Associating regulatory actions on diclofenac use with Danish trends in utilization by route of administration 1999-2023.

Aims: With the growing evidence of cardiovascular risks associated with diclofenac use, regulatory measures governing its application and sales have intensified since 2008. We evaluated the association between central regulatory actions and trends in diclofenac use in Denmark from 1999 to 2023, according to different dosage forms and routes of administration.

Methods And Results: Data on diclofenac sales in Denmark from 1999 to 2023 were retrieved from the publicly available web database MEDSTAT, based on the Danish Register of Medicinal Products Statistics.

Lithium Use During Pregnancy in 14 Countries.

Importance: In pregnancy, the benefits of lithium treatment for relapse prevention in psychiatric conditions must be weighed against potential teratogenic effects. Currently, there is a paucity of information on how and when lithium is used by pregnant women.

Objective: To examine lithium use in the perinatal period.

Prescription drug use in Danish children and adolescents 2005-2023.

Continuous monitoring of pediatric drug utilization is important for ensuring rational use and prioritizing research. This study provides an overview of pediatric prescription drug use among Danish children and adolescents from 2005-2023. Using Danish nationwide individual-level dispensing data, we identified all redeemed prescriptions for individuals < 18 years from January 2005-December 2023.

Eating Disorders in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Danish Nationwide Register-Based Study.

Objective: To assess incidence rates of clinically diagnosed eating disorders among Danish youth before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: This study used a population-based time series analysis with individual-level data from Danish healthcare registries. Participants included all Danish individuals aged 6-24 years from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2023.

Treatment trajectories for Danish individuals with type 2 diabetes in the era of emerging glucose-lowering therapies.

Aim: To analyse patterns of glucose-lowering therapies among people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Denmark from 2016 to 2023.

Materials And Methods: We examined time trends in the clinical profiles of people with T2D who initiated different glucose-lowering therapy classes for the first time. We furthermore investigated individual-level treatment trajectories following first-ever glucose-lowering therapy in people with or without cardiorenal disease.

Time trends in incidence of postpartum depression and depression in women of reproductive age.

Background: Little is known about the time trends of postpartum depression (PPD) and whether they differ from time trends of depression among women in general.

Methods: Using Danish health registers, we identified a postpartum population from all women who had a liveborn child from 2000-2022. We sampled a background population by matching five women for each delivery on age and date of childbirth.

Comparison of sociodemographic factors, healthcare utilisation by general practitioner visits, somatic hospital admissions, and medication use in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Purpose: The healthcare systems in Scandinavia inform nationwide registers and the Scandinavian populations are increasingly combined in research. We aimed to compare Norway (NO), Sweden (SE), and Denmark (DK) regarding sociodemographic factors and healthcare.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed aggregated data from the nationwide Scandinavian registers.

Treatment patterns of antidepressants in children and adolescents in Scandinavia.

The aim of this study was to examine variations in use of antidepressants among children and adolescents in the three Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, and Denmark). We identified new users of antidepressants (5-17 years) during 2007-2018 and described the annual incidence rate, treatment duration, concomitant psychotropic drug use, and the clinical setting of the prescribing physician (in Sweden and Denmark). Incident use of antidepressants increased by a factor 1.

Comparative Analysis of Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing in Early Life: A Population-Based Study Across Birth Cohorts in Denmark and Germany.

Introduction: Comparing antibiotic prescribing between countries can provide important insights into potential needs of improving antibiotic stewardship programs. We aimed to compare outpatient antibiotic prescribing in early life between children born in Denmark and Germany.

Methods: Using the Danish nationwide healthcare registries and a German claims database (GePaRD, ~ 20% population coverage), we included children born between 2004 and 2016, and followed them regarding outpatient antibiotic prescriptions until end of enrollment or the end of 2018.

Use of molnupiravir: A Danish nationwide drug utilization study.

Purpose: To describe utilization patterns, characteristics of users and prescribers of the new oral antiviral medication, molnupiravir, indicated for mild-to-moderate COVID-19.

Methods: Using nationwide registries, we identified all Danish adults who filled a prescription for molnupiravir from December 16th, 2021, to August 31st, 2022. We described weekly incidence rates and patient characteristics over time, prescriber characteristics as well as time between molnupiravir initiation and a positive SARs-CoV-2 test.

Psychotropic Medication Use and Psychiatric Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Danish Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults.

Importance: The direct and indirect implications of the COVID-19 pandemic have been associated with the mental health of children and adolescents, but it is uncertain whether these implications have been associated with changes in prescribing and diagnosis patterns.

