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Biomedical subjects

B Smedby

Publications and source records attributed to B Smedby.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Life table methods applied to use of medical care and of prescription drugs in early childhood.

Life table methods were applied to analyses of longitudinal data on the use of medical care during the first 5 years of life among all 1701 children born in a Swedish semirural municipality. Cumulative proportions of the children who had used particular types of medical care or prescription drugs at least once by certain ages were estimated. By the fifth birthday, 98% had made at least one visit to any physician and 82% at least one visit to a paediatrician. By the fifth birthday at least one prescription for antibiotics had been purchased at a pharmacy by 82%; and 33% had been admitted to inpatient hospital care at least once (excluding immediate postnatal care). Acute conditions and more chronic diseases were also studied using these methods. At least one visit to a physician at a primary health care centre had been made for acute otitis media in 65% of 5 year olds and for atopic dermatitis in 8%.

Child Health Services↗
PubMed1988

Psychotropic drug use in a Swedish community--patterns of individual use during 2 years.

Psychotropic drug use in a Swedish community with a general population of about 20,000 was studied using data from a research registry on prescriptions. Patterns of individual psychotropic drug use during 2 years, 1980 and 1981, were analyzed. Use during the second year was studied in relation to use during the first year, and individuals with continued and new use were identified. About two thirds of those who obtained psychotropics during the first year continued using such drugs during the following year. Among those with no use during the first year, 6% obtained psychotropic drugs during the second year. Both continued and new use increased with age. Psychotropic drug use was nearly twice as common among women as compared to men among new users, whereas practically no sex difference was observed in continued use among previous users of psychotropics. Despite the finding that male psychotropic drug users were almost as likely as females to continue using these drugs, the overall proportion of continuous users in the population remained considerably higher among women as compared to men. The results from this study suggest that the greater use of psychotropics among women can be explained by a greater extent of occasional use as well as continuous use among women as compared to men.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Patterns of psychotropic drug use in a Swedish community.

In this study individual data on prescription drug purchases in the total population of a Swedish municipality have been analyzed in order to study changes in the use of psychotropic drugs (in this study mainly hypnotics, sedatives and minor tranquillizers) over time. The number of psychotropic prescriptions decreased by 27% during the twelve-year period 1972-1983. The proportion of psychotropic drug users in the total population decreased from 16 to 11%. This decrease in psychotropic drug use was not evenly distributed within the population. The proportion of users decreased from 10 to 4% in the age group 15-44 years and from 23 to 15% in the age group 45-64 years, while the higher proportion of users in the oldest age group, 65 years and older, only decreased from 33 to 28%. Psychotropic drug use was almost twice as common among females as compared to males throughout the study period. Psychotropic drug use among heavy users of prescription drugs in general--identified with the use of a sex- and age-specific definition--was also studied. The decrease in psychotropic drug use during the time period studied was much greater among non-heavy users as compared to heavy users.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Mental health problems in primary health care as seen by doctors.

Mental health problems in primary health care are much more common than can be concluded by routine registration of diagnoses. This has been shown in a previous study by the authors in 1979. In order to test the consistency of these results (Study I) and the reliability of our method a replication was carried out in 1983 at the same health centre but with mainly other doctors (Study II). All visits to the health centre were studied during a period of four weeks. During the study period all doctors recorded mental health problems of importance for the visit in addition to the routine registration of diagnoses. The results of both studies showed a high degree of consistency. Mental health problems were observed in about 17% of the patients in both studies. Sex differences were similar: 20-21% of female patients and 14% of male patients had mental health problems. Psychiatric diagnoses were only registered in six per cent of patients in Study I and five per cent in Study II. Mental problems were especially common in connection with abdominal and chest disorders. The replication thus confirmed our previous findings that mental health problems are common in primary health care. Such problems should therefore be given more attention in the training of doctors in general practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Physician visits and prescribed drugs among young children and their mothers.

The extent to which use of medical services by young children could be predicted by mothers' use of medical services and by certain family characteristics has been studied. The study population comprised 591 children two to four years of age in a Swedish rural municipality. Register data on physician visits and prescription drug purchases during 1979 constituted main sources of information. Statistically significant positive associations were found between number of physician visits made by the children and by their mothers and between number of prescription drug purchases made for the children and for the mothers. More physician visits and prescription drug purchases were made for the children of younger mothers than for those of older mothers. Six to eight per cent of the variation in the use of medical services by the young children was explained in multiple regression models including mainly mothers' use of medical care, mothers' age and children's age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Measures of continuity of care. A register-based correlation study.

In an empirical study using data from a health center in Sweden, correlation coefficients were computed among nine different measures of continuity of care, five of them visit-based and four individual-based. Generally, the correlations were high. This may be due, in part, to the similar behavior of the measures for people making few visits. The correlations were also quite high, however, when the sample was restricted to people with many visits. Several measures display a significant dependence on utilization level. The results suggest that, for general purposes, the measure COC should be preferred among the individual-based measures and fraction-of-care continuity among the visit-based measures. On grounds of flexibility and ease of interpretation, the authors recommend fraction-of-care measures.

Continuity of Patient Care↗
PubMed1985

Psychiatric symptoms and psychosocial problems in primary health care as seen by doctors.

All visits at a primary health care centre in Sweden were studied during four weeks. The frequency of psychiatric symptoms or psychosocial problems noted by the doctors was recorded on a special form in addition to routine registration of diagnoses. Such problems were noted in 553 out of 3 205 visits, corresponding to 17.3%. Considerable variation in registering problems was found between individual physicians and between different categories of doctors. The most common problems were nervousness, anxiety, psychosomatic disorders, and depression. Mental problems were especially common in connection with gastritis, precordial pain, and abdominal pain. There was a difference between the sexes: 20% of the female patients had mental problems registered compared with 14% of the male patients. Psychiatric diagnoses, however, were registered in only 6% of all cases. Of the 553 patients with mental problems, 16% were considered in need of a specialist, 52% could be dealt with at the health centre, and for 32% no special treatment for the mental problems was regarded necessary. One conclusion is that the routine registration of diagnoses at the health centre covers only some of the mental problems and is therefore insufficient in terms of planning psychiatric resources and the training of doctors. Possible reasons for the differences found are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Rising incidence of hip fracture in Uppsala, 1965-1980.

The frequency and incidence of hip fracture in persons aged 55 years and older in the county of Uppsala during the years 1965, 1970, 1975 and 1980 are reported. For every 5-year interval, the number of hip fractures increased by 21-25 per cent. The ratio of women to men changed from 3.8 in 1965 to 3.1 in 1980. Trochanteric fractures were more common during the later years. The ratio of femoral neck fractures to trochanteric fractures decreased from 1.8 to 1.1 between 1965 and 1980. The incidence of hip fracture in the investigated part of the population increased from 43 per 10 000 in 1965 to 65 in 1980. The age-specific incidence increased especially in the group aged 85 years and older, in which fractures of the femoral neck were three times and trochanteric fractures four times more common in 1980 than in 1965. This investigation shows that the incidence of hip fracture has increased, particularly in the higher age groups. If the age-specific incidences continue to rise in the higher age groups, the frequency of hip fractures will be doubled within a 20-year period.

Age Factors↗