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Seppo Koskinen

Publications and source records attributed to Seppo Koskinen.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Socioeconomic inequities in invasive cardiac procedures after first myocardial infarction in Finland in 1995.

OBJECTIVE: We examined socioeconomic disparities in coronary procedure rates after first events among hospitalized myocardial infarction (MI) patients. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Information on MI patients in 1995 in Finland was obtained from the Finnish Cardiovascular Disease Register Project. Data on comorbidity, invasive treatments, hospitalizations, mortality, and socioeconomic status were obtained by linking data from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register, cause of death register, population census, and the health insurance register using personal identity numbers. RESULTS: In 1995, 5172 patients aged 40 to 74 years were hospitalized for first MI. This corresponds to age-standardized event rates of 354/100,000 for men and 152/100,000 for women. Within 2 years, 33% of men and 21% of women underwent an invasive coronary procedure. Men in the lowest income third underwent 25% (95% confidence interval [CI] 12-36) fewer procedures than men in the highest third. Among women, the corresponding difference was 43% (95% CI 24-57). These disparities persisted throughout the 2-year follow-up, and they were not reduced by adjustment for comorbidity or hospital district. CONCLUSION: Socioeconomic disparities were observed in receipt of invasive cardiac procedures. More attention should be paid to equitable distribution of scarce health care resources.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Disability predicted mortality in men but not women with coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: Disability increases mortality in patients with myocardial infarction in acute clinical settings, but the impact of disability on mortality in persons with coronary heart disease (CHD) at the population level is largely unknown. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We assessed disability as a predictor of mortality among 4,501 men and women aged 45 and over in a national sample of the Finnish population, examined in 1978-1980. RESULTS: During follow-up until the end of 1994, 897 men and 846 women died. Disability was related to increased all-cause and CHD mortality after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors in men regardless of baseline CHD status. In women with CHD at baseline, disability was not related to excess mortality, although disability predicted mortality in women without baseline CHD. CONCLUSION: Disability predicts mortality in men with CHD, but not in women. This may reflect a gender difference in the nature of CHD, but these findings need to be verified in other large-scale population studies.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2004

Impact of cardiovascular diseases on activity limitations and need for help among older persons.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to estimate the importance of specific chronic cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) as determinants of disability. METHODS: One thousand two hundred eighty-eight (86%) participants from a random population sample of 1,500 individuals (from two geographical regions of Finland) aged 65-74 years were interviewed and clinically examined in 1997. RESULTS: CVDs were strongly associated with disability. However, mental disorders were the strongest determinant of disability. Of specific CVDs, cerebrovascular diseases in men, and myocardial infarction, heart failure, and cerebrovascular diseases in women were significantly associated with disability after adjustment for age and comorbidity. In men 33% and in women 24% of disability was attributable to CVD, excluding lone hypertension. CONCLUSION: CVDs are important determinants of disability among Finns aged 65-74 years. Due to the growing number of elderly people with CVDs, disability associated with these diseases is likely to become a growing social and health burden to the community.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2004

Differences in older adults' use of primary and specialist care services in two Nordic countries.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to compare elderly persons' self-reported use of physician services and associated sociodemographic factors and self-rated health in two Nordic countries with different health care systems, Finland and Norway. METHODS: Population based, cross-sectional surveys conducted in Norway (1995-97) and in Finland (1997) were employed. In the Norwegian data a total of 7,919 individuals, and in the Finnish data 1, 500 individuals, aged 65-74 years old were included in the samples. The outcome variables were having visited a general practitioner, a specialist or both during the past 12 months. Associations between utilization of physician's services and sociodemographic factors and self-rated health were analysed by multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Approximately the same proportion of elderly in Norway and Finland reported having visited a physician during the previous 12 months. Finnish elderly more often visited a specialist compared to Norwegians. Self-rated health was strongly associated with visits to a specialist in both countries and to a GP in Norway. In Finland visits to a GP were only weakly connected with self-rated health. The use of specialist services increased with increasing education in both countries and in Finland the association was steeper than in Norway. Marital status was not consistently associated with visiting a physician. CONCLUSIONS: Higher rates of specialist care among the elderly in Finland may indicate a more efficient gate-keeping role among Norwegian general practitioners or inducement caused by two overlapping service sectors. Inconsistent associations between utilization and health variables may be due to cultural differences.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Lisfranc fracture-dislocation in patients with multiple trauma: diagnosis with multidetector computed tomography.

