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To assess the association between education and all-cause and cause-specific mortality among patients with osteoarthritis (OA) in comparison to an OA-free reference cohort.Using data from the Skåne Healthcare Register, we identified all residents age ≥45 years in the region of Skåne in southern Sweden with doctor-diagnosed OA of peripheral joints between 1998 and 2013 (n = 123,993). We created an age- and sex-matched reference cohort without OA diagnosis (n = 121,318). Subjects were followed until death, relocation outside Skåne, or the end of 2014. The relative index of inequality (RII) and the slope index of inequality (SII) were estimated by the Cox model and Aalen's additive hazard model, respectively.We found an inverse association between education and mortality. The magnitude of relative inequalities in all-cause mortality were comparable in the OA, with an RII of 1.53 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.46, 1.61), and reference cohorts (RII 1.54 [95% CI 1.47, 1.62]). The absolute inequalities were smaller in the OA cohort (all-cause deaths per 100,000 person-years, SII 937 [95% CI 811, 1,063]) compared with the reference cohort (SII 1,265 [95% CI 1,109, 1,421]). Cardiovascular mortality contributed more to the absolute inequalities in the OA cohort than in the reference cohort (60.1% versus 48.1%) while the opposite was observed for cancer mortality (8.5% versus 22.3%).We found higher all-cause and cause-specific mortality in OA patients with lower education. The observed inequalities in the OA cohort reflect the inequalities in the population at large. The greater burden of cardiovascular diseases in OA patients suggests that proper management of cardiovascular risk factors in OA patients is important.

Purpose To investigate the impact of COVID-19 in Sweden on rates of knee and hip surgeries. Methods We used healthcare data for the population of the southernmost region in Sweden (1.4 million inhabitants). We did an interrupted time-series analysis to estimate changes in rates and trends of joint replacements (JR), arthroscopies, and fracture surgeries for knee or hip in April–December 2020 compared to pre-COVID-19 levels adjusting for seasonal variations. Results We found a drop of 54% (95% CI 42%; 68%) and 42% (95% CI 32%; 52%), respectively, in the rate of JRs and arthroscopies in April 2020 when compared to the counterfactual scenario. This was followed by an increase that brought the rates of JRs and arthroscopies back to their predicted levels also during the beginning of the second wave (November–December 2020). Acute fracture surgeries were largely unaffected, i.e. did not show any decrease as observed for the other surgeries. Conclusions In southern Sweden, we observed a marked decrease in elective knee and hip surgeries following the first wave of Covid-19. The rates remained close to normal during the beginning of the second wave suggesting that important elective surgeries for patients with end-stage osteoarthritis can still be offered despite an ongoing pandemic provided adequate routines and hospital resources.

Background In many high-income countries, life expectancy (LE) has increased, with women outliving men. This gender gap in LE (GGLE) has been explained with biological factors, healthy behaviours, health status, and sociodemographic characteristics, but little attention has been paid to the role of public health policies that include/affect these factors. This study aimed to assess the contributions of avoidable causes of death, as a measure of public health policies and healthcare quality impacts, to the GGLE and its temporal changes in the UK. We also estimated the contributions of avoidable causes of death into the gap in LE between countries in the UK. Methods We obtained annual data on underlying causes of death by age and sex from the World Health Organization mortality database for the periods 2001–2003 and 2014–2016. We calculated LE at birth using abridged life tables. We applied Arriaga’s decomposition method to compute the age- and cause-specific contributions into the GGLE in each period and its changes between two periods as well as the cross-country gap in LE in the 2014–2016 period. Results Avoidable causes had greater contributions than non-avoidable causes to the GGLE in both periods (62% in 2001–2003 and 54% in 2014–2016) in the UK. Among avoidable causes, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) followed by injuries had the greatest contributions to the GGLE in both periods. On average, the GGLE across the UK narrowed by about 1.0 year between 2001–2003 and 2014–2016 and three avoidable causes of IHD, lung cancer, and injuries accounted for about 0.8 years of this reduction. England & Wales had the greatest LE for both sexes in 2014–2016. Among avoidable causes, injuries in men and lung cancer in women had the largest contributions to the LE advantage in England & Wales compared to Northern Ireland, while drug-related deaths compared to Scotland in both sexes. Conclusion With avoidable causes, particularly preventable deaths, substantially contributing to the gender and cross-country gaps in LE, our results suggest the need for behavioural changes by implementing targeted public health programmes, particularly targeting younger men from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Summary Purpose To estimate the excess healthcare use and work disability attributable to knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the first 5 years following diagnosis. Methods Among individual aged 40–80 years who resided in Skane on 31st December 2008, we identified those with a main diagnosis of knee OA during 2009–2014 and no previous diagnosis of any OA from 1998 (n = 16,888). We created a comparison cohort matched (1:1) by sex, age, and municipality from individuals with no OA diagnosis (at any site) during 1998–2016. We compared healthcare use and net disability days for 60 months following diagnosis between the two groups. We applied a survival-adjusted regression technique controlling for sociodemographic characteristics as well as pre-diagnosis outcome and comorbidity. Results The estimated 5-year incremental effects of knee OA per-patient were 16.8 (95% CI: 15.8, 17.7) healthcare consultations, 0.7 (0.4, 1.1) inpatient days, 420 (372, 490) defined daily dose of prescribed medications, and 21.8 (15.2, 30.0) net disability days. Primary care consultations constituted about 73% of the excess healthcare consultations. Most of these incremental effects occurred in the first year after diagnosis. Better survival in the knee OA group accounted for 0.7 (95% CI: 0.5, 0.8) and 1.4 (0.7, 2.6) of the excess healthcare consultations and net disability days, respectively. Both estimated total and incremental resources use were generally greater for women than men with knee OA. Conclusion Knee OA was associated with considerable excess healthcare use and work disability independent of pre-diagnosis resources use, comorbidity, and sociodemographic characteristics.

