| 1. |
- Burkill, Sarah M., et al.
(författare)
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Pain and Painkiller Use Among Multiple Sclerosis Patients in Sweden
- 2017
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Ingår i: Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1053-8569 .- 1099-1557. ; 26:Suppl. 2, s. 634-634
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease which leads to demyelination and subsequent damage of axons and neurons. Pain is known to commonly affect MS patients, however the clinical characteristics of this pain are not fully described. Prescribed pain medication identifies more severe and chronic pain and different drug types can be used to identify other pain characteristics.Objectives: To assess whether MS patients in Sweden are at increased risk of receiving medication for pain relative to non-MS comparators. We aim to study overall pain, neuropathic pain, musculoskeletal pain and migraine.Methods: This cohort study using data on 5,555 MS patients in Sweden individually matched to 5,555 non-MS Swedish residents on sex, year of birth and place of residence at the time of MS diagnosis. We used Cox PH models using date of entry or 1stJuly 2006 as the beginning of follow up, whichever occurred later, and end of study was date of death, date of prescription of a painkiller or December 31st 2014, whichever occurred first. Painkillers were identified through relevant ATC codes. For neuropathic pain, pregabalin, gabapentin, amitriptyline, capsaicin or nortriptyline were used for identification, and for migraine prescriptions of anti-migraine preparations were included in the outcome. Musculoskeletal pain was identified primarily through topical products for joint and muscular pain.Results: Cox PH models showed MS patients to be at a 2.43 (CI 2.31–2.55) times increased risk of being prescribed any painkiller. The risk increased to 5.63 (CI 5.03–6.31) for neuropathic painkillers, however there was no significant difference for musculoskeletal painkillers (RR = 0.92 (CI 0.79–1.07)). MS patients were at a 1.28 (CI 1.10-1.50) times increased risk of being prescribed anti-migraine preparations. Restricting the data to MS patients showed that exposure to neuropathic painkillers was present in 32.8% of MS patients, and is associated with lower educational attainment and female sex. Conclusions: MS patients are at significantly increased risk of pain overall, with a particularly elevated risk for neuropathic pain. It seems that lower educational attainment and female sex are risk factors of neuropathic pain. However, the reason for this is not fully understood.*We would like to acknowledge the funding from the Science for Life - Astra Zeneca collaborative grant that supported this research
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| 2. |
- Burkill, Sarah, et al.
(författare)
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Mortality trends for multiple sclerosis patients in Sweden from 1968 to 2012
- 2017
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Ingår i: Neurology. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0028-3878 .- 1526-632X. ; 89:6, s. 555-562
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To assess trends in mortality and causes of death for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) relative to those without MS in Sweden.Methods: Patients with an MS diagnosis in Sweden between 1964 and 2012 were identified with the Patient Register and the Multiple Sclerosis Register. For this cohort study, each patient with MS (n = 29,617) was matched with 10 individuals without MS (n = 296,164) on sex, year of birth, vital status, and region of residence at the time of MS diagnosis with the Total Population Register. The Causes of Death Register was used to identify causes of death. Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to assess whether risk of mortality was increased for patients with MS.Results: The hazard ratio (HR) for patients with MS was 2.92 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.86-2.99) for all-cause mortality over the entire study period. The largest differences between the cohorts were death resulting from respiratory (HR 5.07, 95% CI 4.87-5.26) and infectious (HR 4.07, 95% CI 3.70-4.47) diseases. Overall and for each specific cause, there have been improvements for the MS group and a subsequent reduction in the HR. The HR decreased from 6.52 (95% CI 5.79-7.34) for the period of 1968 to 1980 to 2.08 (95% CI 1.95-2.22) for the time period of 2001 to 2012. An interaction between time period and MS exposure showed that the decrease in mortality over time was statistically significant, with a larger decrease for patients with MS than their matched comparators.Conclusions: There has been a substantial improvement in mortality overall and for each specified cause of death for patients with MS compared with individuals without MS; however, large differences still remain.
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| 3. |
- Burkill, Sarah, et al.
