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Citizen science is spreading and numerous centres, services, or “hubs” within the field are manifesting themselves at European universities. Research libraries can potentially play a central role in advancing citizen science and open science. Building on a scoping literature review, a survey with 125 respondents, and an in-depth follow-up survey of 29 research libraries as part of the Citizen-enhanced Open Science in Southeastern Europe Higher Education Knowledge Hubs (CeOS_SE) project, this article outlines the current state and potential of citizen-enhanced open science (CE-OS) among European research libraries and presents a series of strategic and operational reflections for the future. Overall, research libraries report a high degree of understanding of both open science and citizen science and their applicability for society and research, but only few report the presence of services or infrastructure. Also, approximately half of the libraries engage in, or experiment with, citizen science. Common barriers exist such as resources, funding, strategy, and lack of policy. From these data, we present a typology to better understand how research libraries currently engage with citizen science and the steps that have been taken in this field. However, the overarching conclusion is that CE-OS with regards to European research libraries is contextual. There is no one size fits all.

Objective: To assess incidence rates of clinically diagnosed eating disorders among Danish youth before, during, and after the COVID‐19 pandemic. Method: This study used a population‐based time series analysis with individual‐level data from Danish healthcare registries. Participants included all Danish individuals aged 6–24 years from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2023. Monthly incident cases of any eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa were analyzed using interrupted time‐series analysis. We estimated the cumulative number of excess cases of incident eating disorder diagnoses and risk ratios (RR) associated with the pandemic and post‐pandemic periods compared with pre‐pandemic predictions. Results: The study population encountered a mean of 1,310,542 individuals during the study period. The study included 11,693 individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder, median age 17 (IQR 14–20 years). Incident cases increased during the pandemic (RR 1.29, 95% CI 1.15–1.45) and normalized post‐pandemic (RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.91–1.25) compared with pre‐pandemic predictions. Similar patterns were seen for anorexia and bulimia. Increases were significant for ages 13–16 (RR 1.19, 95% CI 1.02–1.38), 17–19 (RR 1.51, 95% CI 1.25–1.83), and 20–24 (RR 1.35, 95% CI 1.12–1.64). Post‐pandemically, a continued increase was observed only for ages 20–24 (RR 1.32, 95% CI 1.02–1.71). Conclusions: The study documents a temporary increase in diagnosed eating disorders among Danish youths during the COVID‐19 pandemic, with rates later returning to pre‐pandemic levels. These results provide insights into the pandemic's impact on adolescents and youths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the early adoption of semaglutide, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, in Scandinavia, with a focus on Denmark. The study analyzes nationwide prescription data from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden to compare the use of semaglutide with other glucose-lowering drugs and to compare the characteristics of semaglutide initiators with initiators of other drugs. The findings reveal that semaglutide is widely used in Scandinavia and that the characteristics of semaglutide initiators differ slightly from initiators of other drugs. The study also identifies differences between early and late initiators of semaglutide, suggesting potential off-label use for weight loss. However, the study acknowledges limitations, such as the lack of data on specific indications for use. [Extracted from the article]