Objective To determine the association between OA and risk of hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (HACSCs). Methods We included all individuals aged 40–85 years who resided in Skåne, Sweden on 31 December 2005 with at least one healthcare consultation during 1998–2005 (n = 515 256). We identified those with a main diagnosis of OA between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2016. People were followed from 1 January 2006 until an HACSC, death, relocation outside Skåne, or 31 December 2016 (whichever occurred first). OA status was treated as a time-varying covariate (those diagnosed before 1 January 2006 considered as exposed for whole study period). We assessed relative [hazard ratios (HRs) using Cox proportional hazard model] and absolute (hazard difference using additive hazard model) effects of OA on HACSCs adjusted for potential confounders. Results Crude incidence rates of HACSCs were 239 (95% CI: 235, 242) and 151 (150, 152) per 10 000 person-years among OA and non-OA persons, respectively. The OA persons had an increased risk of HACSCs [HR (95% CI) 1.11 (1.09, 1.13)] and its subcategories of medical conditions except chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [HR (95% CI) 0.86 (0.81, 0.90)]. There were 20 (95% CI: 16, 24) more HACSCs per 10 000 person-years in OA compared with non-OA persons. While HRs for knee and hip OA were generally comparable, only knee OA was associated with increased risk of hospitalization for diabetes. Conclusion OA is associated with an increased risk of HACSCs, highlighting the urgent need to improve outpatient care for OA patients.

OBJECTIVE: To examine how intersections of multiple sociodemographic variables explain the individual heterogeneity in risk of being diagnosed with any of following chronic rheumatic diseases (CRDs): osteoarthritis (OA), gout, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or spondyloarthritis (SpA).METHODS: We identified people aged 40-65 years residing in Skane, Sweden, by 31st December 2013 and having done so from 1st January 2000 (N=342,542). We used Skane healthcare register to identify those with a diagnosis of the CRD of interest between 1st January 2014 and 31st December 2015 with no previous such diagnosis during 2000-2013. We created 144 intersectional social strata (ISS) using categories of age, gender, education, income, civil status, and immigration. With individuals nested within ISS, we applied multilevel logistic regression models to estimate: 1) variance partition coefficient (VPC) as a measure of discriminatory accuracy of the ISS and 2) predicted absolute risks and 95% credible intervals for each stratum.RESULTS: In overall, 3.5%, 0.5%, 0.2%, and 0.2% of the study population were diagnosed with OA, gout, RA, and SpA, respectively. The VPC ranged from 16.2% for gout to 0.5% for SpA. Gender explained the largest proportion of between-strata variation in risk of RA, gout, and SpA while age was the most important factor for OA. The most between-strata differences in risk of these CRDs were due to the additive main effects.CONCLUSION: Despite meaningful between-strata inequalities in the risk of being diagnosed with CRDs (except SpA), there were substantial within-strata heterogeneities that remains unexplained. There were limited evidence of intersectional interaction effects. (Less)

We propose combining population-based register data with a nested clinical cohort to correct misclassification and unmeasured confounding through probabilistic quantification of bias. We have illustrated this approach by estimating the association between knee osteoarthritis and mortality. We used the Swedish Population Register to include all persons resident in the Skåne region in 2008 and assessed whether they had osteoarthritis using data from the Skåne Healthcare Register. We studied mortality through year 2017 by estimating hazard ratios. We used data from the Malmö Osteoarthritis Study (MOA), a small cohort study from Skåne, to derive bias parameters for probabilistic quantification of bias, to correct the hazard ratio estimate for differential misclassification of the knee osteoarthritis diagnosis and confounding from unmeasured obesity. We included 292,000 persons in the Skåne population and 1,419 from the MOA study. The adjusted association of knee osteoarthritis with all-cause mortality in the MOA sample had a hazard ratio of 1.10 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80, 1.52) and was thus inconclusive. The naive association in the Skåne population had a hazard ratio of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.93, 0.98), while the bias-corrected estimate was 1.02 (95% CI: 0.59, 1.52), suggesting high uncertainty in bias correction. Combining population-based register data with clinical cohorts provides more information than using either data source separately.

