Prevalence and disease disability in immigrants with multiple sclerosis in Malmö, southern Sweden.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and the major non-traumatic cause of permanent disability in young adults. Several migration studies have been performed over the years suggesting a pattern of higher disease disability in certain ethnic groups. To our knowledge, differences in disease progression in immigrants have not been studied in Sweden before.

Incidence and Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis in Malmö, Southern Sweden.

Objectives: To estimate the incidence and prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Malmö municipality in southwestern Sweden.

Materials And Methods: Multiple sources were used in the case identification process. Case ascertainment was assessed by medical chart review including examinations such as magnetic resonance imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analyses, and relevant laboratory tests.

Associations between Ischemic Stroke Follow-Up, Socioeconomic Status, and Adherence to Secondary Preventive Drugs in Southern Sweden: Observations from the Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke).

Background: Currently, the knowledge that one has on adequate stroke follow-up practices is limited. We report associations between 90-day stroke follow-up, socio-economy and adherence to secondary prevention in southern Sweden.

Methods: Data on 5,602 patients with ischemic stroke January 1, 2008-December 31, 2010, were obtained from Riksstroke and linked to official registers for information on education, birth country, doctor's follow-ups, and secondary prevention.

Doctor's follow-up after stroke in the south of Sweden: An observational study from the Swedish stroke register (Riksstroke).

Introduction: Information on follow-up practices after stroke in clinical routine are sparse. We studied the probability of doctor's follow-up within 90, 120, 180, and 365 days after hospital discharge, and how patient characteristics were associated with the probability of follow-up, in a large unselected stroke cohort.

Patients And Methods: Data on patients living in southern Sweden, hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010, were obtained from the Swedish stroke register (Riksstroke) and merged with administrative data on doctor's visits during the year following stroke.

Perceived Unmet Rehabilitation Needs 1 Year After Stroke: An Observational Study From the Swedish Stroke Register.

Background And Purpose: Met care demands are key aspects in poststroke quality of care. This study aimed to identify baseline predictors and 12-month factors that were associated with perceived unmet rehabilitation needs 1 year poststroke.

Methods: Data on patients who were independent in activities of daily living, hospitalized for acute stroke during 2008 to 2010, and followed up 1 year poststroke through a postal questionnaire were obtained from the Swedish stroke register.

Changes in functional outcome over the first year after stroke: an observational study from the Swedish stroke register.

Background And Purpose: Large longitudinal studies on stroke outcome are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze predictors and changes in functional outcome during the first year poststroke.

Methods: Data on patients who were independent in activities of daily living (ADL) and hospitalized for acute stroke in 2008 to 2010 were obtained from the Swedish Stroke Register.

Plasma natriuretic peptides and incidence of subtypes of ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Natriuretic peptides predict poor outcomes in cardiovascular disease. However, the knowledge of their relationship to stroke is limited and prospective studies from the general population are few. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and midregional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) plasma levels and the risk for ischemic stroke and its subtypes.

Leukocyte count and incidence of subarachnoid haemorrhage: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is a devastating disease, in the majority of cases caused by a rupture of an arterial intracranial aneurysm. The effect of systemic low-grade inflammation on incidence of SAH is not known. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between leukocyte count, a marker of systemic inflammation, and incidence of SAH in a large cohort study.

Swirl sign in intracerebral haemorrhage: definition, prevalence, reliability and prognostic value.

Background: Swirl sign has previously been described in epidural hematomas as areas of low attenuation, radiolucency or irregular density. The aims of this study were to describe swirl sign in ICH, study its prevalence, study the reliability of the subjective evaluation on computed tomography (CT), and to explore its prognostic value.

Methods: CTs of 203 patients with ICH were retrospectively evaluated for the presence of swirl sign.

Lung function as a risk factor for subarachnoid hemorrhage: a prospective cohort study.

Background And Purpose: The etiology of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is poorly understood. Reduced lung function, expressed as low forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) and low forced vital capacity (FVC), is a predictor of cardiovascular disease, but whether reduced lung function is a risk factor for SAH is not known. The association between lung function and incidence of SAH was investigated in a prospective cohort study.

Early do-not-resuscitate orders in intracerebral haemorrhage; frequency and predictive value for death and functional outcome. A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: In former studies from North America early Do-Not-Resuscitate orders (DNR orders) in patients with intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) had negative prognostic impact on mortality. The influence of DNR orders on functional outcome and whether DNR orders are grounded on relevant patient characteristics is unknown. We aimed to determine the frequency and predictive factors of DNR-orders and its association to prognosis, in ICH patients, in Scandinavia.

Three-year survival and stroke recurrence rates in patients with primary intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background And Purpose: There are few studies on the prognosis after primary intracerebral hemorrhages, and they reported big differences in mortality rates. Our aim was to evaluate mortality and stroke recurrence rates in relation to hemorrhage characteristics, demographic and clinical factors, in a large unselected patient cohort.

Methods: We analyzed consecutive cases of first-ever primary intracerebral hemorrhages from 1993 to 2000 in a prospective stroke register covering the Malmö region, Sweden (population approximately 250 000).

Blood pressure in relation to the incidence of cerebral infarction and intracerebral hemorrhage. Hypertensive hemorrhage: debated nomenclature is still relevant.

Background And Purpose: Data regarding the association between blood pressure level and incidence of stroke subtype, especially primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PICH) subtypes, is sparse. This population-based study explored the relationship between blood pressure and the incidence of cerebral infarction, and PICH, with lobar and nonlobar location.

Methods: Risk factors were assessed in 27,702 men and women without prior stroke from the city of Malmö, Sweden.

Risk factors for primary intracerebral hemorrhage: a population-based nested case-control study.

Purpose: In this population-based study, risk factors for primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PICH) and PICH subtypes were explored in a nested case-control design.

Method: Risk factors were determined in 22,444 men and 10,902 women (mean age 47 years) who participated in a health-screening programme between 1974 and 1991. 147 subjects with CT or autopsy-verified first-ever PICH during the follow-up period (mean 14 years) were compared with 1,029 stroke-free controls, matched for age, sex and screening-year.

Incidence of stroke and stroke subtypes in Malmö, Sweden, 1990-2000: marked differences between groups defined by birth country.

Background And Purpose: The proportion of immigrants has increased in Sweden markedly during the last decades, as in many other Western countries. Incidence of stroke has increased during this period. However, it is primarily unknown whether incidence of stroke and stroke subtypes in Sweden is related to country of birth.