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Background: The beneficial effects of smoking cessation on the progression of COPD are well established. Nevertheless, many patients with COPD continue to smoke.Methods: In this nationwide hospital-based prospective follow-up study, we examined rates of smoking cessation and clinical and sociodemographic determinants of smoking cessation in 3,233 patients with COPD who smoked on outpatient contact during 2008 to 2012. Using multivariate Cox regression, we calculated hazard ratios (HRs) of quitting.Results: Within 1 and 5 years from first outpatient contact, the probability of quitting was 19% and 45%, respectively. In adjusted analyses, patients were less likely to quit if they were younger, with an HR of 0.84 (95% CI, 0.71-0.99) for patients aged 50 to 69 years and 0.53 (95% CI, 0.37-0.76) for patients aged 30 to 49, compared with those aged 70 years or older, who had lower income (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.67-0.94), lived alone (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.64-0.88), were unemployed (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.54-0.90), had milder COPD with an HR of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.53-0.84) for Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) A and 0.61 (95% CI, 0.47-0.80) for GOLD B compared with GOLD D, had Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea scale score < 4 (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.95), or no history of exacerbations treated on an outpatient basis. (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.68-0.93).Conclusions: These findings reinforce that young and socioeconomically disadvantaged patients have more difficulties achieving timely smoking cessation. A novel finding is that patients with milder COPD are less likely to quit. The findings suggest a need for interventional studies focusing on these subgroups to ensure abstinence to halt disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The excess risk of antibiotic use and hospital-treated infections in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared with general population is poorly understood. Methods. In a nationwide cohort of patients with incident T2D (n = 155 158) and an age-, gender-, and residence-matched comparison cohort (n = 774 017), we used Cox regression to compute rates and confounder-adjusted rate ratios (aRRs) of communitybased antibiotic prescription redemption and hospital-treated infections during 2004-2012. Results. The rates of community-based antibiotic prescriptions in the T2D and comparison cohorts were 364 vs 275 per 1000 person-years after a median follow-up of 1.1 years (aRR = 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23 to 1.25). The corresponding rates for hospital-treated infection were 58 vs 39 per 1000 person-years after a median follow-up of 2.8 years (aRR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.47 to 1.52). The aRRs were increased particularly for urinary tract infections (UTIs, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.35 to 1.45), skin infections (1.50; 95% CI, 1.45 to 1.55), septicemia (1.60; 95% CI, 1.53 to 1.67), and tuberculosis (1.61; 95% CI, 1.25 to 2.06) and of community-based antibiotics prescribed for UTIs (1.31; 95% CI, 1.29 to 1.33), Staphylococcus aureus infections (1.32; 95% CI, 1.30 to 1.34), and mycobacterial infections (1.69; 95% CI, 1.36 to 2.09). The 1-year aRR declined from 1.89 (95% CI, 1.75 to 2.04) in 2004 to 1.59 (95% CI, 1.45 to 1.74) in 2011 for hospital-treated infection (trend P = .007) and from 1.31 (95% CI, 1.27 to 1.36) in 2004 to 1.26 (95% CI, 1.22 to 1.30) in 2011 for community-based antibiotic prescriptions (trend P = .006). Conclusions. Patients with T2D have rates of community-based antibiotic prescriptions and hospital-treated infections that are higher than for the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting physical activity is a first-line choice of treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, there is a need for more effective tools and technologies to facilitate structured lifestyle interventions and to ensure a better compliance, sustainability, and health benefits of exercise training in patients with T2D. The InterWalk initiative and its innovative application (app) for smartphones described in this study were developed by the Danish Centre for Strategic Research in T2D aiming at implementing, testing, and validating interval walking in patients with T2D in Denmark. The interval walking training approach consists of repetitive 3-minute cycles of slow and fast walking with simultaneous intensity guiding, based on the exercise capacity of the user. The individual intensity during slow and fast walking is determined by a short initial self-conducted and audio-guided fitness test, which combined with automated audio instructions strives to motivate the individual to adjust the intensity to the predetermined individualized walking intensities. The InterWalk app data are collected prospectively from all users and will be linked to the unique Danish nationwide databases and administrative registries, allowing extensive epidemiological studies of exercise in patients with T2D, such as the level of adherence to InterWalk training and long-term effectiveness surveys of important health outcomes, including cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Currently, the InterWalk app has been downloaded by .30,000 persons, and the achieved epidemiological data quality is encouraging. Of the 9,466 persons providing personal information, 80% of the men and 62% women were overweight or obese (body mass index $25). The InterWalk project represents a contemporary technology-driven public health approach to monitor real-life exercise adherence and to propagate improved