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ABSTRACTBackground: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health burden affecting more than 10% of the global population. It is a multifactorial disease with many risk factors attributed lifestyle diseases. The prevalence of CKD in Greenland is unknown; however, the prevalence of risk factors contributing to CKD is increasing.Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of CKD in Greenland.Methods: The study was a cross-sectional register-study including all Greenlandic residents aged ≥20 years with serum creatinine analysis within the last 2 years. We identified those with CKD based on eGFR and UACR and those registered with a CKD diagnosis code. Two limitations of the study are possible lack of data completeness and the reliance of a single time point to report CKD.Results: A total of 2,157 patients were identified with CKD with an age-standardised prevalence of 3.01%. Only 75 patients were registered with a diagnosis code for CKD. Approximately 80% of patients were classified with CKD stages 1–2.Conclusion: This is the first study reporting CKD in Greenland. We found a lower prevalence of CKD than reported by other studies, and a low number of patients correctly diagnosed with CKD. We call for increased awareness and diagnosis coding of CKD in Greenland.

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to evaluate the activity within the primary health care (PHC) in Greenland by identifying the patterns of all registered contacts made by patients in 2021, and to compare the most frequently used types of contacts and diagnostic codes in Nuuk to the rest of Greenland. The study was designed as a cross-sectional register study using data from the national electronic medical records (EMR) and diagnostic codes from the ICPC-2-system. In 2021, 83.7% (46,522) of the Greenlandic population were in contact with the PHC, resulting in 335,494 registered contacts. The majority of the contacts with PHC was made by females (61.3%). On average, females were in contact with PHC 8.4 times per patient per year, while males were in contact with PHC 5.9 times per patient per year. The most frequently used diagnostic group was “General and unspecified”, followed by “Musculoskeletal” and “Skin”. The results are in line with studies from other northern countries and indicate an easily accessible PHC system, with a predominance of female contacts.

The objective of this study was to estimate the age- and gender-specific prevalence of psoriasis in Nuuk. Furthermore, we aimed to explore the common risk factors and comorbidities for patients with psoriasis compared to an age- and gender-matched control group. The study was designed as a cross- sectional case-control study based on national high-quality data from medical and population registers in Nuuk. A total of 175 patients (0.9%) were diagnosed with psoriasis in Nuuk by January 1 January 2022, of which 79 were females and 96 were males. The prevalence of patients diagnosed with psoriasis in the adult population aged 20 years old or more in Nuuk was 1.1%. No overall gender-specific difference in prevalence was observed. Chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, and obstructive lung disease were observed more frequently among patients with diagnosed psoriasis (28.6%) in Nuuk compared to controls (20.9%) (p

The study is a register-based cross-sectional study aiming to estimate the prevalence of treated osteoporosis in Greenland compared to Denmark and provide a description of the patients with osteoporosis in Greenland. In addition, the study estimates the incidence of hip fractures in Greenland from 2018 to 2020 among people aged 65 years or older. The overall prevalence of patients prescribed medication for osteoporosis among those aged 18 years or older was 0.56% in Greenland and 2.36% in Denmark (p

Depression is a mental illness affecting more than 260 million people worldwide. In Greenland, the prevalence of patients treated with antidepressant medicine (antidepressants) has not previously been investigated. The aim of this study was to estimate and compare the age- and gender-specific prevalence of patients treated with antidepressants in Greenland and Denmark. The study was a cross-sectional register study using data from population and medical registers in Greenland and Denmark. Included was 1,573 Greenlandic patients and 419,151 Danish patients treated with antidepressants, respectively. The overall prevalence of patients aged 10–89 years treated with antidepressants was 3.5% in Greenland, and 8.1% in Denmark, being significantly lower in Greenland compared to Denmark (p

The aim of this study was to estimate the age- and gender-specific prevalence and quality of care among patients using medication targeting obstructive lung disease in the five regions of Greenland. The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Data on patients using medication targeting obstructive lung disease was obtained from the electronically medical record used in Greenland. The prevalence was calculated using the population of Greenland as background population. The quality of care was determined using indicators proposed by international literature and the Steno Diabetes Center Greenland guidelines. The total prevalence of patients using medication targeting obstructive lung disease was 7.5%. The prevalence was significantly higher among women compared to men and differed significantly between the five regions. Smoking status, blood pressure and spirometry were registered within one/two years for 29.8%/43.2%, 29.2%/41.1% and 15.9%/26.0% of the patients, respectively. Regional differences were observed for all indicators. The use of medication targeting obstructive lung disease is common in Greenland. Yet, the quality of care was low and interventions improving the quality of care is recommended.

In order to estimate the current coverage rate among all children in Greenland, we conducted an observational cross-sectional study identifying all children in Greenland eligible for a vaccination between 1 March 2018 and 16 June 2019. we found an overall national coverage of 85.4%. The national coverage for the vaccinations given at birth was 97.1%, dropping to 94.3%, 87.7% and 83.6% at ages 3, 5 and 12 months. Among children eligible for the Measles, Mumps and Rubella-vaccinations, the national coverage was 76.9% for children aged 15 months and 64.1% for children aged 4 years, but dropping to 40.9% in the districts. At preschool, the national coverage was 79.9%. Among the 12-year-old, the national coverages of the two vaccinations against Human Papilloma Virus were 88.4% and 71.6%, respectively, and for the three Hepatitis B-vaccinations 89.8%, 84.1% and 69.6%. A subgroup-analysis and test of an SMS-reminder system in Nuuk improved the coverage from 57.8% to 75.5% locally. Overall, we found a high national coverage rate among the newborn in Greenland. The national coverage rates of the remaining vaccinations were below the WHO-recommendations, however with great regional differences. Abbreviations: CVP: Children Vaccination Programme; BCG: Bacille Calmette–Guerin; EMR: Electronic medical Record system; DTPHiB: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Haemophilus influenza B; HBV: Hepatitis B; HPV: Human Papilloma Virus; MMR: Measles, Mumps, Rubella; SMS: Short Text Message; WHO: World Health Organization; GVAP: Global Vaccine Action Plan; EVAP: The WHO European Vaccine Action Plan.