Aim: To analyse patterns of glucose‐lowering therapies among people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Denmark from 2016 to 2023. Materials and Methods: We examined time trends in the clinical profiles of people with T2D who initiated different glucose‐lowering therapy classes for the first time. We furthermore investigated individual‐level treatment trajectories following first‐ever glucose‐lowering therapy in people with or without cardiorenal disease. The study utilized data from the nationwide Danish health registries and included all individuals who filled a first‐ever prescription for metformin, dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors, glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RAs), sodium‐glucose co‐transporter‐2 inhibitors (SGLT‐2is) or insulin, excluding those without HbA1c‐confirmed T2D or probable type 1 diabetes. Results: We included 260 393 individuals initiating a new glucose‐lowering therapy class from 2016 to 2023, during which there were 6‐ and 3‐fold increases in initiators of GLP‐1RAs and SGLT‐2is, respectively. The median HbA1c level at treatment initiation with GLP‐1RAs or SGLT‐2is decreased, from 67‐68 mmol/mol in 2016‐2017 to 57‐58 mmol/mol in 2022‐2023. Among individuals who initiated metformin as first‐line therapy, the proportion who started additional glucose‐lowering therapy within 2 years increased from 25% in 2016 to 40% in 2021. Among the 38% of individuals who had established cardiorenal disease when they initiated first‐ever glucose‐lowering therapy in 2020, 22% used SGLT‐2is and 18% GLP‐1RAs after 2.5 years, compared with 17% and 21% among initiators without cardiorenal disease, respectively. Conclusions: Our study documents a trend towards earlier T2D treatment intensification and an increase in the use of GLP‐1RAs and SGLT‐2is in Denmark. However, optimal T2D treatment is still not received by most individuals with early T2D and established cardiorenal disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children linked with pharmacy dispensing data from the Australian Government's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, we calculated the 1-year prevalence of psychotropic medicine supply in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as reported by parents in 2014. The majority of children and adolescents with ASD in Australia were not treated with psychotropic medicine. One-third had claims for at least one psychotropic medication, most commonly medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and antidepressants. Antipsychotics were supplied to less than one in twenty children and approximately one in ten adolescents. In line with findings from North America, psychotropic medicine was more often supplied to children and adolescents with ASD and comorbid ADHD.

Purpose: To describe utilization patterns, characteristics of users and prescribers of the new oral antiviral medication, molnupiravir, indicated for mild‐to‐moderate COVID‐19. Methods: Using nationwide registries, we identified all Danish adults who filled a prescription for molnupiravir from December 16th, 2021, to August 31st, 2022. We described weekly incidence rates and patient characteristics over time, prescriber characteristics as well as time between molnupiravir initiation and a positive SARs‐CoV‐2 test. Patient characteristics were compared to matched, untreated SARS‐CoV‐2 positive reference groups. Results: By August 31st, 2022, 5847 individuals had filled a prescription for molnupiravir. The incidence rate gradually increased to 16 weekly prescriptions per 1000 RT‐PCR SARS‐CoV‐2 positives. Users of molnupiravir were most often men (55% vs. 45% women). The majority (81%) had a positive RT‐PCR SARS‐CoV‐2 test and few (2.9%) redeemed molnupiravir outside the recommended window of 5 days from the positive test result. Compared to matched, untreated SARS‐CoV‐2 positive reference groups, users of molnupiravir had a median age of 74 years versus 49 years, a higher proportion resided in a nursing home (12% vs. 1.5%) and had a higher number of comorbidities (median of 3 vs. 0); most commonly hypertension (38%), chronic lung disease (35%), diabetes (20%) and mood disorders (20%). General practitioners were the primary prescribers of molnupiravir (91%). Conclusions: Molnupiravir was mainly prescribed by general practitioners to RT‐PCR SARS‐CoV‐2 positive individuals who had a potentially increased risk of severe COVID‐19. Though some off‐label prescribing occurred, our study indicates a high level of adherence to contemporary guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We describe the distribution of prescribers responsible for opioid initiation and maintenance (general practice, hospital prescribers and other prescribers) in Denmark. Methods: We leveraged data on opioid fills from a 20% sample of all Danes alive during 2000–2021. Results: Overall, general practitioners were responsible for most treatment initiation (74% during 2000–2021) and maintenance treatment (92%). However, while hospital prescribers initiated ≈20% of treatments during 2001–2012, this increased to 35% in 2021. Similarly, hospital prescriber's share of maintenance treatment increased from 5.9% during 2000–2012 to 13% in 2021. This change was particularly pronounced for morphine initiation (48% hospital prescribers in 2021 up from 38% during 2000– 2010) and oxycodone initiation (78% up from 41%). Regarding choice of opioids, codeine use dropped markedly, in particular among hospital prescribers. Tramadol was consistently the most common first choice opioid in general practice (33% in 2021), whereas its use among hospital prescribers decreased (54% during 2000– 2015 to 15% in 2021). Conversely, the proportion of treatment initiation by hospital prescribers composed of morphine and oxycodone increased to 38% and 42% in 2021, respectively. Conclusions: General practice prescribes most opioids; however, hospital prescribers are increasingly responsible for opioid prescribing, in particular initiation of morphine and oxycodone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]