Improving Data Collection in Pregnancy Safety Studies: Towards Standardisation of Data Elements in Pregnancy Reports from Public and Private Partners, A Contribution from the ConcePTION Project.

Introduction And Objective: The ConcePTION project aims to improve the way medication use during pregnancy is studied. This includes exploring the possibility of developing a distributed data processing and analysis infrastructure using a common data model that could form a foundational platform for future surveillance and research. A prerequisite would be that data from various data access providers (DAPs) can be harmonised according to an agreed set of standard rules concerning the structure and content of the data.

Does low risk of infections as a marker of effective immunity predict increased risk of subsequent giant cell arteritis or polymyalgia rheumatica? A Danish population-based case-control study.

Objective: It has been suggested that a hyper-effective immune system ("hyper-immunity") is central to the pathogenesis of giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica (GCA/PMR). We examined if a low risk of infections, as a marker of hyper-immunity, can predict increased subsequent risk of GCA/PMR.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study including all patients aged ≥50 years with incident GCA/PMR diagnosed between 1997 and 2012 in Northern Denmark.

Impact of Glycemic Control on Risk of Infections in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Infections are a major clinical challenge for type 2 diabetes patients, but little is known about the impact of glycemic control. We used Cox regression analyses to examine the association between baseline and time-varying hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values and development of community antiinfective-agent-treated and hospital-treated infections in 69,318 patients with type 2 diabetes diagnosed between 2000 and 2012 in Northern Denmark. Incidence rates were 394/1,000 patient-years for community-treated infections and 63/1,000 patient-years for hospital-treated infections.

Is the higher mortality among men with hip fracture explained by sex-related differences in quality of in-hospital care? A population-based cohort study.

Background: mortality after hip fracture is two-fold higher in men compared with women. It is unknown whether sex-related differences in the quality of in-hospital care contribute to the higher mortality among men.

Objective: to examine sex-related differences in quality of in-hospital care, 30-day mortality, length of hospital stay and readmission among patients with hip fracture.

Metformin and other glucose-lowering drug initiation and rates of community-based antibiotic use and hospital-treated infections in patients with type 2 diabetes: a Danish nationwide population-based cohort study.

Objective: Data on early risk of infection in patients receiving their first treatment for type 2 diabetes are limited. We examined rates of community-based antibiotic use and hospital-treated infection in initiators of metformin and other glucose-lowering drugs (GLDs).

Design: Population-based cohort study using medical databases.

Rates of Community-based Antibiotic Prescriptions and Hospital-treated Infections in Individuals With and Without Type 2 Diabetes: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study, 2004-2012.

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 community-based 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.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Trends in Antirheumatic Drug Use, C-reactive Protein Levels, and Surgical Burden.

Objective: Over the past decade, the therapeutic approach used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has considerably changed. It remains unclear whether these changes have been accompanied by decreased disease severity and surgical treatment burden at the population level. Therefore, we investigated time trends in antirheumatic drug consumption, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and use of orthopedic surgery among Danish patients with RA.

Association of parental history of type 2 diabetes with age, lifestyle, anthropometric factors, and clinical severity at type 2 diabetes diagnosis: results from the DD2 study.

Background: We investigated whether parental history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is associated with age, lifestyle, anthropometric factors, and clinical severity at the time of T2D diagnosis.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study based on the Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes cohort. We examined the prevalence ratios (PR) of demographic, lifestyle, anthropometric, and clinical factors according to parental history, using Poisson regression adjusting for age and gender.

Antibiotic use varies substantially among adults: a cross-national study from five European Countries in the ARITMO project.

Purpose: To examine patterns of outpatient and community antibiotic use among adults in five European countries.

Methods: We used healthcare data of 28.8 million adults from six population-based ARITMO project databases to ascertain information on systemic antibiotic use in Denmark (2000-2008), the Netherlands (1999-2010), Italy (2000-2010), the UK (1996-2009), and Germany (2004-2008).

Lifestyle factors associated with type 2 diabetes and use of different glucose-lowering drugs: cross-sectional study.

Aims: To examine the lifestyle profile among persons with and without Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and among users of different glucose-lowering drugs.

Methods: We used questionnaire data from a Danish health survey and identified presence of Type 2 DM and use of medications through medical databases. We calculated age- and gender-standardized prevalence ratios (PRs) of lifestyle factors according to Type 2 DM and different glucose-lowering drugs.

Lifestyle and clinical factors associated with elevated C-reactive protein among newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: a cross-sectional study from the nationwide DD2 cohort.

Background: We aimed to examine the prevalence of and modifiable factors associated with elevated C-reactive Protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, in men and women with newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (DM) in a population-based setting.

Methods: CRP was measured in 1,037 patients (57% male) with newly diagnosed Type 2 DM included in the prospective nationwide Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes (DD2) project. We assessed the prevalence of elevated CRP and calculated relative risks (RR) examining the association of CRP with lifestyle and clinical factors by Poisson regression, stratified by gender.

Modifiable clinical and lifestyle factors are associated with elevated alanine aminotransferase levels in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients: results from the nationwide DD2 study.

Background: Current literature lacks data on markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. We therefore, conducted a cross-sectional study to examine modifiable clinical and lifestyle factors associated with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels as a marker of NAFLD in new T2DM patients.

Methods: Alanine aminotransferase levels were measured in 1026 incident T2DM patients enrolled in the nationwide Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes (DD2) cohort.

Does marriage protect against hospitalization with pneumonia? A population-based case-control study.

Background: To reduce the increasing burden of pneumonia hospitalizations, we need to understand their determinants. Being married may decrease the risk of severe infections, due to better social support and healthier lifestyle.

Patients And Methods: In this population-based case-control study, we identified all adult patients with a first-time pneumonia-related hospitalization between 1994 and 2008 in Northern Denmark.

Chronic heart failure and risk of hospitalization with pneumonia: a population-based study.

Background: Chronic heart failure may increase risk of pneumonia due to alveoli flooding and reduced microbial clearance. We examined whether chronic heart failure is a risk factor for pneumonia-related hospitalization.

Methods: In this large population-based case-control study we identified adult patients with a first-time primary or secondary discharge diagnosis of viral or bacterial pneumonia between 1994 and 2008, using health care databases in Northern Denmark.