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Background and purpose: Health care resource utilization (HCRU) and the economic burden of myasthenia gravis (MG) are significant, but existing studies rarely include comprehensive nationwide data. We examined HCRU and direct and indirect costs associated with MG overall and by disease severity in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from nationwide health and social care registries. All individuals ≥18 years of age with ≥2 International Classification of Diseases diagnoses of MG between 2000 and 2020 were included. HCRU, direct (inpatient and outpatient contacts, medication) and indirect costs (early retirement, sick leave, death), and associated factors were calculated. Results: The full study cohort comprised 8622 people with MG (pwMG). Mean annual numbers of all‐cause secondary health care contacts for pwMG were 3.4 (SD = 8.3), 7.0 (SD = 12.3), and 2.9 (SD = 3.9), with mean annual total costs of €12,185, €9036, and €5997 per person in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, respectively. Inpatient periods, involving 77%–89% of study participants in the three countries, contributed most to direct costs, whereas the majority of indirect costs resulted from early retirement in Denmark and Finland, and sick leave periods in Sweden. Mean annual total costs were highest with very severe MG (€19,570–€33,495 per person across the three countries). Female sex and comorbidities, such as mental and behavioral disorders and severe infections, were also associated with higher total costs. Conclusions: This population‐based study shows a high level of HCRU and a significant direct and indirect economic burden of MG across three Nordic countries, especially for severe forms of MG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The increasing prevalence of obesity imposes a significant cost burden on individuals and societies worldwide. Objective: In this nationally representative study, the association between body mass index (BMI) groups and the number of metabolic comorbidities (MetC) with total direct costs was investigated in the Finnish population. Study design, setting, and participants: The study cohort included 5,587 adults with BMI =18.5 kg/m2 who participated in the cross-sectional FinHealth 2017 health examination survey conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Data on healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and drug purchases were collected from national healthcare and drug registers. Main outcome measure: The primary outcome was total direct costs (costs of primary and secondary HCRU and prescription medications). Results: Class I (BMI 30.0-34.9 kg/m²) and class II - III (BMI =35.0 kg/m²) obesity were associated with 43% and 40% higher age- and sex-adjusted direct costs, respectively, compared with normal weight, mainly driven by a steeply increased comorbidity in the higher BMI groups. In all BMI groups combined, individuals with =2 MetCs comprised 39% of the total study population and 60% of the total costs. Conclusion: To manage the cost burden of obesity, treatment should be given equal consideration as other chronic diseases, and BMIs =30.0 kg/m2 should be considered in treatment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dose–escalation is a common practice to optimize treatment with subcutaneously administered biologicals in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). However, limited data is available on the extent of dose-escalation in real-life. Here, we analyzed treatment persistence, dose–escalation, concomitant corticosteroid use, and costs of adalimumab, golimumab, and ustekinumab in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This was a nationwide, retrospective, non-interventional registry study. All adult patients who were diagnosed with CD or UC and had purchased adalimumab, golimumab, or ustekinumab from Finnish pharmacies between 2008 and 2018 were included in the study and followed up for 24 months after treatment initiation. A total of 2884 patients were included in the analyses. For adalimumab, treatment persistence was higher for CD patients compared to UC patients both at months 12 (46.2% versus 37.1%; p <.0001) and 24 (26.1% versus 19.7%; p < 0.0001). For golimumab (UC), treatment persistence was 48.3% at month 12 and 28.1% at month 24. The 12-month treatment persistence rate for patients on ustekinumab (CD) was 47.1%. Cumulative doses exceeding the regular dosing according to the summary of product characteristics (SPC), was observed for adalimumab in CD during the first 6 months of treatment (62.9% of the treatment periods), golimumab in the later stages of the UC treatment (52–54% of treatment periods at months 7–24), and ustekinumab during the first 6 months (70.7%). Based on this study, dose–escalation of subcutaneously administered biologicals is a common clinical practice in IBD. This has implications for treatment costs, use of concomitant medications, and treatment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Characterisation of outcomes and costs of haemophilia care in common practice settings is essential for evaluation of new treatment options and for developing clinical practices. In Finland, haemophilia care is mostly centralised to University Hospitals, but treatment practices and costs in adult patients have not been systematically evaluated. Aim: This study was designed to characterise healthcare resource utilisation and treatment costs of adult inhibitor‐negative haemophilia patients managed in Finnish University Hospitals. Methods: The study was based on a nationwide cohort, which consists of all adult haemophilia A (HA; n = 120) and B (HB; n = 35) patients treated in University Hospitals from 2012 to 2016. Patient characteristics and data on healthcare utilisation