Lower respiratory tract infections among newly diagnosed sleep apnea patients.

Background: Sleep apnea is associated with chronic comorbidities and acute complications. Existing data suggest that sleep apnea may predispose to an increased risk and severity of respiratory tract infections.

Methods: We investigated the incidence of lower respiratory tract infections in the first and second year before and after diagnosis of sleep apnea in a Finnish nationwide, population-based, retrospective case-control study based on linking data from the national health care registers for primary and secondary care from 2015-2019.

Multimorbidity and overall comorbidity of sleep apnoea: a Finnish nationwide study.

The prevalence of sleep apnoea is increasing globally; however, population-based studies have reported a wide variation of prevalence estimates, and data on incidence of clinically diagnosed sleep apnoea are scant. Data on the overall burden of comorbidities or multimorbidity in individuals with incident sleep apnoea are scarce, and the pathways to multimorbidity have only marginally been studied. To study the current epidemiology of sleep apnoea in Finland, overall burden of comorbidities, and multimorbidity profiles in individuals with incident sleep apnoea, we conducted a register-based, nationwide, retrospective study of data from January 2016 to December 2019.

Opioid trends in Finland: a register-based nationwide follow-up study.

The opioid epidemic in the U.S has gotten payers, prescribers, and policymakers alike interested in trends in opioid use. Despite no recognized opioid crisis in Europe, several countries have reported an increase in opioid-related deaths, which has further prompted discussion on the need of monitoring of opioid prescriptions.

Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome: a population-wide study on prevalence and health care use in Finland in 1998-2016.

Background: Information about health care use and costs of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients is limited, particularly in a European setting.

Methods: In this population-wide study we set out to investigate prevalence, and trends in health care use in two CTCL subtypes, mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary syndrome (SS) over a time period of 19 years in 1998-2016 by using a nation-wide patient register containing data on all diagnosed MF and SS cases in Finland.

Results: The prevalence of diagnosed MF and SS rose from 2.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors in relation to smoking behaviour and history: a population-based cohort study.

Objective: To investigate how individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) (blood pressure, lipid levels, body mass index, waist and hip circumference, use of antihypertensive or hypolipidemic medication, and diagnosed diabetes) differ in people aged 46 years with different smoking behaviour and history.

Methods: This population-based cohort study is based on longitudinal data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 project. Data were collected at the 31-year and 46-year follow-ups, when a total of 5038 and 5974 individuals participated in clinical examinations and questionnaires.

Primary health care utilisation and its costs among middle-aged smokers.

Objective: To study and compare the utilisation of primary health care services among 46-year-old current smokers, ex-smokers and never-smokers, and to estimate the corresponding costs.

Methods: This population-based cohort study is based on the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, which is a longitudinal research program in Finland's two northernmost provinces. The study is based on data collected at the 46-year follow-up, during which a total of 4997 individuals completed questionnaires on their primary health care service utilisation.

Physicians discuss the risks of smoking with their patients, but seldom offer practical cessation support.

Background: Our aim was to study the smoking cessation-related 1) attitudes & experiences and 2) consultation practices of Finnish physicians and to determine if there is a relationship between the two.

Methods: An online survey on smoking cessation was sent to 39 % of all Finnish physicians, with emphasis on physicians working in fields relevant to smoking cessation. A total of 1141 physicians (response rate 15 %) responded to the online survey, 53 % of whom were employed in primary health care.

[Tobacco withdrawal in individuals suffering from mental disorders].

Smoking is very common in individuals with mental illnesses, but smoking cessation help is inadequately offered to them. Some 54% of Finnish psychiatrists often advise their patients to quit smoking, yet 34% often recommend nicotine replacement therapy, and only 12% of them often prescribe tobacco withdrawal medication. Factors that affect advisement in smoking cessation include the psychiatrists' own attitudes and personal smoking history, barriers within the work settings, and the patient's diagnosis.

The capricious character of nature.

The on-going whole genome sequencing and whole cell assays of metabolites and proteins imply that complex systems could ultimately be mastered by perfecting knowledge into great detail. However, courses of nature are inherently intractable because flows of energy and their driving forces depend on each other. Thus no data will suffice to predict precisely the outcomes of e.