(författare)
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Pharmacological Treatments Preceding Diagnosis Of Progressive Multifocal Leukencephalopathy
- 2016
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Ingår i: Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1053-8569 .- 1099-1557. ; 25:Suppl. 3, s. 496-497
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Progressive multifocal leukencephalopathy (PML) is a rare, often fatal viral disease, which affects the white matter of the brain. It is caused by John Cunningham (JC) polyomavirus, which is present in most people and is usually harm-less. For immunocompromised persons, such as those who are taking immunosuppressive treatments, the risk of JC virus causing PML is increased, although still rare. As PML diagnosis is not always accurate, epidemiology of PML, including the true incidence and patient characteristics, is incompletely described.Objectives: To identify pharmacological treatments preceding diagnosis of definitive, probable and possible PML, after excluding incorrect PML diagnoses by medical record review.Methods: Patients with a PML diagnosis in Sweden between 1988 and 2013 were identified through the Patient register using ICD 9 code 046D and ICD 10code A81.2 (n = 281). Medical records were reviewed and information on clinical characteristics and pharmacological treatments were collected. Each of the diagnoses was determined as definite PML, possible PML, probable PML or non-PML based on the consensus statement for the AAN neuroinfectious disease section published in 2013. (PMCID: 3662270).Results: Medical records for 251 patients (89%) were available and examined. In total, 84 (33%) of the 251 PML diagnoses were confirmed. For those with a record of being exposed to immunosuppressant drugs, 60 (65%) of the 92 records were confirmed as being definite PML. Among 12 patients exposed to rituximab 11 (92%) had definite and 1 (8%) had probable PML. For the 9 natalizumab users, 8 (89%) had definite PML and 1 (11%) was diagnosed incorrectly.Conclusions: A substantial proportion of PML diagnoses recorded in Sweden are incorrect, however amongst those exposed to immunosuppressants such as rituximab and natalizumab the majority of diagnoses are correct. Assessing immunosuppressive drug history could be an important part of the diagnostic processes for PML.
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| 4. |
- Burkill, Sarah, et al.
(författare)
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The association between exposure to interferon-beta during pregnancy and birth measurements in offspring of women with multiple sclerosis
- 2019
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : PLOS. - 1932-6203. ; 28:Suppl. 2, s. 371-372
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Interferon-beta (IFN-beta) is a commonly used treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). Current guidelines recommend cessation of treatment during pregnancy, however the results of past studies on the safety of prenatal exposure to IFN-beta have been conflicting. A large scale study of a population of MS women is therefore warranted.OBJECTIVES: To assess whether, among those born to women with MS, infants prenatally exposed to IFN-beta show evidence of smaller size at birth relative to infants which were not prenatally exposed to any MS disease modifying drugs.METHODS: Swedish and Finnish register data was used. Births to women with MS in Sweden and Finland between 2005-2014 for which a birth measurement for weight, height, and head circumference was available were included. The exposure window was from 6 months prior to LMP to the end of pregnancy.RESULTS: In Sweden, 411 pregnancies were identified as exposed to IFN-beta during the exposure window, and 835 pregnancies were counted as unexposed to any MS DMD. The corresponding numbers for Finland were 232 and 331 respectively. Infants prenatally exposed to interferon-beta were on average 28 grams heavier (p = 0.17), 0.01 cm longer (p = 0.95), and had head circumferences 0.14 cm larger (p = 0.13) in Sweden. In Finland, infants were 50 grams lighter (p = 0.27), 0.02 cm shorter (p = 0.92) and had head circumferences 0.22 cm smaller (p = 0.15) relative to those unexposed.CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that exposure to IFN-beta during pregnancy does not influence birth weight, length, or head circumference.
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| 5. |
- Burkill, Sarah, et al.