Objective: To examine psychotropic medication use and rates of psychiatric disorders in Danish children, adolescents, and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based, descriptive register-based cohort study included all Danish individuals aged 5 to 24 years from January 1, 2017, until June 30, 2022.

Opioid prescriber responsibility: A Danish drug utilization study.

Aims: We describe the distribution of prescribers responsible for opioid initiation and maintenance (general practice, hospital prescribers and other prescribers) in Denmark.

Methods: We leveraged data on opioid fills from a 20% sample of all Danes alive during 2000-2021.

Results: Overall, general practitioners were responsible for most treatment initiation (74% during 2000-2021) and maintenance treatment (92%).

Core concepts in pharmacoepidemiology: Measures of drug utilization based on individual-level drug dispensing data.

Background: Drug utilization studies are essential to facilitate rational drug use in the society.

Aim: In this review, we provide an overview of drug utilization measures that can be used with individual-level drug dispensing data, referencing additional reading on the individual analysis. This is intended to serve as a primer for those new to drug utilization research and a shortlist from which researchers can identify useful analytical approaches when designing their drug utilization study.

Changing characteristics over time of individuals receiving COVID-19 vaccines in Denmark: A population-based descriptive study of vaccine uptake.

Aims: The Danish authorities implemented a differential rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines where individuals at high risk of COVID-19 were prioritized. We describe the temporal uptake and characteristics of COVID-19 vaccine recipients in Denmark.

Methods: Using nationwide healthcare registries, we identified all Danish residents ⩾5 years of age who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine from 27 December 2020-29 January 2022.

Melatonin use among children, adolescents, and young adults: a Danish nationwide drug utilization study.

We aimed to provide a detailed description of the use of melatonin in Danish children, adolescents, and young adults during 2012-2019. We identified melatonin users 0-24 years of age (n = 43,652; median age 16 years) via the Danish nationwide health registers. Melatonin is a prescription drug in Denmark.

Who prescribes quetiapine in Denmark?

The second-generation antipsychotic quetiapine is commonly used off-label for its anxiolytic and hypnotic properties. However, quetiapine is associated with problematic side-effects. We used Danish Medicinal Product Statistics and a 20% random sample of the Danish population's prescription fills (2001-2020) to describe the utilization of quetiapine and proportion of various prescriber types (general practitioner [GP], specialist in private practice, hospital physician and other prescribers) both in connection to first-time and subsequent prescriptions.

Risk of Appendicitis After mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination in a Danish Population.

This cohort study used data from Danish registers to assess whether recipients of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines had a higher risk of appendicitis after receiving the shot compared with individuals who did not receive the vaccine.

Position-Related Postoperative Peripheral Neuropathy After Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery: A Comparative Single-Center Prospective Cohort Study.

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery requires perioperative positioning in the dorsal lithotomy position and intermittent Trendelenburg position. This position is associated with postoperative peripheral neuropathy (PPN), which is a substantial cause of anesthesia-related claims. The objective of this study was to assess the incidence of PPN of patients positioned in lithotomy position with shoulder braces, and second to compare this group with patients positioned on the foam mattress Pink Pad.

Use of hypnotic drugs among children, adolescents, and young adults in Scandinavia.

Background: Hypnotic use in children and adolescents is controversial.

Objective: To describe the use of hypnotic drugs (melatonin, z-drugs, and sedating antihistamines) among 5- to 24-year-old Scandinavians during 2012 to 2018.

Methods: Aggregate-level data were obtained from public data sources in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

Use of non-insulin antidiabetic drugs in children and young adults - A Scandinavian drug utilization study from 2010-2019.

Knowledge on utilization patterns of non-insulin antidiabetic drugs in childhood and youth is limited. Therefore, we conducted a population-based drug utilization study using publicly available aggregate data on use of non-insulin antidiabetics from 2010 to 2019 in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) in individuals aged up to 24 years. For each non-insulin antidiabetic drug, we calculated the annual prevalence proportion of users, overall and for specific age groups.

Who prescribes drugs to patients: A Danish register-based study.

We describe the distribution of prescriber types responsible for issuing prescriptions in Denmark. Using a 20% random sample of all Danes alive during 2000-2018 (n = 1 515 025) and all their prescriptions filled at community pharmacies (n = 182 143 707), we found that general practitioners issued 88% of all prescriptions, followed by hospital physicians (7.4%) and private practicing specialists (4.