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Objectives: Despite improved treatment strategies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), some patients do not respond satisfactorily. The aim of this study was to investigate the course and outcome of early RA diagnosed during the 1990s and followed for 8 years with a focus on those who did not respond well to treatment.Method: This study included 640 patients (66% women) who were enrolled in the BARFOT (Better Anti-Rheumatic PharmacOTherapy) RA inception cohort between the years 1993 and 1999. The 28-joint count Disease Activity Score (DAS28) < 2.6 criteria were used to assess remission. Persistent disease (PD) was defined as absence of remission at all predefined follow-up visits at 1, 2, 5, and 8 years. Function was assessed by Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Signals of Functional Impairment (SOFI) scores and radiological joint damage by the Sharp/van der Heijde score (SHS).Results: Of the 640 patients, 214 (37%) had PD (43% of the women and 25% of the men). Over the 8 years of follow-up, patients with PD had significantly worse mean values for patient's global health measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS patGH), VAS pain, HAQ, SOFI, and SHS compared with those in the non-PD group. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that female gender, current smoking, disease activity at baseline, and absence of remission at 6 months independently predicted PD.Conclusions: Of the patients who entered the early RA inception cohort, 37% suffered a PD course over 8 years. The consequences of PD with regard to general health, pain, function, and joint damage were considerable. Of note, PD was more common in women than in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the relationship between country of birth and the utilization of coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) after a first-time myocardial infarction (MI). Design, setting and patients: 117 494 MI patients of all ages who were admitted to coronary care units between 2001 and 2009 in Sweden were followed-up for three months after admission. Main outcome measures: Undergoing coronary angiography, PCI or CABG after first-time MI. Results: proportion of patients undergoing angiography and PCI increased whereas proportion of patients undergoing CABG also delay time for all three procedures decreased over the study period. The proportion of women undergoing any of the three procedures was markedly lower and delay time longer than those of men regardless of study period and migration background. Overall foreign-born first MI patients had higher rate of angiography (HR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.27-1.33), PCI (HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.24-1.30) and CABG (HR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.15-1.28) compared with Sweden born first MI patients. After controlling for potential confounding factors in multivariable models, the overall differences vanished for angiography and reduced markedly for PCI and CABG. However, multivariable stratified analysis by specific country of birth yielded higher rate of angiography among men born in Uganda (HR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.00-4.43) and Peru (HR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.07-3.68) and lower rate among men born in Croatia (HR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.52-0.99) and women born in Thailand (HR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.35-0.94). PCI adjusted rates were higher among women born in Palestine state (HR = 2.44, 95% CI: 1.15-5.16), Iraq (HR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.04-1.74) and Poland (HR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02-1.44) and rate of CABG was higher among immigrants from some parts of Asia, including men born in Sri Lanka (HR = 3.19, 95% CI: 1.43-7.12), India (HR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.21-3.14), Vietnam (HR = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.32-5.33), Palestine State (HR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.06-4.24), and women born in Syria (HR = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.25-4.45), Iraq (HR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.02-2.94), and Turkey (HR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.03-2.79). Conclusions: The observed high rate of CABG for immigrants and particularly those born in some Asian countries was not explained by the potential confounding factors. A more severe coronary disease in this population might explain this high rate but needs further research. Awareness and subsequent intervention at earlier stage of coronary disease among immigrants could prolong their life and reduce the healthcare costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To examine whether the perceived poor outcome of dietary treatment makes Swedish women with coeliac disease (CD) prone to use more health care services than other women. Material and methods. The health care consumption over 36 consecutive months was examined for 137 Swedish women aged 20-80 years with CD in remission after living on a gluten-free diet for a median of 4 years (range 1-8 years). Comparisons were made with the health care consumption of 411 women in the general population matched for age and residence. Results. The results show that women with CD use health care services annually a median of 5.0 times (range 0-76) that is more than female controls 3.6 (0-311) (p < 0.05) mainly in primary care and for complaints related to mental and behavioral disorders (ICD F), diseases of the digestive system (ICD K) and diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (ICD M). Conclusions. Women with CD used health care services in keeping with studies indicating reduced health-related quality of life of people with this condition. The results provide evidence that women with CD in remission suffer from co-morbidities that may signal a need for a multidisciplinary follow-up of subjects with CD in Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores restructuring of illness meaning among eight Swedish-born female patients, assessed as somatizing, encountering caregivers imposing a “psychological language” of distress. Data were collected 1997–2001 from 32 interviews and analysed with a Grounded Theory approach. Two major trends were identified in the participants’ process of restructuring illness meaning: first, a trend of accepting a “psychological language” of understanding distress and then of paying attention to stress and demanding work conditions. The term “burnout” was introduced. For participants, giving meaning to illness had been a continuous and interactive process in which new meanings had been integrated within a framework of both constancy and change. Restructuring illness meaning had not been uncomplicated. Participants tried to bridge illness perspectives and treatment strategies within their daily life situations of handling distress. The social context had been important for bridging gaps in illness perspectives and in creating coherence between frames of meanings. The results support the view that Antonovsky's concept of Sense of Coherence (SOC) may have relevance when considering the process of restructuring illness meaning, and that constructing coherence between experience, expression, past and new meanings given to illness, may be significant for patients’ recovery. The results stress the importance of research exploring the interaction between individuals and social and cultural groups in multicultural milieus in order to obtain insights as to how people make sense of their clinical encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This prospective, multicentre, randomized, double-blind and placebo controlled study was performed to describe the natural course of uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection (UTI). A total of 1143 women 18 y and above, consulting at 18 primary health care centres in northern Sweden for symptoms suggestive of UTI were included. The symptoms urgency, dysuria, suprapubic pain and loin pain were registered, and urine cultures performed at inclusion and follow-up visits 8–10 d and 5–7 weeks later. Associations between all symptoms and bacteriuria or bacterial counts were unpredictable. Eradication of symptoms and bacteriuria and combinations of them were studied in 288 patients placebo treated for 7 d, of whom 39% dropped out after the first follow-up visit. The spontaneous cure rate of symptoms was 28% after the first week, and 37% had neither symptoms nor bacteriuria after 5–7 weeks. Considering the high dropout rate after the first follow-up visit, the spontaneous cure rate of symptoms and bacteriuria was calculated to 24% at the end of study. We conclude that patient near-laboratory tests are required to establish the diagnosis of lower UTI, and the guidelines for diagnosis of UTI need to be revised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]