Background:
Previous economic studies of person-centered palliative home care have been conducted mainly among patients with cancer. Studies on cost-effectiveness of advanced home care for patients ...with severe heart failure are lacking when a diagnosis of heart failure is the only main disease as the inclusion criterion.
Aim:
To assess the cost-effectiveness of a new concept of care called person-centered integrated heart failure and palliative home care.
Design:
A randomized controlled trial was conducted from January 2011 to 2013 at a center in Sweden. Data collection included cost estimates for health care and the patients’ responses to the EQ-5D quality of life instrument.
Setting/participants:
Patients with chronic and severe heart failure were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 36) or control (n = 36) group. The intervention group received the Palliative Advanced Home Care and Heart Failure Care intervention over 6 months. The control group received the same care that is usually provided by a primary health care center or heart failure clinic at the hospital.
Results:
EQ-5D data indicated that the intervention resulted in a gain of 0.25 quality-adjusted life years, and cost analysis showed a significant cost reduction with the Palliative Advanced Home Care and Heart Failure Care intervention. Even if costs for staffing are higher than usual care, this is more than made up for by the reduced need for hospital-based care. This intervention made it possible for the county council to use €50,000 for other needs.
Conclusion:
The Palliative Advanced Home Care and Heart Failure Care working mode saves financial resources and should be regarded as very cost-effective.
Background and objective:
In Sweden, mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) increased steadily during the 20th century and in the mid-1980s it was highest in the county of Västerbotten. ...Therefore, a community intervention programme was launched - the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP) - with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality from CVD and diabetes.
Design
: The VIP was first developed in the small municipality of Norsjö in 1985. Subsequently, it was successively implemented across the county and is now integrated into ordinary primary care routines. A population-based strategy directed towards the public is combined with a strategy to reach all middle-aged persons individually at ages 40, 50 and 60 years, by inviting them to participate in systematic risk factor screening and individual counselling about healthy lifestyle habits. Blood samples for research purposes are stored at the Umeå University Medical Biobank.
Results:
Overall, 113,203 health examinations have been conducted in the VIP and 6,500-7,000 examinations take place each year. Almost 27,000 subjects have participated twice. Participation rates have ranged between 48 and 67%. A dropout rate analysis in 1998 indicated only a small social selection bias. Cross-sectional, nested case-control studies and prospective studies have been based on the VIP data. Linkages between the VIP and local, regional and national databases provide opportunities for interdisciplinary research, as well as national and international collaborations on a wide range of disease outcomes. A large number of publications are based on data that are collected in the VIP, many of which also use results from analysed stored blood samples. More than 20 PhD theses have been based primarily on the VIP data.
Conclusions:
The concept of the VIP, established as a collaboration between politicians and health care providers on the one hand and primary care, functioning as the operating machinery, and the public on the other, forms the basis for effective implementation and endurance over time. After more than 20 years of the VIP, there is a large comprehensive population-based database, a stable organisation to conduct health surveys and collect data, and a solid structure to enable widespread multidisciplinary and scientific collaborations.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Patients in Sweden's rural community hospitals have not been clinically characterised. We compared characteristics of patients in general practitioner-led community hospitals in northern Sweden with ...those admitted to general hospitals.
Retrospective register study.
Community and general hospitals in Västerbotten and Norrbotten counties, Sweden.
Patients enrolled at community hospitals and hospitalised in community and general hospitals between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014.
Age, sex, number of admissions, main, secondary and total number of diagnoses.
We recorded 16,133 admissions to community hospitals and 60,704 admissions to general hospitals. Mean age was 76.8 and 61.2 years for community and general hospital patients (p < .001). Women were more likely than men to be admitted to a community hospital after age adjustment (odds ratio (OR): 1.11; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09-1.17). The most common diagnoses in community hospital were heart failure (6%) and pneumonia (5%). Patients with these diagnoses were more likely to be admitted to a community than a general hospital (OR: 2.36; 95% CI: 2.15-2.59; vs. OR: 3.32: 95% CI: 2.77-3.98, respectively, adjusted for age and sex). In both community and general hospitals, doctors assigned more diagnoses to men than to women (both p<.001).