and factor replacement use were collected from medical records. Direct costs of care were evaluated based on wholesale drug prices and healthcare service utilisation with standard unit costs. Results: Most of HA (79%, n = 96) and HB (84%, n = 31) patients received factor replacement therapy. The median annual bleeding rate (ABR) was low, at 0.8 for HA and 0.5 for HB, also among the patients with on‐demand therapy. Over 94% (n = 149) of the patients had outpatient visits during the follow‐up period. The mean total annual costs of treatment ranged from €2520 to €176,330. The highest individual cost was factor replacement therapy. Conclusion: The outcomes of centralising the management of care to University Hospital Treatment Centres show low ABR and lower treatment costs compared with earlier reports from other high‐income European populations. Management strategies, including choosing the right therapy between prophylaxis and on‐demand, has been successful in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The present study was undertaken in order to determine whether a set of clinical features, which are not included in the DSM-IV or ICD-10 for Asperger Syndrome (AS), are associated with AS in particular or whether they are merely a familial trait that is not related to the diagnosis. Methods Ten large families, a total of 138 persons, of whom 58 individuals fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for AS and another 56 did not to fulfill these criteria, were studied using a structured interview focusing on the possible presence of face recognition difficulties, aberrant sensibility and eating habits and sleeping disturbances. Results The prevalence for face recognition difficulties was 46.6% in individuals with AS compared with 10.7% in the control group. The corresponding figures for subjectively reported presence of aberrant sensibilities were 91.4% and 46.6%, for sleeping disturbances 48.3% and 23.2% and for aberrant eating habits 60.3% and 14.3%, respectively. Conclusion An aberrant processing of sensory information appears to be a common feature in AS. The impact of these and other clinical features that are not incorporated in the ICD-10 and DSM-IV on our understanding of AS may hitherto have been underestimated. These associated clinical traits may well be reflected by the behavioural characteristics of these individuals.

Objectives: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with a high economic burden to society due to its early onset and chronic character. Here, we set out to characterize healthcare resource utilization and associated costs in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients with infliximab treatment, the most widely used first-line biologic agent in Finland, in a real-world clinical setting. Methods: This was a retrospective, non-interventional single-center study. Infliximab was administered in routine care, and data were collected retrospectively from electronic health records. All adult anti-TNF naïve CD or UC patients whose infliximab treatment was initiated at the Hospital District of Southwest Finland between the years of 2014 and 2016 were included in the study. Each patient was followed-up for 12 months after the initiation of infliximab treatment. Results: A total of 155 patients were included (45 CD, 110 UC). Altogether, 60.0% (n = 27) of all CD patients and 43.6% (n = 48) of all UC patients persisted on infliximab therapy 12 months after treatment initiation. The total cost was similar for both CD and UC cohorts (CD, €10,243; UC, €10,770), infliximab treatment being the highest individual cost (60.3% of the total cost in CD; 53.4% in UC). The mean number of infliximab infusions during the 12-month follow-up was 7.0 for CD and 6.5 for UC patients. Conclusions: IBD causes a significant burden to the Finnish healthcare system. This study provides a detailed characterization of the cost landscape of IBD and contributes to optimizing treatment strategies and healthcare resource use in the biosimilar era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:The efficacy and tolerability of vedolizumab in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) has been demonstrated in an extensive GEMINI clinical trial programme. Clinical trials represent highly selected patient populations and, therefore, it is important to demonstrate effectiveness in real-life clinical practice. We set out to assess real-world treatment outcomes of vedolizumab in a nationwide cohort of treatment refractory Finnish Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. Methods:This was a nationwide, retrospective, non-interventional, multi-centre chart review study. All adult patients from 27 Finnish gastroenterology centers with a diagnosis of UC or CD who had at least one vedolizumab infusion since the availability of the product in Finland, were included in the study. Data were collected retrospectively from medical charts at baseline, week 14, and month 6. The primary outcome measure was treatment persistence 24 weeks post-vedolizumab initiation. Results:A total of 247 patients were included (108 CD, 139 UC). A total of 75.0% (n = 81) of all CD patients and 66.2% (n = 92) of all UC patients, were persistent on vedolizumab therapy for 6 months post treatment initiation. At month 6, 41.8% (28/67) of the treatment persistent CD patients and 73.3% (63/86) of the treatment persistent UC patients achieved clinical remission. Significant improvement in endoscopic scores were observed among treatment persistent patients (CD,n = 17, ΔSES-CD=−5.5,p = .008; UC,n = 26, ΔMayo endoscopic score =−0.5,p = .003) at month 6. Conclusions:Vedolizumab provides an effective and well-tolerated treatment option in real-world clinical practice even among treatment refractory IBD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]