Hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in Swedish persons with haemophilia - A longitudinal registry study.

Introduction: Data on the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among persons with haemophilia (PWH) vary. Sweden has a long tradition of maintaining population-based data registries, and there is extensive follow-up of haemophilia patients due to the use of prophylaxis over decades. We evaluated the prevalence of these diseases among Swedish PWH compared to matched controls using a longitudinal study design.

Statins as secondary preventives in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background: Statins are important components of secondary stroke prevention, but there is a concern they may increase the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage. Although this risk may have been overestimated, there is still an open question whether statin therapy should be continued, or even initiated, in patients who have had a recent intracerebral hemorrhage.

Aim: Our aim was to investigate the risk of statin use after an intracerebral hemorrhage with respect to recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage, stroke in general, and death.

Patients without comorbidities at the time of diagnosis of atrial fibrillation: causes of death during long-term follow-up compared to matched controls.

Background: Little is known about the long-term, cause-specific mortality risk in patients without comorbidities at the time of diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: From a nation-wide registry of patients hospitalized with incident AF between 1995 and 2008 we identified 9 519 patients with a first diagnosed AF and no comorbidities at the time of AF diagnosis. They were matched with 12 468 controls.

Incidence and determinants of hyperkalemia and hypokalemia in a large healthcare system.

Background: Hypo- and hyperkalemia in clinical settings are insufficiently characterized and large-scale data from Europe lacking. We studied incidence and determinants of these abnormalities in a large Swedish healthcare system.

Methods: Observational study from the Stockholm CREAtinine Measurements project, including adult individuals from Stockholm accessing healthcare in 2009 (n=364,955).

Prevalence and treatment of atherogenic dyslipidemia in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in Europe: EURIKA, a cross-sectional observational study.

Background: Atherogenic dyslipidemia is associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes, yet markers of this condition are often ignored in clinical practice. Here, we address a clear evidence gap by assessing the prevalence and treatment of two markers of atherogenic dyslipidemia: elevated triglyceride levels and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study assessed the prevalence of two atherogenic dyslipidemia markers, high triglyceride levels and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, in the study population from the European Study on Cardiovascular Risk Prevention and Management in Usual Daily Practice (EURIKA; N = 7641; of whom 51.

Patients with atrial fibrillation and outcomes of cerebral infarction in those with treatment of warfarin versus no warfarin with references to CHA2DS2-VASc score, age and sex - A Swedish nationwide observational study with 48 433 patients.

Aims: There is controversy in the guidelines as to whether patients with atrial fibrillation and a low risk of stroke should be treated with anticoagulation, especially those with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1 point.

Methods: In a retrospective, nationwide cohort study, we used the Swedish National Patient Registry, the National Prescribed Drugs Registry, the Swedish Registry of Education and the Population and Housing Census Registry. 48 433 patients were identified between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2008 with incident atrial fibrillation who were divided in age categories, sex and a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 0, 1, 2 and ≥3 and they were included in a time-varying analysis of warfarin treatment versus no treatment.

Association between enrolment in a heart failure quality registry and subsequent mortality-a nationwide cohort study.

Aims: Heart failure (HF) quality registries report quality of care but it is unknown whether they improve outcomes. The aims were to assess predictors of enrolment in a HF registry, test the hypothesis that enrolment in a HF registry is associated with reduced mortality, and assess potential explanatory factors for this reduction in mortality, if present.

Methods And Results: We conducted a nationwide prospective cohort study of patients with new-onset HF registered in the Swedish National Patient Registry (NPR, a mandatory registry of ICD-code diagnoses) with or without concurrent registration in the Swedish Heart Failure Registry (SwedeHF, a voluntary quality reporting registry) 2006-2013.

Malignancies in Swedish persons with haemophilia: a longitudinal registry study.

The aim of the study was to investigate, over time, the incidence of and mortality due to malignant diseases among persons with haemophilia, compared to matched controls. Persons with haemophilia A or B were enrolled via registries at each haemophilia centre, as well as from the National Patient Registry, and were compared to five sex and age-matched controls per patient. Data from the national Cancer Registry were linked to the study participants.

Suboptimal Control of Lipid Levels: Results from 29 Countries Participating in the Centralized Pan-Regional Surveys on the Undertreatment of Hypercholesterolaemia (CEPHEUS).

Aim: Five multicentre, cross-sectional Centralized Pan-Regional Surveys on the Undertreatment of Hypercholesterolaemia (CEPHEUS) were conducted in 29 countries across Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The surveys assessed the current use and efficacy of lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs) worldwide and identified possible patient and physician characteristics associated with failure to attain low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals. The aim of this analysis was to consolidate the global results from these surveys.

Gender-related differences in risk of cardiovascular morbidity and all-cause mortality in patients hospitalized with incident atrial fibrillation without concomitant diseases: a nationwide cohort study of 9519 patients.

Background: Previous studies of patients with "lone" and "idiopathic" atrial fibrillation (AF) have provided conflicting evidence concerning the development, management and prognosis of this condition.

Methods: In this nation-wide, retrospective, cohort study, we studied patients diagnosed with incidental AF recorded in national Swedish registries between 1995 and 2008. Controls were matched for age, sex and calendar year of the diagnosis of AF in patients.

