treatment options targeting severe asthma available, identification of these patients should be in focus to ensure reduction of exacerbations.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Larsson, Kjell, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of COPD diagnosis timing on clinical and economic outcomes : the ARCTIC observational cohort study
- 2019
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Ingår i: The International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. - 1176-9106 .- 1178-2005. ; 14, s. 995-1008
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Assess the clinical and economic consequences associated with an early versus late diagnosis in patients with COPD.Patients and methods: In a retrospective, observational cohort study, electronic medical record data (2000-2014) were collected from Swedish primary care patients with COPD. COPD indicators (pneumonia, other respiratory diseases, oral corticosteroids, antibiotics for respiratory infections, prescribed drugs for respiratory symptoms, lung function measurement) registered prior to diagnosis were applied to categorize patients into those receiving early (2 or less indicators) or late diagnosis (3 or more indicators registered >90 days preceding a COPD diagnosis). Outcome measures included annual rate of and time to first exacerbation, mortality risk, prevalence of comorbidities and health care utilization.Results: More patients with late diagnosis (n=8827) than with early diagnosis (n=3870) had a recent comorbid diagnosis of asthma (22.0% vs 3.9%; P<0.0001). Compared with early diagnosis, patients with late diagnosis had a higher exacerbation rate (hazard ratio [HR] 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.83-1.96; P<0.0001) and shorter time to first exacerbation (HR 1.61, 95% CI: 1.54-1.69; P<0.0001). Mortality was not different between groups overall but higher for late versus early diagnosis, after excluding patients with past asthma diagnosis (HR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.02-1.18; P=0.0095). Late diagnosis was also associated with higher direct costs than early diagnosis.Conclusion: Late COPD diagnosis is associated with higher exacerbation rate and increased comorbidities and costs compared with early diagnosis. The study highlights the need for accurate diagnosis of COPD in primary care in order to reduce exacerbations and the economic burden of COPD.
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| 9. |
- Larsson, Kjell, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence and management of severe asthma in primary care : an observational cohort study in Sweden (PACEHR)
- 2018
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Ingår i: Respiratory Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1465-9921 .- 1465-993X. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Severe and uncontrolled asthma is associated with increased risk of exacerbations and death. A substantial proportion of asthma patients have poor asthma control, and a concurrent COPD diagnosis often increases disease burden. The objective of the study was to describe the prevalence and managemant of severe asthma in a Swedish asthma popuoation.Methods: In this observational cohort study, primary care medical records data (2006-2013) from 36 primary health care centers were linked to data from national mandatory Swedish health registries. The studied population (> 18 years) had a record of drug collection for obstructive pulmonary disease (ATC code R03) during 2011-2012, and a physician diagnosed asthma (ICD-10 code J45-J46) prior to drug collection. Severe asthma was classified as collection of high dose inhaled steroid (> 800 budesonide or equivalent per day) and leukotriene receptor antagonist and/or long-acting beta-agonist. Poor asthma control was defined as either collection of >= 600 doses of short-acting beta-agonists, and/or >= 1 exacerbation(s) during the year post index date.Results: A total of 18,724 asthma patients (mean 49 years, 62.8% women) were included, of whom 17,934 (95.8%) had mild to moderate and 790 (4.2%) had severe asthma. Exacerbations were more prevalent in severe asthma (2.59 [2.41-2. 79], Relative Risk [95% confidence interval]; p < 0.001). Poor asthma control was observed for 28.2% of the patients with mild to moderate asthma and for more than half (53.6%) of the patients with severe asthma (< 0.001). Prior to index, one in five severe asthma patients had had a contact with secondary care and one third with primary care. A concurrent COPD diagnosis increased disease burden.Conclusion:Severe asthma was found in 4.2% of asthma patients in Sweden, more than half of them had poor asthma control, and most patients had no regular health care contacts.
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| 10. |
- Larsson, Kjell, et al.
(författare)
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The Impact of Exacerbation Frequency on Clinical and Economic Outcomes in Swedish COPD Patients : The ARCTIC Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: The International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1176-9106 .- 1178-2005. ; 16, s. 701-713
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the association between exacerbation frequency and clinical and economic outcomes in patients with COPD.Patients and Methods: Electronic medical record data linked to National Health Registries were collected from COPD patients at 52 Swedish primary care centers (2000-2014). The outcomes analyzed were exacerbation rate, mortality, COPD treatments, lung function and healthcare costs during the follow-up period. Based on the exacerbation rate two years before index date, the patients were initially classified into three groups, either 0, 1 or >= 2 exacerbations per year. After the index date, the classification into exacerbation groups was updated each year based on the exacerbation rate during the last year of follow-up. A sensitivity analysis was conducted excluding patients with asthma diagnosis from the analysis.Results: In total 18,586 COPD patients were analyzed. A majority of the patients (60-70%) who either have had no exacerbation or frequent exacerbations (>= 2/year) during the preindex period remained in their group (ie, with 0 or >= 2 annual exacerbations) during up to 11 years of follow-up. Compared with having no exacerbation, mortality was higher in patients having 1 (HR; 2.06 [1.93-2.201) and >= 2 (4.58 [4.33-4.841) exacerbations at any time during the follow-up. Lung function decline was more rapid in patients with frequent exacerbations and there was an almost linear relationship between exacerbations frequency and mortality. Total healthcare costs were higher in the frequent exacerbation group (>= 2/year) than in patients with no or one exacerbation annually (p<0.0001 for both). The results did not differ from the main analysis after exclusion of patients with a concurrent asthma diagnosis.Conclusion: In addition to faster lung function decline and increased mortality, frequent exacerbations in COPD patients imply a significant economic burden.
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