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E Nord

Publications and source records attributed to E Nord.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

[Norwegian physicians--affluent and reputed, but not particularly happy].

Norwegian doctors enjoy a high standard of living. A comparison of doctors' work environment and living conditions with those of the general population (Survey of Norwegian physicians' work environment and living conditions 1993 (Nord-Trøndelag Health survey 1986, Survey of work environment 1989, General Household Survey 1991) shows that doing better does not necessarily mean feeling better. In almost all sex and age groups doctors score significantly lower than the rest of the population do on all our quality-of-life indicators. The mismatch may reflect the nature of their work. Although a larger share of doctors than others consider their work interesting and not physically tiresome, they work longer hours, and more them report feeling worn out, and that they have sleeping problems. Fewer of them describe their sociopsychological work environment as good. Possibly, as much effort should be put into improving doctors' jobs as into raising their salaries.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Assessment of therapy in gestational diabetes by substrate and hormone responses to a standardized test meal.

Postprandial substrate and hormone responses to a standard mixed meal (400 kcal) was determined at two occasions, A and B, in 11 women with gestational diabetes (GDMs) and 11 normoglycaemic controls, matched for age, body mass index, and gestational age. Levels of circulating glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), glycerol, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-HBA), individual amino acids, insulin, and C-peptide were analysed. A was performed when GDMs were considered inadequately controlled with diet alone, B later during gestation following initiation of insulin therapy because of hyperglycaemia. Fasting glucose, glycerol, total and individual amino acids (alanine, valine, isoleucine, leucine), insulin, and C-peptide were not different from normal during A and B, neither were postprandial amino acid levels. During test A, GDMs had elevated fasting and postprandial 3-HBA (p < 0.001), greater postprandial rise of glucose (p < 0.001), elevated NEFA (p < 0.05), but normal and parallel decreases of NEFA and glycerol. Insulin and C-peptide responses were delayed and prolonged. During B, GDMs had higher glucose response (p < 0.005), higher fasting 3-HBA (p < 0.02) but similar and parallel decreases of NEFA, glycerol, and 3-HBA as controls. The C-peptide response was not significantly different from normal; insulin response was higher (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the relative insulin deficiency characterizing GDMs, also when treated with insulin, is associated with selected defects in insulin action; mainly affecting glucoregulation, whereas suppression of lipolysis and proteolysis remain normal.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗
PubMed1997

Does admission to a medical department improve patient life expectancy?

Doubts about the effectiveness of medical care in improving patient health have been raised by epidemiological studies and by studies of geographical variation and inappropriate use of health care. To investigate this problem, the life expectancy gain (LEG) from consecutive admissions to a department of internal medicine during a six-week period was assessed by two expert panels, each consisting of an internist, a surgeon, and a general practitioner. The mean LEG for all admissions was 2.25 years (n = 422). Sixty-one percent had a LEG of 0.10 years or less, while 5% had a LEG of more than 9.98 years. In a probabilistic sensitivity analysis, the mean LEG remained greater than zero under assumptions of overestimated positive LEG and underestimated negative LEG. We conclude that the life expectancy of the majority of the patients was not influenced by the admission, but that a minority had substantial gains, resulting in a high overall mean LEG.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Insulin sensitivity and insulin response in women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with much increased risk of developing diabetes later on in life. Using the frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test and the minimal model analyses we have therefore determined the early insulin response to glucose (EIR) and insulin sensitivity (Si), in women with GDM of different severity (n = 14) and in normal women (n = 10). During the last trimester of pregnancy. GDMs compared to controls had significantly lower EIR (p < 0.001) and Si (p < 0.01). The reduction in EIR was less marked in GDM patients treated with diet alone (n = 6) as compared to GMD patients (n = 8) who subsequently during pregnancy needed treatment also with insulin. The insulin treated GDM group only had higher fasting glucose level than controls (5.2 vs 4.2 mmol/l, p < 0.001). Both GDM subgroups had slightly elevated basal levels of FFA and 3-hydroxybutyrate. Si and EIR were inversely correlated in control women and their fasting glucose correlated both to EIR (r = 0.63, p < 0.05) and to Si (r = 0.59, p < 0.05). In the GDM subgroups Si and EIR were unrelated and there were no correlations between fasting glucose and Si or EIR. These results suggest that glucose intolerance in GDM patients in the last trimester of pregnancy is characterized by both an impaired insulin secretion and an increased resistance to insulin. The impairment of insulin secretion and action increases with the severity of hyperglycemia, and the relative insulin deficiency characterizing GDM patients is associated with a selected defect in insulin action mainly affecting gluco-regulation.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗
PubMed1997

Cost-utility analysis of melphalan plus prednisone with or without interferon-alpha 2b in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. Results from a randomised controlled trial.