Warfarin-associated intracerebral hemorrhage after ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: The aim was to investigate the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in patients with ischemic stroke taking warfarin and whether this risk changed over time.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2008, the Swedish Stroke Register registered 12,790 patients with ischemic stroke discharged on warfarin. The patients was studied in two 4-year periods (inclusion 2001-2004: follow-up until 2005 and inclusion 2005-2008: follow-up until 2009) for which rates of subsequent ICH were calculated.

All-cause mortality in 272,186 patients hospitalized with incident atrial fibrillation 1995-2008: a Swedish nationwide long-term case-control study.

Aims: To evaluate long-term all-cause risk of mortality in women and men hospitalized for the first time with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with matched controls.

Methods And Results: A total of 272 186 patients (44% women) ≤ 85 years at the time of hospitalization with incidental AF 1995-2008 and 544 344 matched controls free of in-hospital diagnosis of AF were identified. Patients were followed via record linkage of the Swedish National Patient Registry and the Cause of Death Registry.

Reduced risk of death with warfarin - results of an observational nationwide study of 20 442 patients with atrial fibrillation and ischaemic stroke.

Background: Warfarin is demonstrated to be superior in efficacy over antiplatelet agents for the prevention of stroke, but the relationship between warfarin and mortality is less clear. Our aim was to investigate this relationship in a large cohort of unselected patients with atrial fibrillation and ischaemic stroke.

Methods: This observational study was based on patients who were discharged alive and registered in the Swedish Stroke Register in 2001 through 2005.

Hemorrhage after ischemic stroke - relation to age and previous hemorrhage in a nationwide cohort of 58,868 patients.

Background: In randomized controlled trials of secondary prevention after stroke, the risk of hemorrhage varies between 1% and 5% per year in patients with antithrombotic therapy, i.e. anticoagulants and antiplatelets.

Comparison of cardiovascular risk factors and survival in patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke.

Background: Differences in risk factor profiles between patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke may have an impact on subsequent mortality.

Aim: To explore cardiovascular disease risk factors, including the CHADS(2) score, with survival after ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2005, 87 111 (83%) ischemic stroke, 12 497 (12%) hemorrhagic stroke, and 5435 (5%) patients with unspecified stroke were identified in the Swedish Stroke Register.

First-ever atrial fibrillation documented after hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke: the role of the CHADS(2) score at the time of stroke.

Background: The CHADS(2) score (C, congestive heart failure [CHF]; H, hypertension [HT]; A, age ≥75 y; D, diabetes mellitus; S(2) , prior stroke or transient ischemic attack) is used to assess the risk of ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, its role in patients without documented AF is not well explored.

Hypothesis: The goal of the current study was to explore if the incidence of hospitalization with first-ever AF after stroke increased with increasing CHADS(2) score.

Ischemic stroke and secondary prevention in clinical practice: a cohort study of 14,529 patients in the Swedish Stroke Register.

Background And Purpose: Secondary prevention is recommended after stroke, but adherence to guidelines is unknown. We studied the prescription of antiplatelet drugs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, statins, and anticoagulant drugs and their relation to risk of death.

Methods: Patients with first-ever ischemic stroke in 2005 were registered in the Swedish Stroke Register.

Landmark-based software for anatomical measurements: a precision study.

The aim of this study was to develop a software program, called Landmarker, which would aid studies of complex anatomical morphometry by simplifying the manual identification of landmarks in 3D images. We also tested its precision on routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. To understand human biological variation, there is a need to identify morphological characteristics from the exterior and the interior of human anatomy.

Survival after stroke--the impact of CHADS2 score and atrial fibrillation.

Objective: This study examined all-cause mortality in stroke patients with and without documented atrial fibrillation (AF), and the impact of CHADS(2) score.

Design: A cohort of 105,074 patients, 31,821 (30.3%) with and 73,253 (69.

A morphometric magnetic resonance method for measuring cranial, facial and brain characteristics for application to schizophrenia: part 1.

Serious psychopathology in adulthood may be associated with disturbed foetal brain development, which potentially shows lingering "fossil marks" in the cranial and facial regions. Several methods exist for assessing external craniofacial and internal brain distances but, to our knowledge, no method yet provides simultaneous measurement of cranial, facial and brain dimensions in live subjects. In this article we describe a method to identify landmarks on magnetic resonance images (MRI) for simultaneous measurement of cranial, facial and brain characteristics potentially associated with psychosis.

A pilot study of facial, cranial and brain MRI morphometry in men with schizophrenia: part 2.

This pilot study applies a new 3D morphometric MR method to test the hypothesis that men with schizophrenia (vs. controls) have deviant facial shapes and landmark relations in cranio/facial/brain (CFB) regions. This constitutes Part 2 of paired articles in this issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, in which Part 1 presents the new method in detail.

Is craniofacial dysmorpholgy correlated with structural brain anomalies in schizophrenia?

This study aimed to examine the relationship between craniofacial dysmorphology and anomalies of brain morphology in schizophrenia. Assessments of craniofacial dysmorphology and magnetic resonance imaging of brain were performed independently of each other and blind to each other in 24 males with schizophrenia and 16 male controls. Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid volume was negatively correlated with total dysmorphology score in males with schizophrenia (i.