Objective To assess the impact of the Swedish health authority recommendation against the use of knee arthroscopy in patients aged ≥40 years with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Design Interrupted time series analysis. Setting Public health care in Skåne region. Participants Patients aged ≥40 years who underwent knee arthroscopy from January 2010 to December 2015. Intervention(s) National guideline’s recommendation against the use of knee arthroscopy in patients with knee OA. Main Outcome Measure(s) 1) proportion of patients aged ≥40 years with a main diagnosis of Knee OA and/or degenerative meniscal lesions (DML) who underwent knee arthroscopy, and 2) overall knee arthroscopy rate per 100,000 Skåne population aged ≥40 years. Results A total of 6,155 knee arthroscopy were performed among people aged ≥40 years during study period. Of 42,044 patients with Knee OA/DML, 3,728 had knee arthroscopy. The recommendation was associated with reductions in the use of knee arthroscopy and two years after the recommendation, there was a reduction of 28.6% (95% CI: 9.3, 47.8) and 34.7% (23.9, 45.4) in proportion of Knee OA/DML patients with knee arthroscopy and the overall knee arthroscopy rate, respectively, relative to that expected if pre-recommendation trend continued. Our sensitivity analysis showed that the use of total knee replacement was stable over the study period. Conclusion The national recommendation was associated with reduction in use of knee arthroscopy in public health care in southern Sweden. However, still 4.5% of these patients underwent knee arthroscopy in 2015 implying that more efforts are required to achieve the recommended target.

Background Avoidable mortality is considered as a potential indicator of the influences of public health policies and healthcare quality on population health. This study aimed to examine the trend in avoidable mortality and its influence on rising life expectancy (LE) and declining gender gap in LE (GGLE) in Sweden. Methods We extracted data on causes of death by age, sex, and year from national registry from 1997 to 2018. The UK Office for National Statistics definition was used to divide causes of death into five mutually exclusive categories: amenable, preventable, amenable & preventable, ischemic heart disease (IHD), and non-avoidable causes. We applied Joinpoint regression to analyse temporal trends in age-standardized mortality rates. The Arriaga method was applied to decompose changes in LE and GGLE by age group and causes of death. Results Average annual reductions in avoidable vs. non-avoidable mortality were 2.6% (95% CI:2.5, 2.7) vs. 1.4% (95% CI:1.3, 1.5) in men, and 1.6% (95% CI:1.4, 1.9) vs. 0.9% (95% CI:0.7, 1.0) in women over the study period. LE in men rose by 4.1 years between 1997 and 2018 (from 72.8 to 76.9 years), of which 2.4 years (59.3%) were attributable to reductions in avoidable mortality. Corresponding LE gain was 2.3 years in women (from 78.0 in 1997 to 80.3 in 2018) and avoidable mortality accounted for 1.0 year (45.6%) of this gain. Between 1997 and 2018, the GGLE narrowed by 1.9 years, of which 1.4 years (77.7%) were attributable to avoidable causes. Among avoidable causes, while preventable causes had the largest contribution to the GGLE, IHD had the greatest contributions to LE gains and the narrowing GGLE. Conclusions Our findings showed that avoidable causes had a substantial contribution to gain in LE with more profound gain in men than in women, resulting in narrowing the GGLE. Lower pace of reductions in preventable than amenable mortality highlights the need for improving the effectiveness of inter-sectoral health policies aimed at behavioural changes.

ObjectiveTo estimate the healthcare resource utilization (HRU) in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) compared with the general population in southern Sweden.MethodsThe study sample comprised 653 patients with GCA along with 10 age-, sex-, and residency area–matched reference subjects per patient. Data on public and private healthcare consultations and hospitalizations were extracted from the Skåne Healthcare Register. We assessed trajectories of primary and specialist healthcare visits, as well as hospital admissions and inpatient days from 3 years before through 5 years after the date of GCA diagnosis for patients and matched references. HRU was analyzed using generalized estimating equations adjusted for sex, age at the index year, calendar year of diagnosis, education, income, marital status, place of birth, and Charlson Comorbidity Index. Inverse probability weighting was used to account for dropout during study.ResultsPatients with GCA had higher rates of healthcare visits than the references from the year before GCA diagnosis and up to 4 years after diagnosis, with the largest relative (rate ratio 1.85, 95% CI 1.68–2.05) and absolute (mean difference 10.2, 95% CI 8.1–12.3 visits per person) differences in the year of diagnosis. Similar trajectories were observed for primary and specialist healthcare visits. For hospital admissions and inpatient days, the differences disappeared 1 year after diagnosis date.ConclusionPatients with GCA utilized healthcare services at a significantly higher rate than the reference population. The increased utilization among Swedish patients with GCA was evident 1 year before and prolonged up to 4 years after diagnosis date.