Patients at community hospitals were predominantly older and women, while men were assigned more diagnoses. The most common diagnoses were heart failure and pneumonia. Our observed differences should be further explored to define the optimal care for patients in community and general hospitals.
Key points
The patient characteristics at Swedish general practitioner-led rural community hospitals have not yet been reported. This study characterises inpatients in community hospitals compared to those referred to general hospitals.
* Patients at community hospitals were predominantly older, with various medical conditions that would have led to a referral to general hospitals elsewhere in Sweden.
* Compared to men, women were more likely to be admitted to community hospitals than to general hospitals, even after adjustment for age. To the best of our knowledge, this pattern has not been reported in other countries with community hospitals.
* In both community hospitals and general hospitals, doctors assigned more diagnoses to men than to women.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Objectives This study investigated whether overweight and obesity impacted outcome in patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS). Background Increased body mass index (BMI) is a strong predictor of ...higher cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in the general population but not among patients undergoing heart surgery. Methods Cardiovascular events in 1,664 patients with initially asymptomatic AS were recorded during a mean of 4.3 years of follow-up in the SEAS (Simvastatin Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis) study. Patients were grouped according to baseline BMI class. Results Overweight (n = 737) and obese patients (n = 334) had higher prevalence of hypertension, more abnormal left ventricular geometry, and lower stress-corrected midwall shortening throughout the study compared with normal weight patients (all p < 0.01). The AS progression rate did not differ between BMI classes. In univariate Cox regression, overweight was associated with a 17% to 22% lower rate of AS-related (p = 0.04) and ischemic CV events (p = 0.05). In multivariate analyses, adjusting for AS severity and differences in baseline characteristics, overweight had no significant influence on the rate of ischemic CV or AS-related events, whereas overweight and obesity had 46% and 67% higher rate of total mortality and 42% and 69% higher rate of combined hospital stay for heart failure and death from any cause, respectively, compared with normal weight patients (all p < 0.05). Conclusions In patients with initially asymptomatic AS participating in the SEAS study, overweight and obesity did not influence AS progression or rate of AS-related or ischemic CV events but were both associated with increased mortality.
BACKGROUND: High intakes of saturated fat have been associated with cardiovascular disease, and milk fat is rich in saturated fat. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the ...association between the serum milk fat biomarkers pentadecanoic acid (15:0), heptadecanoic acid (17:0), and their sum (15:0+17:0) and a first myocardial infarction (MI). DESIGN: The study design was a prospective case-control study nested within a large population-based cohort in Sweden. Included in the study were 444 cases (307 men) and 556 controls (308 men) matched on sex, age, date of examination, and geographic region. Clinical, anthropometric, biomarker fatty acid, physical activity, and dietary data were collected. The odds of a first MI were investigated by using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: In women, proportions of milk fat biomarkers in plasma phospholipids were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in controls than in cases and were, in general, negatively, albeit weakly, correlated with risk factors for metabolic syndrome. The crude standardized odds ratios of becoming an MI case were 0.74 (95% CI: 0.58, 0.94) in women and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.77, 1.1) in men. After multivariable adjustment for confounders, the inverse association remained in both sexes and was significant in women. In agreement with biomarker data, quartiles of reported intake of cheese (men and women) and fermented milk products (men) were inversely related to a first MI (P for trend < 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Milk fat biomarkers were associated with a lower risk of developing a first MI, especially in women. This was partly confirmed in analysis of fermented milk and cheese intake. Components of metabolic syndrome were observed as potential intermediates for the risk relations.
