The impact of child type 1 diabetes on parental incomes in a welfare state context: quasi-experimental evidence from Swedish national registers.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes on parental incomes in a Nordic welfare state.

Methods: In this register-based quasi-experimental study, we included the parents of 13,358 children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Sweden from 1993 to 2014 together with 506,516 population-based matched control parents. A difference-in-differences approach was used to compare income trajectories between exposed parents and control parents.

Effect of COVID-19 vaccination appointment letters on uptake by sociodemographic characteristics: a regression discontinuity analysis in Sweden, December 2020 to September 2021.

Ensuring high vaccination coverage is vital, particularly during a pandemic. While pre-booked appointment letters have shown promise in vaccination campaigns, their effectiveness in specific sociodemographic groups remains to be explored. Our study evaluated the effect of pre-booked appointment letters on COVID-19 vaccine uptake within different sociodemographic groups using a quasi-experimental methodology.

Sociodemographic disparities in incidence rates of advanced and low-risk prostate cancer as a proxy for diagnostic activity.

Background: Inequity in prostate cancer detection can be assessed by relating the diagnostic intensity to the incidence rate of advanced disease in different population groups, according to factors such as socioeconomic status or ethnicity.

Methods: We used nationwide Swedish register data from Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden 5.0 and Statistics Sweden, which enabled us to estimate incidence rates of low-risk prostate cancer (a proxy for diagnostic activity) and advanced disease (locally advanced and/or metastatic) across population groups according to household income, country of birth, and neighborhood-level characteristics.

Associations between neighbourhood characteristics and participation in a population-based organised prostate cancer testing (OPT) programme: A register-based study of 50-year-old men.

Objectives: Regional, population-based organised prostate cancer testing (OPT) began in Sweden in 2020. We investigated associations between participation and neighbourhood characteristics.

Setting: Region Västra Götaland's OPT programme.

Neighbourhood immigrant density and COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation among healthcare workers in Sweden: a register-based observational study.

Introduction: We investigated whether living in immigrant-dominated neighbourhoods constituted a risk factor for COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Sweden, and if so, whether such exposure exacerbated the risk of COVID-19 among immigrant HCWs.

Methods: We used population-based register data from HCWs aged 20-62 years (N=86 187) resident in 14 Swedish municipalities (3 of which are Sweden's largest metropolitan cities) on 1 January 2020. Residential neighbourhoods of the HCWs were categorised into three groups: Swedish-dominated, mixed and immigrant-dominated.

The role of NT-proBNP in screening for atrial fibrillation in hypertensive disease.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) screening should be considered in elderly patients with high risk of stroke, which include individuals with hypertension. The biomarker N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) can predict incident AF and is increased in hypertensive individuals. The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of screening-detected AF in elderly individuals in relation to NT-proBNP and hypertension.

Designing a prototype trauma registry framework for a tertiary health institution in a low- and middle-income country: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Low- and middle-income countries experience high injury-related mortality rates, with road traffic crashes being a significant contributor in Nigeria. Data from trauma registries are crucial for designing and advocating for trauma intervention programmes. However, there is limited research to inform the development of trauma registries in a Nigerian setting.

Reversing accidents involving pedestrians: an epidemiological investigation and cluster analysis using a novel database derived from Swedish National Register data.

Objectives: In contemporary urban environments, the intersection between , specifically unprotected pedestrians, and motor vehicles poses a persistent challenge to road safety. Reversing accidents, characterized by vehicles moving backward, often result in severe consequences for pedestrians due to limited visibility and inherent blind spots for the driver. This paper aims to provide a thorough examination of reversing accidents involving pedestrians in Sweden between 2000-2021; shedding light on the magnitude of the problem, contributing factors, consequences, and potential mitigation strategies.

Sociodemographic differences in the response to changes in COVID-19 testing guidelines.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Sweden emphasized voluntary guidelines over mandates. We exploited a rapid change and reversal of the Public Health Agency of Sweden's COVID-19 testing guidelines for vaccinated and recently infected individuals as a quasi-experiment to examine sociodemographic differences in the response to changes in pandemic guidelines. We analyzed daily polymerase chain reaction tests from 1 October 2021 to 15 December 2021, for vaccinated or recently infected adults (≥20 years; n = 1 596 321) from three Swedish regions (Stockholm, Örebro, and Dalarna).

Self-Report Tool for Identification of Individuals With Coronary Atherosclerosis: The Swedish CardioPulmonary BioImage Study.

Background: Coronary atherosclerosis detected by imaging is a marker of elevated cardiovascular risk. However, imaging involves large resources and exposure to radiation. The aim was, therefore, to test whether nonimaging data, specifically data that can be self-reported, could be used to identify individuals with moderate to severe coronary atherosclerosis.

Colorectal cancer screening with fecal immunochemical testing or primary colonoscopy: inequities in diagnostic yield.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in the uptake of colorectal cancer screening are well documented, but the implications on inequities in health gain remain unclear.

Methods: Sixty-year-olds were randomly recruited from the Swedish population between March 2014 and March 2020 and invited to undergo either 2 rounds of fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) 2 years apart (n = 60 137) or primary colonoscopy just once (n = 30 400). By linkage to Statistics Sweden's registries, we obtained socioeconomic data.

Previous SARS-CoV-2 infections and their impact on the protection from reinfection during the Omicron BA.5 wave - a nested case-control study among vaccinated adults in Sweden.