This study evaluated the cost utility of adding interferon-alpha 2b to conventional treatment in patients with multiple myeloma. It also provides a methodology for transforming complex quality-of-life profiles into a single index value on the conventional 0 to 1 quality-adjusted life-year scale (QALY). From 1990 to 1992, 583 patients with newly diagnosed, symptomatic multiple myeloma were enrolled in a randomised, multicentre, phase III study to evaluate the addition of interferon-alpha 2b to treatment with melphalan and prednisone. Addition of interferon-alpha 2b yielded a 12% increase in median survival time, at the expense of a slight reduction in quality of life during the first year of treatment. The gain in survival time was not large enough to reach statistical significance. Patients receiving interferon-alpha 2b also had a 5- to 6-month prolongation of the plateau phase. Cost per QALY gained by adding interferon-alpha 2b was conservatively estimated at $US110,000. Potentially better cost effectiveness may be found in different treatment regimens or in certain patient subgroups.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

[A table of reference values for cost-benefit-analyses in health care].

On the basis of preference measurements in several countries a table has been prepared showing society's assessment of different outcomes in health care as a function of severity of illness and effect of treatment. The numbers in the table can be used in cost-effectiveness analysis as an aid to deciding allocation of resources.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1996

[Quality adjusted life years in assessment of preventive measures. Should blood donors be tested for HTLV-I/II infections?].

In planning preventive health measures, quality adjusted life-years (QALYs) are useful as a measure of benefit. As an example, the question of whether blood donors should be routinely tested for antibodies to the Human T-lymphotropic viruses I and II (HTLV I/II) is analysed. A mathematical model was set up to describe the consequences, in terms of lost life-years and years with disease due to transfusion-mediated infection (if testing is not performed) or years with reduced quality of life (in the case of testing). These future outcomes were discounted and converted to QALYs. The cost per QALY is about NOK 2.33 million when the prevalence is 1 per 50,000 blood donors, and is reduced to 190,000 per QALY when the prevalence is 10 per 50,000. Using QALYs in evaluation of preventive medicine can be complicated, and calls for cooperation between epidemiologists and health economists.

Blood Donors↗
PubMed1996

The significance of age and duration of effect in social evaluation of health care.

To give priority to the young over the elderly has been labelled 'ageism'. People who express 'ageist' preferences may feel that, all else equal, an individual has greater right to enjoy additional life years the fewer life years he or she has already had. We shall refer to this as egalitarian ageism. They may also emphasise the greater expected duration of health benefits in young people that derives from their greater life expectancy. We may call this utilitarian ageism. Both these forms of ageism were observed in an empirical study of social preferences in Australia. The study lends some support to the assumptions in the QALY approach that duration of benefits and hence old age, should count in prioritising at the budget level in health care.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

Health status index models for use in resource allocation decisions. A critical review in the light of observed preferences for social choice.

In the last two decades a number of health status index models have been developed for assessing the value of health outcomes in terms of quality-adjusted life years. The models can be tested by comparing their implications with direct observations of how societies think resources should be distributed across patient groups. This paper reviews empirical evidence of this kind from various countries and summarizes the evidence in three rules of thumb for selecting values for health states. Nine different models are judged relative to these rules of thumb. Eight of the models underestimate the strength of social preferences for treating the severely ill before the less severely ill. The ninth has a strong bias against states associated with emotional distress. As a consequence, none of the models can be seen as sufficient stand-alone instruments for valuing health outcomes. Instead, the models may be seen as complementary and adjustable parts of a tool kit that should also include the rules of thumb suggested in this paper.

Bias↗
PubMed1995

Who cares about cost? Does economic analysis impose or reflect social values?

In a two-stage survey, a cross-section of Australians were questioned about the importance of costs in setting priorities in health care. Generally, respondents felt that it is unfair to discriminate against patients who happen to have a high cost illness and that costs should therefore not be a major factor in prioritising. The majority maintained this view even when confronted with its implications in terms of the total number of people who could be treated and their own chance of receiving treatment if they fall ill. Their position cannot be discarded as irrational, as it is consistent with a defensible view of utility. However, the results suggest that the concern with allocative efficiency, as usually envisaged by the economists, is not shared by the general public and that the cost-effectiveness approach to assigning priorities in health care may be imposing an excessively simple value system upon resource allocation decision-making.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1995

Maximizing health benefits vs egalitarianism: an Australian survey of health issues.

