Use of electronic health record data mining for heart failure subtyping.

Objective: To assess whether electronic health record (EHR) data text mining can be used to improve register-based heart failure (HF) subtyping. EHR data of 43,405 individuals from two Finnish hospital biobanks were mined for unstructured text mentions of ejection fraction (EF) and validated against clinical assessment in two sets of 100 randomly selected individuals. Structured laboratory data was then incorporated for a categorization by HF subtype (HF with mildly reduced EF, HFmrEF; HF with preserved EF, HFpEF; HF with reduced EF, HFrEF; and no HF).

Recruiting a Hard-to-Reach, Hidden and Vulnerable Population: The Methodological and Practical Pitfalls of Researching Vaccine-Hesitant Parents.

While recruitment is an essential aspect of any research project, its challenges are rarely acknowledged. We intend to address this gap by discussing the challenges to the participation of vaccine-hesitant parents defined here as a hard-to-reach, hidden and vulnerable population drawing on extensive empirical qualitative evidence from seven European countries. The difficulties in reaching vaccine-hesitant parents were very much related to issues concerning trust, as there appears to be a growing distrust in experts, which is extended to the work developed by researchers and their funding bodies.

Exogenous female sex steroid hormones and new-onset asthma in women: a matched case-control study.

Background: Evidence on the role of exogenous female sex steroid hormones in asthma development in women remains conflicting. We sought to quantify the potential causal role of hormonal contraceptives and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) in the development of asthma in women.

Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study based on the West Sweden Asthma Study, nested in a representative cohort of 15,003 women aged 16-75 years, with 8-year follow-up (2008-2016).

The clinical course and outcomes of non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages in a single-center retrospective study.

Background: Non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAHs) are thought to have a benign clinical course compared to aneurysmal SAHs. The aim of this study is to report the clinical course and outcomes of non-aneurysmal SAHs in a large single-center study.

Methods: The patients with non-aneurysmal SAHs were screened from Tampere University Hospital from 2005 to 2020.

The association between epidural labor analgesia and the fetal outcome and mode of delivery of the second twin: a nationwide register-based cohort study in Finland.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the association between epidural labor analgesia and the mode of delivery for the second twin and to analyze the health outcomes of the second twin.

Methods: In this nationwide, retrospective, register-based cohort study, data from the National Medical Birth Register (MBR) of Finland (2004-2018) were used to analyze the association between epidural analgesia and delivery mode (emergency and urgent cesarean section, and assisted vaginal delivery) and fetal outcomes (neonatal mortality and need for intensive care unit admission) for the second twin. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the delivery mode and fetal outcomes of the second twin.

Time Trends in Adolescent School Absences and Associated Bullying Involvement Between 2000 and 2019: A Nationwide Study.

Education is a central determinant of adolescent health. School absences and bullying involvement jeopardize wellbeing, mental health, and educational attainment. We analyzed time trends in school absenteeism over two decades and examined the association of absenteeism with bullying involvement.

Sensitization patterns to cat molecular allergens in subjects with allergic sensitization to cat dander.

Background: The use of molecular allergology has increasingly become common in the diagnosis and management of allergic diseases. However, there is still a lack of data on cat molecular allergens in adults. Therefore, we aimed to uncover the sensitization patterns to cat molecular allergens.

Duration of sick leave after operated and non-operated distal radial fracture: a Finnish cohort study of 19,995 patients.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether operative treatment for distal radial fracture reduces the length of sick leave and the costs of treatment. We identified 19,995 patients from a registry who received a state sick leave allowance between 2010 and 2019 owing to distal radial fractures. We compared these patients to a registry of operations and identified 4346 operated patients.

A protocol for a proof-of-concept randomized control trial testing increased protein quantity and quality in ready-to-use therapeutic food in improving linear growth among 6-23-month-old children with severe wasting in Malawi.

Introduction: Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) have successfully promoted recovery from severe wasting and increased treatment coverage. However, RUTFs do not sufficiently improve linear growth, leaving many survivors of severe wasting at risk of persistent stunting, which is associated with high mortality risk, poor child development and non-communicable diseases in adulthood. High protein quantity and quality can stimulate linear growth.

Health-related quality of life, anxiety, depression, beliefs of medication, and self-efficacy in individuals with severe asthma - a population-based study.

Objective: Individuals with severe asthma often report poor Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and more research is essential to increase understanding of how they may be helped to improve HRQoL. The main aim of the current paper is to evaluate HRQoL, and possible factors influencing HRQoL, in individuals with severe asthma. The aim is also to explore associations among anxiety, depression, beliefs of medication, self-efficacy, and HRQoL among individuals with severe and other asthma as well as those with no asthma.