Objectives: We evaluated the protection afforded by SARS-CoV-2 infection-induced immunity against reinfection among working-age vaccinated individuals during a calendar period from June to December 2022 when Omicron BA.5 was the dominating subvariant in Scania County, Sweden.

Methods: The study cohort (n = 71,592) mainly consisted of health care workers.

Analyses of quality of life in cancer drug trials - a review of measurements and analytical choices in post-reimbursement studies.

Objectives: For drugs reimbursed with limited evidence of patient benefits, confirmatory evidence of overall survival (OS) and quality of life (QoL) benefits is important. For QoL data to serve as valuable input to patients and decision-makers, it must be measured and analyzed using appropriate methods. We aimed to assess the measurement and analyses of post-reimbursement QoL data for cancer drugs introduced in Swedish healthcare with limited evidence at the time of reimbursement.

Adherence to a handheld device-based atrial fibrillation screening protocol is associated with clinical outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate adherence and adherence consistency to the handheld ECG device-based screening protocol and their association with adverse cerebral and cardiovascular outcomes in two systematic atrial fibrillation (AF) screening programmes.

Methods: In 2012 (Systematic ECG Screening for Atrial Fibrillation Among 75-Year Old Subjects in the Region of Stockholm and Halland, Sweden (STROKESTOP) study) and 2016 (Stepwise mass screening for atrial fibrillation using N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (STROKESTOP II) study), half of all 75- and 76-year-old inhabitants of up to two Swedish regions were invited to participate in a systematic AF screening programme. Participants were instructed to perform 30-second measurements twice daily in STROKESTOP and four times daily in STROKESTOP II for 2 weeks.

Impact of organised colorectal cancer screening on age-specific population incidences: evidence from a quasi-experimental study in Sweden.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) incurs a significant disease burden globally. Organised CRC screening programmes have been widely implemented for early detection and prevention. To understand the public health impact of these programmes, quantitative evidence of changes in overall and age-specific population incidences is fundamental.

Long-term effects on healthcare utilisation among spouses of persons with stroke.

Background: Stroke is a common and costly disease affecting the person with stroke and their relatives. If the negative effect on the health of informal caregivers to a person with stroke translates into an increased healthcare consumption has not yet been studied. Further, the importance of including costs and health consequences of informal caregiving in health economic evaluation supporting decision-making is an ongoing discussion.

The impact of stroke on spousal and family income: a difference-in-difference study from Swedish national registries.

Aim: To investigates the financial consequences in the overall population spouses of persons with stroke in Sweden as well as for subgroups based on spouses age, sex and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) of the person with stroke.

Methods: The study population consists of spouses aged ≤ 60 during the year of their partner's stroke event. Each spouse was matched to four reference individuals.

Can non-participants in a follow-up be used to draw conclusions about incidences and prevalences in the full population invited at baseline? An investigation based on the Swedish MDC cohort.

Background: Participants in epidemiological cohorts may not be representative of the full invited population, limiting the generalizability of prevalence and incidence estimates. We propose that this problem can be remedied by exploiting data on baseline participants who refused to participate in a re-examination, as such participants may be more similar to baseline non-participants than what baseline participants who agree to participate in the re-examination are.

Methods: We compared background characteristics, mortality, and disease incidences across the full population invited to the Malmö Diet and Cancer (MDC) study, the baseline participants, the baseline non-participants, the baseline participants who participated in a re-examination, and the baseline participants who did not participate in the re-examination.

Examining the continuum of resistance model in two population-based screening studies in Sweden.

In studies recruited on a voluntary basis, lack of representativity may impair the ability to generalize findings to the target population. Previous studies, primarily based on surveys, have suggested that generalizability may be improved by exploiting data on individuals who agreed to participate only after receiving one or several reminders, as such individuals may be more similar to non-participants than what early participants are. Assessing this idea in the context of screenings, we compared sociodemographic characteristics and health across early, late, and non-participants in two large population-based screening studies in Sweden: STROKESTOP II (screening for atrial fibrillation; 6,867 participants) and SCREESCO (screening for colorectal cancer; 39,363 participants).

Cancer Drugs Reimbursed with Limited Evidence on Overall Survival and Quality of Life: Do Follow-Up Studies Confirm Patient Benefits?

Background And Objective: Cancer drug costs have increased considerably within healthcare systems, but many drugs lack quality-of-life (QoL) and overall survival (OS) data at the time of reimbursement approval. This study aimed to review the extent of subsequent literature documenting improvements in OS and QoL for cancer drug indications where no such evidence existed at the time of reimbursement approval.

Methods: Drug indications with claims of added therapeutical value but a lack of evidence on OS and QoL that were reimbursed between 2010 and 2020 in Sweden were included for review.

Community factors and excess mortality in the COVID-19 pandemic in England, Italy and Sweden.

Background: Analyses of coronavirus disease 19 suggest specific risk factors make communities more or less vulnerable to pandemic-related deaths within countries. What is unclear is whether the characteristics affecting vulnerability of small communities within countries produce similar patterns of excess mortality across countries with different demographics and public health responses to the pandemic. Our aim is to quantify community-level variations in excess mortality within England, Italy and Sweden and identify how such spatial variability was driven by community-level characteristics.

Quasi-experimental evaluation of municipal ice cleat distribution programmes for older adults in Sweden.

Introduction: Fall injuries caused by icy road conditions are a prevalent public health problem during winters in Sweden, especially in older populations. To combat this problem, many Swedish municipalities have distributed ice cleats to older adults. While previous research has shown promising results, there is a lack of comprehensive empirical data on the effectiveness of ice cleat distribution.