Abstract Objective A significant reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular disease, including abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), has been observed in the past decades. In this study, a small but ...geographically well defined and carefully characterized population, previously screened for AAA and risk factors, was re-examined 11 years later. The aim was to study the reduction of AAA prevalence and associated factors. Methods All men and women aged 65 to 75 years living in the Norsjö municipality in northern Sweden in January 2010 were invited to an ultrasound examination of the abdominal aorta, registration of body parameters and cardiovascular risk factors, and blood sampling. An AAA was defined as an infrarenal aortic diameter ≥30 mm. Results were compared with a corresponding investigation conducted in 1999 in the same region. Results A total of 602 subjects were invited, of whom 540 (90%) accepted. In 2010, the AAA prevalence was 5.7% (95% confidence interval CI, 2.8%-8.5%) among men compared with 16.9% (95% CI, 12.3%-21.6%) in 1999 ( P < .001). The corresponding figure for women was 1.1% (95% CI, 0.0%-2.4%) vs 3.5% (95% CI, 1.2%-5.8%; P = .080). A low prevalence of smoking was observed in 2010 as well as in 1999, with only 13% and 10% current smokers, respectively ( P = .16). Treatment for hypertension was significantly more common in 2010 (58% vs 44%; P < .001). Statins increased in the population (34% in 2010 vs 3% in 1999; P < .001), and the lipid profile in women had improved significantly between 1999 and 2010. Conclusions A highly significant reduction in AAA prevalence was observed during 11 years in Norsjö. Treatment for hypertension and with statins was more frequent, whereas smoking habits remained low. This indicates that smoking is not the only driver behind AAA occurrence and that lifestyle changes and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors may play an equally important role in the observed recent decline in AAA prevalence.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH; high LV mass LVM) is traditionally classified as concentric or eccentric based on LV relative wall thickness. We evaluated the prediction of subsequent adverse ...events in a new 4-group LVH classification based on LV dilatation (high LV end-diastolic volume EDV index) and concentricity (mass/end-diastolic volume M/EDV(2/3)) in hypertensive patients.
In the Losartan Intervention for Endpoint Reduction (LIFE) echocardiography substudy, 939 hypertensive patients with measurable LVM at baseline were randomized to a mean of 4.8 years of losartan- or atenolol-based treatment. Patients with LVH (LVM/body surface area ≥116 and ≥96 g/m(2) in men and woman, respectively) were divided into 4 groups-concentric nondilated (increased M/EDV, normal EDV), eccentric dilated (increased EDV, normal M/EDV), concentric dilated (increased M/EDV and EDV), and eccentric nondilated (normal M/EDV and EDV)-and compared with patients with normal LVM. Time-varying LVH classes were tested for association with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and a composite end point of myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, and cardiovascular death in multivariable Cox analyses. At baseline, the LVs were categorized as eccentric nondilated in 12%, eccentric dilated in 20%, concentric nondilated in 29%, concentric dilated in 14%, and normal LVM in 25%. Treatment changed the prevalence of 4 LVH groups to 23%, 4%, 5%, and 7%; 62% had normal LVM after 4 years. In time-varying Cox analyses, compared with normal LVM, those with eccentric dilated and both concentric nondilated and dilated LVH had increased risks of all-cause or cardiovascular mortality or the composite end point, whereas the eccentric nondilated group did not.
Hypertensive patients with relatively mild LVH without either increased LV volume or concentricity have similar risk of all-cause mortality or cardiovascular events because hypertensive patients with normal LVM seem to be a low-risk group.
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00338260.
ObjectivesTo examine healthcare resource use (HRU) and costs among heart failure (HF) patients using population data from Sweden.DesignRetrospective, non-interventional cohort study.SettingTwo ...cohorts were identified from linked national health registers (cohort 1, 2005–2014) and electronic medical records (cohort 2, 2010–2012; primary/secondary care patients from Uppsala and Västerbotten).ParticipantsPatients (aged ≥18 years) with primary or secondary diagnoses of HF (≥2 International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision classification) during the identification period of January 2005 to March 2015 were included.Outcome measuresHRU across the HF phenotypes was assessed with logistic regression. Costs were estimated based on diagnosis-related group codes and general price lists.ResultsTotal annual costs of secondary care of prevalent HF increased from SEK 6.23 (€0.60) to 8.86 (€0.85) billion between 2005 and 2014. Of 4648 incident patients, HF phenotype was known for 1715: reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF): 64.5%, preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF): 35.5%. Within 1 year of HF diagnosis, the proportion of patients hospitalised was only marginally