Myth-Busting the Zone-of-Injury Concept: A Prospective Study on the Vascular Response to High-Energy Lower Extremity Trauma.

Background: Although the zone-of-injury concept is widely accepted, no histologic studies of vessel wall changes causing the phenomenon have been reported. In this prospective study, the vascular response to high-energy lower extremity trauma was investigated to evaluate the validity of the zone-of-injury concept.

Methods: The histologic appearance of arterial and venous walls in the zone of injury was studied in 19 patients (median age, 46 years; interquartile range, 29.

Validation of the Finnish version of the food allergy quality of life questionnaire-parent form (F-FAQLQ-PF).

Aim: Specific questionnaires about food allergy and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have been developed and validated in several languages, but not Finnish. We aimed to validate the Finnish Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Parent Form (FAQLQ-PF) for children under age 13 years.

Methods: The original FAQLQ-PF and Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM) were translated into Finnish per World Health Organisation guidelines and tested by 72 parents of children under age 13 years with suspected severe peanut or tree nut allergy who were recruited at Allergy Centre in Tampere University Hospital in Tampere, Finland.

The effect of palliative outpatient units on resource use for cancer patients in Finland.

Background: As cancer incidences are increasing, the means to provide effective palliative care (PC) are called for. There is evidence, that PC may prevent futile treatment at the end of life (EOL) thus implicating that PC decreases resource use at the EOL, however, the effects of outpatient PC units remain largely unknown. We surveyed the national use of Finnish tertiary care PC units and their effects on resource use at the EOL in real-life environments.

Associations Among Medical Therapy, SelfAdministered Exercise, and Characteristics of Ménière's Disease.

Background: The aim of the current study was to explore the associations among different therapeutic procedures, self-administered exercise, and characteristics of Ménière's disease.

Methods: The study used a retrospective design and included 539 people with Ménière's disease who were focusing on self-administered exercise. The mean age and history of Ménière's disease among these participants were 61.

'I became more aware of my actions'-A qualitative longitudinal study of a health psychological group intervention for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Objectives: To explore myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients' experiences of a health psychological group intervention and its usefulness, non-usefulness or harmfulness for illness management and adjustment.

Design: A qualitative longitudinal study using inductive content analysis.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 adults.

Rare functional variants in the CRP and G6PC genes modify the relationship between obesity and serum C-reactive protein in white British population.

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive biomarker of inflammation with moderate heritability. The role of rare functional genetic variants in relation to serum CRP is understudied. We aimed to examine gene mutation burden of protein-altering (PA) and loss-of-function (LOF) variants in association with serum CRP, and to further explore the clinical relevance.

Programmed death-ligand 1 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) - low TIL density may predict poorer long-term prognosis in T1 laryngeal cancer.

We evaluated the prognostic role of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in T1 glottic laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). T1 glottic LSCC patients (n = 174) treated at five Finnish university hospitals between 2003 and 2013 were included. Tissue microarray (TMA) blocks were used for PD-L1 immunohistochemistry.

aMMP-8 Point-of-Care Test (POCT) Identifies Reliably Periodontitis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes as well as Monitors Treatment Response.

Background: The link between diabetes and periodontitis is bi-directional: high glucose levels increase the risk of periodontitis and elevated oral fluid aMMP-8 as well as diabetic development while untreated periodontitis worsens glycaemic control.

Methods: Type-2 patients (N = 161) underwent an aMMP-8 Point-of-Care Test (POCT) at diabetes clinics. If the test was positive, the patient was sent to an oral health care clinic and oral health examination, health-promoting as well as necessary treatment procedures were carried out.

Gamma-valerolactone biorefinery: Catalyzed birch fractionation and valorization of pulping streams with solvent recovery.

In this study, we propose a full gamma-valerolactone (GVL) organosolv biorefinery concept including the utilization of all pulping streams, solvent recovery, and preliminary material and energy balances. GVL is a renewable and non-toxic solvent that fractionates woody biomass. The silver birch chips were pulped (45-65 wt% GVL, 150 °C, 2 h) under a series of acid-catalyzed conditions (5-12 kg HSO/t), and the fully bleached pulp was spun into fibers by the IONCELL® process and knitted into the fabric.

Underdiagnosis and misclassification of COPD in Sweden - A Nordic Epilung study.

Introduction: The prevalence of COPD tends to level off in populations with decreasing prevalence of smoking but the extent of underdiagnosis in such populations needs further investigation.

Aim: To investigate underdiagnosis and misclassification of COPD with a focus on socio-economy, lifestyle determinants and healthcare utilization.

Method: The 1839 participants were selected from two ongoing large-scale epidemiological research programs: The Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden Studies and the West Sweden Asthma Study.