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Background: Lifestyle interventions affect patients' risk factors for metabolic syndrome (MeSy), a pre-stage to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and related complications. An effective lifestyle intervention is the Swedish Bjorknas intervention, a 3-year randomized controlled trial in primary care for MeSy patients. To include future disease-related cost and health consequences in a cost-effectiveness analysis, a simulation model was used to estimate the short-term (3-year) and long-term (lifelong) cost-effectiveness of the Bjorknas study. Methodology/Principal Findings: A Markov micro-simulation model was used to predict the cost and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for MeSy-related diseases based on ten risk factors. Model inputs were levels of individual risk factors at baseline and at the third year. The model estimated short-term and long-term costs and QALYs for the intervention and control groups. The cost-effectiveness of the intervention was assessed using differences-in-differences approach to compare the changes between the groups in the health care and societal perspectives, using a 3% discount rate. A 95% confidence interval (CI), based on bootstrapping, and sensitivity analyses describe the uncertainty in the estimates. In the short-term, costs are predicted to increase over time in both groups, but less in the intervention group, resulting in an average cost saving/reduction of US$-700 (in 2012, US $ 1= six point five seven SEK) and US$-500, in the societal and health care perspectives. The long-term estimate also predicts increased costs, but considerably less in the intervention group: US$-7,300 (95% CI: US$-19,700 to US $-1,000) in the societal, and US$-1,500 (95% CI: US$-5,400 to US$ 2,650) in the health care perspective. As intervention costs were US$ 211 per participant, the intervention would result in cost saving. Furthermore, in the long-term an estimated 0.46 QALYs (95% CI: 0.12 to 0.69) per participant would be gained. Conclusions/Signi

Intensive lifestyle interventions can reduce incidence of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in high-risk individuals. We aimed to assess the effect of the lifestyle intervention used in the The Swedish Björknäs study, previously shown to reduce cardiovascular risk factors, on health care use. In 2003, 145 high-risk individuals were randomly assigned to either a 3 months intensive lifestyle modification undertaken in the primary care setting or control. In 2009, participants' medical records were reviewed. Primary outcome was primary care health use. Secondary outcome was hospital care use. Analysis was by intention to treat. Primary care physician visits were 21% (95% CI 2%; 36%) lower in the lifestyle group during the first three years. The difference was significant for all six years when adjusting for baseline (GLM Repeated Measures; p=0.019). There were no significant differences in visits to nurses in primary health care or hospital physicians and nurses, hospitalizations or hospital days. A program of intensive lifestyle modification can not only favourably influence cardiovascular risk factors but also reduce health care use in high-risk individuals.

Ett livsstilsförändrande program för bättre kost och ökad fysisk aktivitet, genomfört med enkla medel inom primärvården, minskade inte bara en rad riskfaktorer utan även vårdutnyttjandet. Andelen besök hos primärvårdsläkaren var under de tre första åren 21 procent lägre än i kontrollgruppen. Det är intressant med fortsatta undersökningar av livsstilsinterventioners effekt på vårdutnyttjande, dess hälsoekonomiska konsekvenser och effektens underliggande mekanism., Intensive lifestyle interventions can reduce incidence of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in high-risk individuals. We aimed to assess the effect of the lifestyle intervention used in the The Swedish Björknäs study, previously shown to reduce cardiovascular risk factors, on health care use. In 2003, 145 high-risk individuals were randomly assigned to either a 3 months intensive lifestyle modification undertaken in the primary care setting or control. In 2009, participants' medical records were reviewed. Primary outcome was primary care health use. Secondary outcome was hospital care use. Analysis was by intention to treat. Primary care physician visits were 21% (95% CI 2%; 36%) lower in the lifestyle group during the first three years. The difference was significant for all six years when adjusting for baseline (GLM Repeated Measures; p=0.019). There were no significant differences in visits to nurses in primary health care or hospital physicians and nurses, hospitalizations or hospital days. A program of intensive lifestyle modification can not only favourably influence cardiovascular risk factors but also reduce health care use in high-risk individuals.

Publicerat på Lakartidningen.se 2010-10-21.

Background Successfully transferring the findings of expensive and tightly controlled programmes of intensive lifestyle modification to the primary care setting is necessary if such knowledge is to be of clinical utility. The objective of this study was to test whether intensive lifestyle modification, shown previously in tightly-controlled clinical trials to be efficacious for diabetes risk-reduction among high-risk individuals, can reduce cardiovascular risk factor levels in the primary care setting. Methodology / Principal Findings The Swedish Björknäs study was a randomized controlled trial conducted from 2003 to 2006 with follow-up on cardiovascular risk factors at 3, 12, 24 and 36 months. A total of 151 middle-aged men and women at moderate- to high-risk of cardiovascular disease from northern Sweden were randomly assigned to either an intensive lifestyle intervention (n=75) or control (n=76) group. The intervention was based broadly on the protocol of the Diabetes Prevention Program. The three-month intervention period was administered in the primary care setting and consisted of supervised exercise sessions and diet counselling, followed by regular group meetings during three years. The control group was given general advice about diet and exercise and received standard clinical care. Outcomes were changes in anthropometrics, aerobic fitness, self-reported physical activity, blood pressure, and metabolic traits. At 36 months post-randomisation, intensive lifestyle modification reduced waist circumference (–2.2cm: p=0.001), waist-hip ratio (–0.02: p<0.0001), systolic blood pressure (–4.9mmHg: p=0.036), and diastolic blood pressure (–1.6mmHg: p=0.005), and improved aerobic fitness (5%; p=0.038). Changes in lipid or glucose values did not differ statistically between groups. At 36 months, self-reported time spent exercising and total physical activity had increased more in the intervention group than in the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion / Significa

AIMS: To evaluate the effects of a lifestyle intervention programme in primary healthcare, targeted to patients with moderate to high risk of cardiovascular disease in terms of cardiovascular risk factors, physical activity, and quality of life. METHOD: Randomized controlled trial with one-year follow-up, carried out in a primary healthcare centre in Northern Sweden. A total of 151 middle-aged men and women, with hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, or obesity were enrolled. The subjects were randomized to either the intervention (n = 75) or the control group (n = 76). A total of 123 subjects completed the one-year follow-up. Interventions: Exercise: supervised endurance and circuit training in groups three times a week for three months. Diet: five group sessions of diet counselling with a dietitian. Follow- up meetings with a physiotherapist were conducted monthly thereafter. Primary outcomes were changes in anthropometry, maximal oxygen uptake, health-related quality of life, and self-reported physical activity. The secondary outcomes were changes in blood pressure and metabolic variables. RESULTS: After one year the intervention group significantly increased maximal oxygen uptake, physical activity, and quality of life and significantly decreased body weight, waist and hip circumference, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and glycosylated haemoglobin. There were significant differences between groups, mean changes (and their 95% confidence intervals, CI) in waist circumference -1.9 cm (-2.80 to -0.90; p<0.001), in waist-hip ratio -0.01 (-.02 to -0.004; p<0.01) and in diastolic blood pressure -2.3 mmHg (-4.04 to -0.51; p<0.05). CONCLUSION: A prevention programme in primary healthcare with a focus on physical activity and diet counselling followed by structured follow-up meetings can favourably influence several risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and quality of life in high-risk subjects fo