Towards improved alcohol prevention in Swedish antenatal care?

Objective: to evaluate an education effort and revised alcohol-preventive routine in Swedish antenatal care; to generate more knowledge for further development of alcohol issues in antenatal care.

Design: two national cross-sectional surveys of Swedish midwives were conducted. Baseline data were collected in 2006 and follow-up data in 2009.

Is questionnaire-based alcohol counseling more effective for pregnant women than standard maternity care?

Objective: To compare current standard maternity care in Sweden concerning provision of alcohol advice with a more comprehensive questionnaire-based counseling model.

Methods: The study population included pregnant women in Linköping who were registered at a maternity care center during a 2-year period and whose pregnancies resulted in liveborn infants without birth defects, representing 93% of all pregnant women. Anonymous questionnaires were mailed to the women.

Implementation of a computerized alcohol advice concept in routine emergency care.

Background: There is a growing body of evidence for computer-generated advice for many health behaviours. This study evaluated the implementation of a computerized concept to provide tailored advice on alcohol in a Swedish emergency department (ED).

Aim: The aim was to evaluate the usage of the concept over 12 months: participation rate among the ED population; representativeness of the participants; and participation development over time.

Approaches to assessment of alcohol intake during pregnancy in Swedish maternity care--a national-based investigation into midwives' alcohol-related education, knowledge and practice.

Objective: to evaluate how much education midwives in Sweden have undertaken to help them assess alcohol intake during pregnancy, and what tools they use to identify women who may be at risk of drinking during pregnancy.

Design: a national survey was conducted in March 2006, using a questionnaire constructed by a Swedish team of researchers and clinicians.

Setting: maternity health-care centres in Sweden.

Alcohol consumption is associated with progression of hepatic fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Objective: Moderate alcohol consumption has been reported to be inversely associated with cardiovascular disease and total mortality. The importance of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing and many NAFLD patients suffer from cardiovascular disease. In these patients, moderate alcohol consumption could be beneficial.

Towards increased alcohol intervention activity in Swedish occupational health services.

Objectives: To investigate the extent to which Swedish occupational physicians and nurses discuss alcohol issues with their patients, their reasons for and against addressing these issues, their amount of education in handling risky drinking, and factors that they believe could facilitate increased alcohol intervention activity in OHS.

Methods: All Swedish physicians and nurses in OHS were surveyed with a postal questionnaire. The questionnaire was returned by 313 physicians (response rate 54%) and 759 nurses (response rate 69%).

Alcohol use before and during pregnancy and factors influencing change among Swedish women.

Objective: To investigate alcohol intake during pregnancy among women, to assess health cares providers' advice to the women and the relative importance of different factors on changes in the women's drinking.

Design: Questionnaire study.

Setting: Linkoping, Sweden.

Asking patients about their drinking. A national survey among primary health care physicians and nurses in Sweden.

Aims: To investigate the extent to which Swedish primary health care (PHC) general practitioners (GPs) and nurses discuss alcohol issues with their patients, their reasons for and against addressing alcohol issues, their perceived importance of these issues, and factors that could facilitate increased alcohol intervention activity among the PHC professionals.

Methods: All Swedish GPs and nurses who have the authority to issue prescriptions were surveyed with a postal questionnaire. The questionnaire was returned by 1821 GPs (47% response rate) and 3125 nurses (55% response rate).

Linking drinking to injury--causal attribution of injury to alcohol intake among patients in a Swedish emergency room.

This study analysed the drinking patterns and motivation to change drinking behaviours among injury patients who acknowledged alcohol as a factor in their injuries. A cross-sectional study was conducted over 18 months at a Swedish emergency department. A total of 1930 injury patients aged 18 - 70 years were enrolled in the study (76.

Statins in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and chronically elevated liver enzymes: a histopathological follow-up study.

Background/aims: The effect of statins on hepatic histology in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not known. This study explores hepatic histology in NAFLD patients before and after initiation of statin therapy and compares histological outcome with NAFLD patients who had not been prescribed statins.

Methods: Sixty-eight NAFLD patients were re-evaluated.

Frequency of heavy episodic drinking among nonfatal injury patients attending an emergency room.

This study investigated the relationship between frequency of heavy episodic drinking and nonfatal injury in four categories: environment, external cause, diagnosis, and activity at the time of injury. Data were collected over 18 months at the emergency room facility of a Swedish hospital. Injury patients aged 18-70 years answered an alcohol screening questionnaire.

Implementation of computerized alcohol screening and advice in an emergency department--a nursing staff perspective.

Changes in attitudes towards alcohol prevention among nursing staff are evaluated after implementing an opportunistic computerized alcohol screening and intervention (e-SBI) at an emergency department. After having assessed the patients in the triage room the nurses asked patients to perform the e-SBI on a touch screen computer. Before the start of the project more than 60% of the nurses expected the patients to react negatively when asked about their alcohol habits.

Long-term follow-up of patients with NAFLD and elevated liver enzymes.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of elevated liver enzymes in patients of developed countries. We determined the long-term clinical and histological courses of such patients. In a cohort study, 129 consecutively enrolled patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven NAFLD were reevaluated.