Mortality after distal radius fracture in men and women aged 50 years and older in southern Norway

Increased mortality rates in patients sustaining hip and vertebral fractures are well documented; however in distal radius fracture patients the results are conflicting. The aim of this study was to examine short- and long-term mortality in distal radius fracture patient in comparison with the background population. Patients aged ≥50 years with distal radius fracture living in Southern Norway who suffered a fracture in the two year period 2004 and 2005 were included in the study. The mortality risk of the standard Norwegian population was used to calculate the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). The number of distal radius fractures was 883 (166 men and 717 women). Mean age was 69 years (men 65 years and women 70 years). After one year the overall mortality rate was 3.4% (men 5.4% and women 2.9%) and after five years 4.6% (men 4.0% and women 4.8%). The SMR for men and women compared to the Norwegian population for the first year was 1.6 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.6, 2.7) and 0.9 (95% CI: 0.4, 1.2), respectively, and after five years 1.7 (95% CI: 0.3, 3.0) and 2.0 (95% CI: 1.2, 2.7). Stratified on age groups (50–70 and >70 years) an increased SMR was only seen in female patients aged >70 years five years after the fracture (SMR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.6). In conclusion, increased SMR was found in female patients aged >70 years five years after the distal radius fracture, but not in men or in women younger than 70 years.© 2014 Øyen et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Public Sector Reform and Governance for Adaptation: Implications of New Public Management for Adaptive Capacity in Mexico and Norway

Although many governments are assuming the responsibility of initiating adaptation policy in relation to climate change, the compatibility of “governance-for-adaptation” with the current paradigms of public administration has generally been overlooked. Over the last several decades, countries around the globe have embraced variants of the philosophy of administration broadly called “New Public Management” (NPM) in an effort to improve administrative efficiencies and the provision of public services. Using evidence from a case study of reforms in the building sector in Norway, and a case study of water and flood risk management in central Mexico, we analyze the implications of the adoption of the tenets of NPM for adaptive capacity. Our cases illustrate that some of the key attributes associated with governance for adaptation—namely, technical and financial capacities; institutional memory, learning and knowledge; and participation and accountability—have been eroded by NPM reforms. Despite improvements in specific operational tasks of the public sector in each case, we show that the success of NPM reforms presumes the existence of core elements of governance that have often been found lacking, including solid institutional frameworks and accountability. Our analysis illustrates the importance of considering both longer-term adaptive capacities and short-term efficiency goals in public sector administration reform

Distinct genetic architectures for syndromic and nonsyndromic congenital heart defects identified by exome sequencing.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) have a neonatal incidence of 0.8-1% (refs. 1,2). Despite abundant examples of monogenic CHD in humans and mice, CHD has a low absolute sibling recurrence risk (∼2.7%), suggesting a considerable role for de novo mutations (DNMs) and/or incomplete penetrance. De novo protein-truncating variants (PTVs) have been shown to be enriched among the 10% of 'syndromic' patients with extra-cardiac manifestations. We exome sequenced 1,891 probands, including both syndromic CHD (S-CHD, n = 610) and nonsyndromic CHD (NS-CHD, n = 1,281). In S-CHD, we confirmed a significant enrichment of de novo PTVs but not inherited PTVs in known CHD-associated genes, consistent with recent findings. Conversely, in NS-CHD we observed significant enrichment of PTVs inherited from unaffected parents in CHD-associated genes. We identified three genome-wide significant S-CHD disorders caused by DNMs in CHD4, CDK13 and PRKD1. Our study finds evidence for distinct genetic architectures underlying the low sibling recurrence risk in S-CHD and NS-CHD

Elite perceptions of the poor: reflections for a comparative research project

This articlc presents the theoretical foundations for an ongoing researchproject on elites and their perceptions of poverty and poor people withintheir own societies. We are addressing this topic for two reasons. First, virtuallynothing is known about such perceptions in most societies, especiallyin less developed countries where poverty is most serious and where ourwork is mainly focused. Second, the way in which elites perceive and definepoverty can powerfully affect social policy and the quality of life of the poor

Mortality after distal radius fracture in men and women aged 50 years and older in southern Norway

Increased mortality rates in patients sustaining hip and vertebral fractures are well documented; however in distal radius fracture patients the results are conflicting. The aim of this study was to examine short- and long-term mortality in distal radius fracture patient in comparison with the background population. Patients aged ≥50 years with distal radius fracture living in Southern Norway who suffered a fracture in the two year period 2004 and 2005 were included in the study. The mortality risk of the standard Norwegian population was used to calculate the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). The number of distal radius fractures was 883 (166 men and 717 women). Mean age was 69 years (men 65 years and women 70 years). After one year the overall mortality rate was 3.4% (men 5.4% and women 2.9%) and after five years 4.6% (men 4.0% and women 4.8%). The SMR for men and women compared to the Norwegian population for the first year was 1.6 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.6, 2.7) and 0.9 (95% CI: 0.4, 1.2), respectively, and after five years 1.7 (95% CI: 0.3, 3.0) and 2.0 (95% CI: 1.2, 2.7). Stratified on age groups (50–70 and >70 years) an increased SMR was only seen in female patients aged >70 years five years after the fracture (SMR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.6). In conclusion, increased SMR was found in female patients aged >70 years five years after the distal radius fracture, but not in men or in women younger than 70 years

Percentage mortality rates and standardized mortality ratios (SMR) in distal radius fracture patients one and five years after the fracture.

<p>Percentage mortality rates and standardized mortality ratios (SMR) in distal radius fracture patients one and five years after the fracture.</p