Objective: To assess the association between education and all-cause and cause-specific mortality among patients with osteoarthritis (OA) in comparison to an OA-free reference cohort.Methods: Using data from the Skane healthcare register, we identified all residents aged ≥45 years in the region of Skane, with doctor-diagnosed OA of peripheral joints between 1998 and 2013 (n=123,993). We created an age and sex-matched reference cohort without OA diagnosis (n=121,318). Subjects were followed until death, relocation outside Skane, or the end of 2014. The relative index of inequality (RII) and the slope index of inequality (SII) were estimated by the Cox model and Aalen´s additive hazard model, respectively.Results: We found an inverse association between education and mortality. The magnitude of relative inequalities in all-cause mortality were comparable in the OA (RII 1.53, 95% CI:1.46, 1.61) and reference cohorts (RII:1.54, 95% CI:1.47, 1.62). The absolute inequalities were smaller in the OA (SII 937 all-cause deaths per 100,000 person-years, 95% CI:811, 1063) compared with the reference cohort (SII 1265, 95% CI:1109, 1421). Cardiovascular mortality contributed more to the absolute inequalities in the OA than in the reference cohort (60.1% vs. 48.1%) while the opposite was observed for cancer mortality (8.5% vs. 22.3%).Conclusion: We found higher all-cause and cause-specific mortality in OA patients with lower education. The observed inequalities in the OA cohort reflect the inequalities in the population at large. The greater burden of cardiovascular diseases in OA patients suggests that proper management of cardiovascular risk factors in OA patients is important. (Less)

Purpose To develop a mapping model to estimate EQ-5D-3L from the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Methods The responses to EQ-5D-3L and KOOS questionnaires (n = 40,459 observations) were obtained from the Swedish National anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) Register for patients ≥ 18 years with the knee ACL injury. We used linear regression (LR) and beta-mixture (BM) for direct mapping and the generalized ordered probit model for response mapping (RM). We compared the distribution of the original data to the distributions of the data generated using the estimated models. Results Models with individual KOOS subscales performed better than those with the average of KOOS subscale scores (KOOS5, KOOS4). LR had the poorest performance overall and across the range of disease severity particularly at the extremes of the distribution of severity. Compared with the RM, the BM performed better across the entire range of disease severity except the most severe range (KOOS5 Conclusions We developed mapping models to estimate EQ-5D-3L from KOOS facilitating application of KOOS in cost-utility analyses. The BM showed superior performance for estimating EQ-5D-3L from KOOS. Further validation of the estimated models in different independent samples is warranted.

Background Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis with a rising prevalence around the globe. While educational inequalities in incidence and prevalence of gout have been reported, no previous study investigated educational inequality in mortality among people with gout. The aim of this study was to assess absolute and relative educational inequalities in all-cause and cause-specific mortality among people with gout in comparison with an age- and sex-matched cohort free of gout in southern Sweden. Methods We identified all residents aged ≥30 years of Skåne region with doctor-diagnosed gout (ICD-10 code M10, n = 24,877) during 1998–2013 and up to 4 randomly selected age- and sex-matched comparators free of gout (reference cohort, n = 99,504). These were followed until death, emigration, or end of 2014. We used additive hazards models and Cox regression adjusted for age, sex, marital status, and country of birth to estimate slope and relative indices of inequality (SII/RII). Three cause-of-death attribution approaches were considered for RII estimation: “underlying cause”, “any mention”, and “weighted multiple-cause”. Results Gout patients with the lowest education had 1547 (95% CI: 1001, 2092) more deaths per 100,000 person-years compared with those with the highest education. These absolute inequalities were larger than in the reference population (1255, 95% CI: 1038, 1472). While the contribution of cardiovascular (cancer) mortality to these absolute inequalities was greater (smaller) in men with gout than those without, the opposite was seen among women. Relative inequality in all-cause mortality was smaller in gout (RII 1.29 [1.18, 1.41]) than in the reference population (1.46 [1.38, 1.53]). The weighted multiple-cause approach generally led to larger RIIs than the underlying cause approach. Conclusions Our register-based matched cohort study showed that low level of education was associated with increased mortality among gout patients. Although the magnitude of relative inequality was smaller in people with gout compared with those without, the absolute inequalities were greater reflecting a major mortality burden among those with lower education.