BACKGROUND: We assessed acute phase multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) findings of Lisfranc fracture-dislocations in patients with multiple trauma referred to a Level I trauma center over a 29-month period. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty two patients (208 male and 74 female) between the ages of 13 and 89 (mean 42) years had, at the request of emergency room physicians, MDCT of the foot and ankle after acute injury. RESULTS: A total of 21 Lisfranc fracture-dislocations were found in 19 (7%) patients. Two main injury mechanisms were established: falling from high places in 10 injuries (48%) and traffic accidents in five (24%). Primary radiographs were available in 17 (81%) feet, and four (24%) had false negative radiographic results when compared to MDCT. In all Lisfranc fracture-dislocations MDCT showed the joint anatomy and the extent of dislocation better than primary radiographs, and in six (46%) of 13 true positive primary radiographs, MDCT revealed additional occult fractures in the Lisfranc joint. Multidetector CT revealed additional occult fractures in other parts of the foot and ankle in six (35%) of 17 feet. CONCLUSIONS: Standard radiography remains a primary diagnostic modality in acute foot and ankle trauma. Multidetector CT with high-quality multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) is recommended as a complementary examination in high-energy injury in patients with multiple trauma or in patients in whom radiographic images are equivocal. This may reveal Lisfranc fracture-dislocations, show the extent of the fracture-dislocation, and reveal occult fractures in other parts of the foot and ankle.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2004

Detection of intracranial aneurysms with two-dimensional and three-dimensional multislice helical computed tomographic angiography.

OBJECTIVE: Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) has become a diagnostic method for the detection of intracranial aneurysms in cases of subarachnoid bleeding. We sought to evaluate the detection of aneurysms with CTA with a novel multislice helical computed tomographic scanner. METHODS: Prospectively, 179 patients underwent multislice CTA, followed by digital subtraction angiography (DSA) of both carotid arteries with or without the posterior circulation, DSA of one carotid artery with or without the posterior circulation, or DSA of the posterior circulation alone. The total number of carotid arteries studied was 298, and the number of vertebrobasilar arteries studied was 124. RESULTS: Of 178 aneurysms verified with DSA or intraoperatively, CTA failed to detect 7 aneurysms of 1 to 2 mm and 1 partially thrombosed, 4-mm aneurysm. The sensitivity and specificity of CTA for aneurysm detection were 0.96 and 0.97, respectively. CONCLUSION: The first generation of multislice computed tomographic technology does not improve CTA to surpass DSA for the detection of small aneurysms of 1 to 2 mm. In practice, however, CTA is superior as a fast noninvasive method without complications.

Angiography, Digital Subtraction↗
PubMed2003

Widening socioeconomic mortality disparity among diabetic people in Finland.

BACKGROUND: A clear social class gradient in mortality has been consistently reported among western populations. However, in the early 1980s in Finland, no major socioeconomic differences in mortality were found among people with diabetes. The present study examines whether this exceptional finding persisted in the 1990s. METHODS: All residents of Finland aged 30 to 74 in the 1980 and 1990 population censuses were classified as diabetic or non-diabetic according to entitlement to reimbursement for diabetes medication. The patient's age at onset of the disease was used as a proxy for diabetes type. All diabetic and non-diabetic persons were followed up for mortality in 1981-1985 and 1991-1996. Age-adjusted relative death rates were obtained from Poisson regression models. RESULTS: From the early 1980s to the early 1990s marked socioeconomic mortality disparities favouring the better-off emerged among diabetic people. The increase in socioeconomic mortality differences from 1981-1985 to 1991-1996 was mainly due to divergence in deaths from diabetes, which contributed 52% of the increase in mortality disparity among women and 35% among men, and from cardiovascular diseases, whose contribution was 21% for women and 25% for men. CONCLUSIONS: From the early 1980s to the 1990s in Finland a clear socioeconomic gradient in mortality emerged in every age group of diabetic people. This was largely due to a much worse development among blue-collar than white-collar workers in deaths from diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Secular changes in prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in elderly Finns.

AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to examine changes with time in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Finns 65 to 74 years of age. METHODS: Two cross-sectional studies were conducted 18 years apart. In the Mini-Finland Survey (1978 to 1980), a nationally representative sample of 1,250 Finns of 65 to 74 years of age was interviewed and clinically examined. The FINRISK Survey (1997) consisted of a random sample of 1,500 individuals in the same age range, from two areas of Finland. Prevalences of chronic CVD (angina pectoris (AP), myocardial infarction (MI), coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, and intermittent claudication) were assessed via self-reported data relating to known conditions and diagnoses by physicians. RESULTS: The prevalences of most of the chronic CVD were lower in the 1997 survey than in the 1978 to 1980 survey. A major exception was drug treatment for hypertension in men, which was more prevalent in the 1997 survey. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the prevalence of CVD in Finns 65 to 74 years of age has declined since 1978. This information is valuable in assessing current and future burdens imposed by CVD on society.

Aged↗