All cases of ALS in Sweden during the period 1970-1983, i.e., 1961 cases, were compared with an age-stratified random sample of 2245 individuals from the Swedish population. On the basis of census information, the male cases were found to be heterogeneously distributed over occupational groups. Significantly more male cases than expected were found among office workers (OR = 1.8; 34 cases) as well as among farm workers (OR = 1.7; 56 cases). There was a cluster of male cases in agricultural work in one south-western county (OR = 3.4; 25 cases). Significantly more female cases than expected were medical service workers (OR = 1.7; 33 cases).
This article is a summary of the Public Health Report submitted to the Swedish Parliament in 1987. Health development, especially that of underprivileged groups, is regarded as an indicator of the quality of social and economic development of the country. Sweden is a very egalitarian country, but in spite of decreasing inequalities in living standards, the Report shows increasing inequalities in health. At the same time, the state has put restraints on health care spending, and the shift in the health care budget toward more primary care has stopped. This development seriously impairs the ability of the health and medical services to cope with inequities described in this Report.
The subject of this study was to investigate the relationship between prescription of cholesterol-lowering drugs and depression. We used prescription of antidepressants as a proxy for depression and analysed the prescription order for cholesterol-lowering and antidepressant drugs. The ratio of persons with antidepressants prescribed second and first translates directly into a rate ratio (RR) associating cholesterol-lowering drugs use with antidepressants. The crude RRs were then adjusted for trends in sales of the drugs over the study period. All residents of Funen, Denmark, who started the two therapies during the period 1 April 1991 through 31 December 1995 were included in the study cohort. Of 184 individuals included in the analysis, 105 started antidepressant first and 79 second, giving a crude RR of 0.75. However, the sales of cholesterol-lowering drugs increased more than the sales of antidepressants. Accordingly, the adjusted RR was higher than the crude, 0.90 (95% confidence interval 0.68 to 1.22). Among three tested cholesterol-lowering drug classes, only simvastatin showed an adjusted RR above unity (1.59, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 2.45). The hypothesis that the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs has an adverse effect on mood is not supported by the present study. Confounding by indication might explain the apparent association between use of simvastatin and antidepressants.
Clinical investigations on depigmentation of the pupillary border and translucency of the iris in cases of senile cataract and in normal eyes in elderly persons.
A computer system for probabilistic diagnosis of jaundice was tested on a patient sample from a geographical area different from that for which it was first constructed. 144 consecutive patients with jaundice seen in two Stockholm hospitals were interviewed and examined to record a total of 82 indicants from history, demographic details, physical findings and laboratory tests. Data were compared with those of 319 jaundiced patients previously interviewed and examined at different London hospitals. It was found that disease incidences were different in the two patient samples. There were more patients with acute viral hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis in the London data base whereas the Stockholm data base included significantly more patients with Gilbert's syndrome and alcoholic cirrhosis. Indicant frequencies, standardised for disease incidence, differed with respect to age (Stockholm patients were on average six years older), time from onset of first symptom to hospital admission (Stockholm patients had on average a two-week shorter history of disease) and a number of symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, anorexia, weight loss, itching, pale stools and dark urine which were more frequent among the London patients. Differences in hospital admission policy was regarded as an important reason for the differences in indicant frequency. The results of probabilistic diagnosis were poor. Only 49% of the cases were correctly classified into twelve diagnostic groups. In particular the computer model was poor at separating different causes of malignant bile duct obstruction and at differentiating between malignant and benign bile duct obstruction. However, all cases of acute viral hepatitis were correctly classified and the computer model was 87% accurate in differentiating between medical and surgical jaundice. Reclassification of the 144 patients on their own data showed the computer system to be well calibrated and 97% of the cases were correctly classified according to this procedure. In conclusion, the computer system could not be directly transferred for use in a Swedish hospital but the results of reclassification were sufficiently encouraging to warrant prospective studies.