health through exercise intervention in T2D and in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) may be caused by an enteric neurotropic pathogen entering the brain through the vagal nerve, a process that may take over 20 years. We investigated the risk of PD in patients who underwent vagotomy and hypothesized that truncal vagotomy is associated with a protective effect, whereas superselective vagotomy has a minor effect.Methods: We constructed cohorts of all patients in Denmark who underwent vagotomy during 1977-1995 and a matched general population cohort by linking Danish registries. We used Cox regression to compute hazard ratios (HRs) for PD and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for potential confounders.Results: Risk of PD was decreased in patients who underwent truncal (HR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.56-1.27; follow-up of >20 years: HR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.28-1.20) compared to superselective vagotomy. Risk of PD was also decreased after truncal vagotomy when compared to the general population cohort (overall adjusted HR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.63-1.14; follow-up >20 years, adjusted HR = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.28-0.99). In patients who underwent superselective vagotomy, risk of PD was similar to the general population (HR = 1.09; 95% CI: 0.84-1.43; follow-up of >20 years: HR = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.80-1.70). Statistical precision of risk estimates was limited. Results were consistent after external adjustment for unmeasured confounding by smoking.Interpretation: Full truncal vagotomy is associated with a decreased risk for subsequent PD, suggesting that the vagal nerve may be critically involved in the pathogenesis of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine if the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in Denmark was associated with a decrease in the rate of ventilation tube (VT) insertions performed by office-based practising ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists. Design: Population-based register study based on prospectively collected data. Setting: Central Denmark Region. Data on VT insertions performed by any office-based practising ENT specialist in the region were collected from the National Health Service Registry. Participants: All children below the age of 2 years with a first-time VT insertion from 2001 through 2011. Main outcome measures: Age-stratified and gender-stratified standardised incidence rates of first-time VT insertion, and incidence rate ratio for PCV period 2008-2011 compared with pre-PCV period 2001-2007. Results: The annual incidence rate of first-time VT insertion in small children increased steadily from 64/1000 person-years in 2001 to 100/1000 person-years in 2011. The incidence rate ratio was 1.27 (95% CI 1.24 to 1.30) in the PCV period compared with the pre-PCV period. Conclusions: The introduction of PCV into the Danish childhood immunisation programme in 2007 was not associated with a subsequent decrease in the rate of VT insertions among children below the age of 2 years. Instead, the rate continued to rise, as before the introduction of PCV. Trial registration number: Danish Data Protection Agency: 2007-58-0010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Chronic hepatitis C is a global health problem and has been associated with coronary artery disease. Our aim was to examine the prevalence of coronary artery disease risk markers including endothelial biomarkers in patients with chronic hepatitis C and matched comparisons without manifest cardiovascular disease or diabetes in a cross-sectional design.Methods: Sixty patients with chronic hepatitis C (mean age 51 years) were recruited from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Copenhagen University Hospital, and compared with 60 age-matched non-hepatitis C virus-infected individuals from a general population survey. We examined traditional coronary artery disease risk factors, metabolic syndrome, carotid intima media thickness, and a range of endothelial biomarkers.Results: Patients with chronic hepatitis C had more hypertension (40% versus 25%, prevalence ratio [PR] 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.9-2.7) and smoked more (53% versus 38%, PR 1.4; 95% CI 0.9-2.1). The two groups had similar body mass index (mean 25.0 versus 25.7 kg/m(2)), whereas those with chronic hepatitis C had less dyslipidemia (including significantly lower low-density lipoprotein and cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein ratio), higher glycosylated hemoglobin level (mean 6.2 versus 5.7, difference of means 0.5; 95% CI 0.3-0.8), and a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (28% versus 18%, PR 1.6; 95% CI 0.8-3.0). Increased carotid intima media thickness above the standard 75th percentile was seen more frequently in chronic hepatitis C (9% versus 3%, PR 1.7; 95% CI 0.4-6.7), though difference of means was only 0.04 mm (95% CI 0.00-0.10). Patients with chronic hepatitis C had increased hsCRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), sICAM-1 (soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1), sVCAM-1 (soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1), and soluble E-selectin, but lower levels of tPAI-1 (tissue-type plasminogen activator inhibitor-1), MMP9 (matrix metallopeptidase 9), and MPO (myeloperoxidase) than their comparisons.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that patients with chronic hepatitis C have increased prevalence of several coronary artery disease risk markers. These results may be important when evaluating the appropriateness of screening for coronary artery disease and its risk factors in chronic hepatitis C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]