The prognosis for individuals on disability retirement An 18-year mortality follow-up study of 6887 men and women sampled from the general population

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown a markedly higher mortality rate among disability pensioners than among non-retired. Since most disability pensions are granted because of non-fatal diseases the reason for the increased mortality therefore remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential explanatory factors. METHODS: Data from five longitudinal cohort studies in Sweden, including 6,887 men and women less than 65 years old at baseline were linked to disability pension data, hospital admission data, and mortality data from 1971 until 2001. Mortality odds ratios were analyzed with Poisson regression and Cox's proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: 1,683 (24.4%) subjects had a disability pension at baseline or received one during follow up. 525 (7.6%) subjects died during follow up. The subjects on disability pension had a higher mortality rate than the non-retired, the hazards ratio (HR) being 2.78 (95%CI 2.08–3.71) among women and 3.43 (95%CI 2.61–4.51) among men. HR was highest among individuals granted a disability pension at young ages (HR >7), and declined parallel to age at which the disability pension was granted. The higher mortality rate among the retired subjects was not explained by disability pension cause or underlying disease or differences in age, marital status, educational level, smoking habits or drug abuse. There was no significant association between reason for disability pension and cause of death. CONCLUSION: Subjects with a disability pension had increased mortality rates as compared with non-retired subjects, only modestly affected by adjustments for psycho-socio-economic factors, underlying disease, etcetera. It is unlikely that these factors were the causes of the unfavorable outcome. Other factors must be at work

Patient-reported outcomes in palliative gastrointestinal stenting: a Norwegian multicenter study

Background The clinical effect of stent treatment has been evaluated by mainly physicians; only a limited number of prospective studies have used patient-reported outcomes for this purpose. The aim of this work was to study the clinical effect of self-expanding metal stents in treatment of malignant gastrointestinal obstructions, as evaluated by patient-reported outcomes, and compare the rating of the treatment effect by patients and physicians. Methods Between November 2006 and April 2008, 273 patients treated with SEMS for malignant GI and biliary obstructions were recruited from nine Norwegian hospitals. Patients and physicians assessed symptoms independently at the time of treatment and after 2 weeks using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 questionnaire supplemented with specific questions related to obstruction. Results A total of 162 patients (99 males; median age = 72 years) completed both assessments and were included in the study. A significant improvement in the mean global health score was observed after 2 weeks (from 9 to 18 on a 0–100 scale, P\0.03) for all stent locations. Both patients and physicians reported a significant reduction in all obstruction-related symptoms ([20 on the 0–100 scale, P\0.006) after SEMS treatment. The physicians reported a larger mean improvement in symptoms than did the patients, mainly because they reported more severe symptoms before treatment. Conclusion SEMS treatment is effective in relieving symptoms of malignant GI and biliary obstruction, as reported by patients and physicians. The physicians, however, reported a larger reduction in obstructive symptoms than did the patients. A prospective assessment of patientreported outcomes is important in evaluating SEMS treatment

The profile of psychiatric symptoms exacerbated by methamphetamine use

Background: Methamphetamine use can produce symptoms almost indistinguishable from schizophrenia. Distinguishing between the two conditions has been hampered by the lack of a validated symptom profile for methamphetamine-induced psychiatric symptoms. We use data from a longitudinal cohort study to examine the profile of psychiatric symptoms that are acutely exacerbated by methamphetamine use. Methods: 164 methamphetamine users, who did not meet DSM-IV criteria for a lifetime primary psychotic disorder, were followed monthly for one year to assess the relationship between days of methamphetamine use and symptom severity on the 24-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms with methamphetamine use was quantified using random coefficient models. The dimensions of symptom exacerbation were examined using principal axis factoring and a latent profile analysis. Results: Symptoms exacerbated by methamphetamine loaded on three factors: positive psychotic symptoms (suspiciousness, unusual thought content, hallucinations, bizarre behavior); affective symptoms (depression, suicidality, guilt, hostility, somatic concern, self-neglect); and psychomotor symptoms (tension, excitement, distractibility, motor hyperactivity). Methamphetamine use did not significantly increase negative symptoms. Vulnerability to positive psychotic and affective symptom exacerbation was shared by 28% of participants, and this vulnerability aligned with a past year DSM-IV diagnosis of substance-induced psychosis (38% vs. 22%, χ2(df1) = 3.66, p = 0.056). Conclusion: Methamphetamine use produced a symptom profile comprised of positive psychotic and affective symptoms, which aligned with a diagnosis of substance-induced psychosis, with no evidence of a negative syndrome

Incidence and Characterisation of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from Nasal Colonisation in Participants Attending a Cattle Veterinary Conference in the UK

We sought to determine the prevalence of nasal colonisation with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among cattle veterinarians in the UK. There was particular interest in examining the frequency of colonisation with MRSA harbouring mecC, as strains with this mecA homologue were originally identified in bovine milk and may represent a zoonotic risk to those in contact with dairy livestock. Three hundred and seven delegates at the British Cattle Veterinarian Association (BCVA) Congress 2011 in Southport, UK were screening for nasal colonisation with MRSA. Isolates were characterised by whole genome sequencing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Eight out of three hundred and seven delegates (2.6%) were positive for nasal colonisation with MRSA. All strains were positive for mecA and none possessed mecC. The time since a delegate’s last visit to a farm was significantly shorter in the MRSA-positive group than in MRSA-negative counterparts. BCVA delegates have an increased risk of MRSA colonisation compared to the general population but their frequency of colonisation is lower than that reported from other types of veterinarian conference, and from that seen in human healthcare workers. The results indicate that recent visitation to a farm is a risk factor for MRSA colonisation and that mecC-MRSA are rare among BCVA delegates (<1% based on sample size). Contact with livestock, including dairy cattle, may still be a risk factor for human colonisation with mecC-MRSA but occurs at a rate below the lower limit of detection available in this study

Secular reduction of excess mortality in hip fracture patients >85 years

Background More than 20% of the hip fracture patients die within the first year after the incident. Few data are available on the trends in mortality following a hip fracture. The present aim was to study changes in excess mortality after hip fracture from 1978/79 up to 1996/97. Methods Data on 5180 hip fracture patients aged ≥ 50 years, identified in three earlier, well validated, incidence studies from Oslo were used. The studies took place in the two years periods 1978–79 and 1989–89 and in a one year period from 1st of May 1996 to 30th of April 1997. The study was designed as a historic cohort study. Exposure was sustaining a hip fracture in the registration periods. Outcome was death of all causes. Age- and sex-specific one year-mortality rates were provided by Statistics Norway. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated for the three cohorts for each sex and age-group, for the 0–6 months, 6–12 months, 0–1 year, 1–5 years and 5–10 years intervals after fracture. To assess the duration of the excess mortality in hip fracture patients, time-framed Kaplan-Meier curves for consecutive 5-years intervals were conducted for the hip fracture patients and the corresponding background population. Only patients still alive at the start of the time interval were included. One sample log rank tests were used to test for statistical significance. Results The one-year SMR ranged from 3.64 (2.82 – 4.61) to 4.53 (3.67 – 5.54) in men and from 2.78 (2.39 – 3.19) to 3.60 (3.19 – 4.05) in women. In the 0–6 months interval a reduction in SMR from 1978/79 to 1996/97 was observed in women aged ≥85 years. The duration of excess mortality ranged from two years in men ≥85 years to more than ten years in men and women aged 65–84 years. Conclusion Excess mortality among hip fracture patients remains high. Over the decades, a reduced excess mortality was mainly seen in the oldest patients, suggesting that specific efforts intending to improve prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures in the youngest elderly are required