higher for HFrEF versus HFpEF (all-cause (95% CI): 64.7% (60.8 to 68.4) vs 63.7% (60.8 to 66.5), HR 0.91, p=0.14; cardiovascular disease related (95% CI): 61.1% (57.1 to 64.8) vs 60.9% (58.0 to 63.7), HR 0.93, p=0.28). Frequency of hospitalisations and outpatient visits per patient declined after the first year. All-cause secondary care costs in the first year were SEK 122 758 (€12 890)/patient/year, with HF-specific care accounting for 69% of the costs. Overall, 10% of the most expensive population (younger; predominantly male; more likely to have comorbidities) incurred ~40% of total secondary care costs.ConclusionsHF-associated costs and HRU are high, especially during the first year of diagnosis. This is driven by high hospitalisations rates. Understanding the profile of resource-intensive patients being at younger age, male sex and high Charlson comorbidity index scores at the time of the HF diagnosis is most likely a sign of more severe disease.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP) by comparing all eligible individuals (target group impact) according to the intention-to-treat principle and VIP ...participants with the general Swedish population.DesignDynamic cohort study.Setting/participantsAll individuals aged 40, 50 or 60 years, residing in Västerbotten County, Sweden, between 1990 and 2006 (N=101 918) were followed from their first opportunity to participate in the VIP until age 75, study end point or prior death.InterventionThe VIP is a systematic, long-term, county-wide cardiovascular disease (CVD) intervention that is performed within the primary healthcare setting and combines individual and population approaches. The core component is a health dialogue based on a physical examination and a comprehensive questionnaire at the ages of 40, 50 and 60 years.Primary outcomesAll-cause and CVD mortality.ResultsFor the target group, there were 5646 deaths observed over 1 054 607 person-years. Compared to Sweden at large, the standardised all-cause mortality ratio was 90.6% (95% CI 88.2% to 93.0%): for women 87.9% (95% CI 84.1% to 91.7%) and for men 92.2% (95% CI 89.2% to 95.3%). For CVD, the ratio was 95.0% (95% CI 90.7% to 99.4%): for women 90.4% (95% CI 82.6% to 98.7%) and for men 96.8% (95% CI 91.7 to 102.0). For participants, subject to further impact as well as selection, when compared to Sweden at large, the standardised all-cause mortality ratio was 66.3% (95% CI 63.7% to 69.0%), whereas the CVD ratio was 68.9% (95% CI 64.2% to 73.9%). For the target group as well as for the participants, standardised mortality ratios for all-cause mortality were reduced within all educational strata.ConclusionsThe study suggests that the VIP model of CVD prevention is able to impact on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality when evaluated according to the intention-to-treat principle.
Dietary risks today constitute the largest proportion of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally and in Sweden. An increasing number of people today consume highly processed foods high in ...saturated fat, refined sugar and salt and low in dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. It is important that dietary trends over time are monitored to predict changes in disease risk.
In total, 15,995 individuals with two visits 10 (±1) years apart in the population-based Västerbotten Intervention Programme 1996-2014 were included. Dietary intake was captured with a 64-item food frequency questionnaire. Percent changes in intake of dietary components, Healthy Diet Score and Dietary Inflammatory Index were calculated and related to body mass index (BMI), serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels and blood pressure at the second visit in multivariable regression analyses.
For both sexes, on group level, proportion of energy intake (E%) from carbohydrates and sucrose decreased (largest carbohydrate decrease among 40 year-olds) and E% protein and total fat as well as saturated and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) increased (highest protein increase among 30 year-olds and highest fat increase among 60 year-olds) over the 10-year period. Also, E% trans-fatty acids decreased. On individual basis, for both sexes decreases in intake of cholesterol and trans-fatty acids were associated with lower BMI and serum cholesterol at second visit (all P < 0.05). For men, increases in intake of whole grain and Healthy Diet Score were associated with lower BMI and serum cholesterol at second visit (all P < 0.05). Also for men, decreases in intake of trans-fatty acids and increases in Healthy Diet Score were associated with lower systolic blood pressure at second visit (P = 0.002 and P < 0.000). For women, increases in intake of PUFA and Healthy Diet Score were associated with lower BMI at second visit (P = 0.01 and P < 0.05). Surprisingly, increases in intake of sucrose among women were associated with lower BMI at second visit (P = 0.02).
In this large population-based sample, dietary changes over 10 years towards less carbohydrates and more protein and fat were noted. Individual changes towards the Nordic dietary recommendations were associated with healthier cardio-metabolic risk factor profile at second visit.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
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