Economists have often treated the objective of health services as being the maximization of the QALYs gained, irrespective of how the gains are distributed. In a cross section of Australians such a policy of distributive neutrality received: (a) very little support when health benefits to young people compete with health benefits to the elderly; (b) only moderate support when those who can become a little better compete with those who can become much better; (c) only moderate support when smokers compete with non smokers; (d) some support when young children compete with newborns; and (e) wide spread support when parents of dependent children compete with people without children. Overall, the views of the study population were strongly egalitarian. A policy of health benefit maximization received very limited support when the consequence is a loss of equity and access to services for the elderly and for people with a limited potential for improving their health.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Blood glucose limits in the diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy. Relation to morbidity.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) by a 2-h blood glucose value > or = 9.0 mmol/l in the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The maternal and neonatal outcome in women with a 2-h blood glucose value just below this limit, 8.0-8.9 mmol/l, is analyzed. The outcome is compared to a randomly selected control group. DESIGN: A comparative study. SUBJECTS: There were 223 women in the group with a 2-h value of 8.0 to 8.9 mmol/l in the OGTT. This group was compared to a randomly selected control group of 391 women. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fetal outcome: perinatal mortality, birth weight, respiratory disturbances, symptomatic hypoglycemia, polycythemia, hyperbilirubinemia and traumatic deliveries. Maternal age, body mass index (BMI), pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) or preeclampsia and route of delivery. RESULTS: The women in the group with a 2-h glucose value of 8.0-8.9 mmol/l were, compared to the control group, significantly older, heavier, had a higher BMI, gave birth to heavier children and a significantly increased number of large-for-date infants, while there were no differences in neonatal mortality, morbidity or birth trauma. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that using the 75 g 2-h OGTT with a B-glucose limit of > or = 9.0 mmol/l instead of > or = 8.0 mmol/l to diagnose GDM during pregnancy has no major adverse effects concerning maternal and neonatal outcome in the borderline interval of 8.0 to 8.9 mmol/l.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1995

The use of cost-value analysis to judge patients' right to treatment.

In deciding patients' right to treatment, there are trade-offs to be made between severity of illness, efficacy of treatment and treatment costs. These trade-offs can be expressed in numerical terms, using a multicategory scale to describe both severity of illness and treatment effect. Given the existence of this methodology, one may hypothesize that patients' right to treatment within specified time-limits can be enforced through formal legislation without necessarily damaging efforts at overall cost containment or imposing unreasonable administrative burdens on the health care system. Practical trials, for instance in selected geographical areas, are probably necessary to determine whether or not this hypothesis is true.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1993

[Health care politicians are not concerned about maximum health gain per crown].

A survey among 150 members and deputy members of County Health and Social Welfare Committees in Norway showed little support of the idea of maximizing health gain when allocating scarce resources among different patient groups. The majority would distribute resources equally between groups that were equally ill but differed in respect of life expectancy and degree of potential improvement in health. A procedure for setting priorities is called for which makes it possible to weigh the severity of the condition against the effect of treatment, and strike a balance between these two factors in quantitative terms.

Cost Allocation↗
PubMed1993

The trade-off between severity of illness and treatment effect in cost-value analysis of health care.

Social appreciation of health care programs is a function of the severity of the patients' initial state as well as of treatment effect. Prioritising on the basis of cost-per-QALY misses the former point. The trade-off between severity and treatment effect can be expressed in terms of equivalence of numbers for different outcomes. The present study suggests that this trade-off can be modeled mathematically with reasonable accuracy. A table that expresses social equivalence numbers as a function of severity and treatment effect could be used together with guidelines for adjusting for age, duration and risk to estimate the social value of any outcome. In this valuation, saving a young person from dying to a life as healthy (= 1 SAVE) is suggested as the unit of measurement. Cost per SAVE may then be useful as a guiding criterion in prioritising.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1993

Unjustified use of the Quality of Well-Being Scale in priority setting in Oregon.

The Quality of Well-Being Scale (QWB) is an instrument for valuing health states on a continuum from unity (healthy) to zero (dead). While it seems safe to assume that the values have ordinal properties, there is neither theoretical nor empirical basis for claiming that they have the cardinal properties that are required in calculations of social benefit in cost-utility analysis. Failure to recognize this led the Oregon Health Services Commission to produce a QWB-based priority list with a number of counterintuitive rankings. A set of health state values based on upper end compression would have produced a list more in accordance with public preferences.

Algorithms↗