BACKGROUND: Making clinical decisions for psychiatric patients in general practice is a complicated issue. A marked variation in the prescribing rates for antidepressant drugs in general as well as between geographical regions has been reported. Also, GPs tend to underestimate and undertreat depressive disorders. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore GPs' conceptions of depressive disorder and its treatment. METHOD: A qualitative semi-structured interview was carried out on 17 GPs, selected to ensure variation of pre-conditions, in the county of Orebro, Sweden. Informants' conceptions about four depression-related issues were determined: the depressive disorder, antidepressant drugs, the treatment decision and psychotherapy. RESULTS: Conceptions of the four themes varied widely among informants in the interviews. However, the informants shared certain conceptions concerning the selection of drugs and drug treatment of major depression as well as the patient's role in deciding whether or not to treat pharmacologically. CONCLUSIONS: The study adds knowledge of GPs' thoughts about depressive disorder and their diagnostic and treatment preferences. Utilizing the concepts discussed herein, a quantitative study will be conducted to analyse how GPs' conceptions of depression are inter-related.
AIM: To compare prescribing, dosage and blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes in two communities with differences in anti-hyperglycaemic drug utilization. METHODS: A retrospective longitudinal (1984-1994) population-based study in two neighbour towns in southern Sweden. The mean prescribed daily dose was expressed as a fraction of the Defined Daily Dose (DDD) for each drug. RESULTS: In town A, prescribing of oral agents and insulin was predominantly made by one specialized diabetes clinician, while in town B it was spread among several different general practitioners and one specialist. Altogether 44 636 medical visits by 2348 patients were identified. In each town, about 40% of the patients were treated without anti-hyperglycaemic drugs, about 40% with oral agents and about 20% with insulin. However, there were pronounced between-town differences in dosage and glucose control. The mean prescribed daily dose of sulphonylurea monotherapy decreased gradually from approximately 0.7 to approximately 0.5 DDD in town B but remained approximately 0.8 DDD in town A. The proportion of patients on both sulphonylurea and metformin increased substantially in town A but not in town B. In these patients, the mean prescribed daily dose of sulphonylurea exceeded 1.0 DDD in both towns, although it decreased with time in town B. The mean prescribed daily dose of insulin increased from 1.05 to 1.2 DDD in town A but remained virtually unchanged at 0.95 DDD in town B. The mean fasting blood glucose was lower in town A than in town B both overall (7.7 vs. 8.8 mmol/l), in those treated without any anti-hyperglycaemic drugs (7.2 vs. 8.1 mmol/l), in those on sulphonylurea monotherapy (8.3 vs. 9.7 mmol/l) and in those treated with insulin (8.1 vs. 10.2 mmol/l). CONCLUSIONS: Glucose control in routine care was better when most patients were treated by a diabetes specialist and were exposed to more intense pharmacotherapy.
This paper shows that an algorithm for differential diagnosis of jaundice developed in Denmark has been successfully transferred for use in a Swedish hospital. The algorithm, which is based on data from nearly 1000 patients, utilises 21 items of information from the medical history, physical examination and blood chemistry. The algorithm recognises four diagnostic groups: benign obstructive jaundice, malignant obstructive jaundice, acute non-obstructive jaundice, and chronic non-obstructive jaundice. To each item of information, a score is attached reflecting its weight of evidence. Summing the scores for the symptoms and signs that are present leads to a probabilistic statement about the diagnosis. Because of missing data in the Swedish patient material, three of the items were excluded from the original algorithm. Corrections were made for differences in the distribution of diseases. In reclassification of 985 Danish patients the modified algorithm's "best bid", i.e. the diagnosis given the highest probability, was correct in 78% of cases. More important, 93% of the cases given a "confident" diagnosis (probability greater than 0.80) were correct. The corresponding figures when the algorithm was applied to Swedish patients were 76% and 93%, respectively. In both series the predicted probabilities were matched by a corresponding proportion of actual diagnostic hits. It is concluded that the algorithm leads to reliable estimates of diagnostic probabilities in jaundice and that the algorithm seems to work well in Sweden also.