(författare)
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The association between multiple sclerosis and pain medications
- 2019
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Ingår i: Pain. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0304-3959 .- 1872-6623. ; 160:2, s. 424-432
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are at greater risk of pain than people without the disease; however, the occurrence and characteristics of pain among these patients are incompletely described. We aimed to assess characteristics of pain amongst MS patients using MS patients who were recruited to participate in 3 studies in Sweden (n = 3877) and were matched with individuals without MS (n = 4548) by sex, year of birth, and region of residence. The Prescribed Drugs Register identified prescribed pain medication, overall and restricted to those given 4 or more prescriptions in 1 year to assess chronic pain. Anatomical therapeutic chemical codes classified whether pain was neuropathic, musculoskeletal, or migraine. Cox-proportional hazard models were used to estimate associations. Our findings showed patients with MS were at increased risk of pain treatment, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.52 (95% confidence interval 2.38-2.66). The largest magnitude HR was for neuropathic pain (5.73, 5.07-6.47) for which 34.2% (n = 1326) of the MS and 7.15% (n = 325) of the non-MS cohort were prescribed a treatment. The HR for chronic pain treatment was 3.55 (3.27-3.84), indicating an increased effect size relative to any pain treatment. Chronic neuropathic pain showed the largest HR at 7.43 (6.21-8.89). Neuropathic pain was shown to be the primary mechanism leading to increased risk of pain in patients with MS.
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| 6. |
- Clapham, Eric, et al.
(författare)
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Suicide Ideation and Behavior as Risk Factors for Subsequent Suicide in Schizophrenia : A Nested Case-Control Study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Suicide and Life-threatening Behaviour. - : WILEY. - 0363-0234 .- 1943-278X. ; 49:4, s. 996-1005
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective To investigate suicide ideation and behavior as risk factors for suicide in schizophrenia during varying time periods. Method Cases were 84 patients who died by suicide within 5 years from diagnosis in a source population of patients discharged for the first time from psychiatric hospitals in Stockholm County, Sweden, with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis. One control was individually matched with each suicide case. Data were retrieved from clinical records in a blind fashion. Thoughts of death, thoughts of suicide, suicide plan, and suicide attempt during varying time periods were investigated as risk factors for subsequent completed suicide. Results In adjusted analyses, thoughts of suicide, suicide plan, and suicide attempt were significantly associated with subsequent completed suicide in the following year. The highest suicide risk was found within a year following suicide attempt (adjusted OR 9.9, 95% confidence interval 2.5-39.0). The association between suicide ideation and behavior and subsequent suicide declined over time. Conclusions Several types of suicide ideation and behavior were associated with suicide, and the association was stronger for suicidal behavior. The clinical significance of suicidal communication appears highest during the following month or/and year. Many suicides occurred without recorded short-term suicidal communication.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Ekstrand, Charlotta, et al.
(författare)
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Patient characteristics when starting treatment and patterns of treatment in adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia
- 2019
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Ingår i: Blood Coagulation and Fibrinolysis. - : LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. - 0957-5235 .- 1473-5733. ; 30:7, s. 350-356
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Asymptomatic patients with primary chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) are not recommended treatment if their platelet counts are above 30 x 10(9)/l. Factors such as age and comorbidities may influence clinical manifestations and should be considered for treatment decisions. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of clinical characteristics for initiation of ITP treatment, and the patterns of ITP treatment given. We performed an observational cohort study in Sweden with information from medical records and National Health Registers. Adults diagnosed with incident primary ITP between years 2009 and 2016 were included. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the impact of factors predicting treatment start. Out of 858 patients with chronic ITP from 71 hospitals we identified 585 (68%) with a first ITP treatment. For 537 (92%) corticosteroids were the first choice. The median platelet counts at start of treatment was 12 x 10(9)/l (interquartile range 5-27 x 10(9)/l). The variables predicting treatment start were platelet counts below 20 x 10(9)/l and treatment with antihypertensive drugs. Patients with diabetes were less likely to receive corticosteroids. Severe bleeding occurred in 75 (13%) of the patients. Platelet counts below 20 x 10(9)/l, antihypertensive treatment and bleedings were the strongest predictors of treatment start, diabetes yielded lower odds to start corticosteroid treatment. The majority of the patients had corticosteroids as first treatment while second treatment was diverse. Asymptomatic thrombocytopenia is not considered a reason as such for initiating treatment. In the latter years, splenectomy seemed to occur later in the course of treatment.
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| 10. |
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