Does early identification of high work related stress affect pharmacological treatment of primary care patients? - analysis of Swedish pharmacy dispensing data in a randomised control study.

BACKGROUND: The study is part of a randomised controlled trial with the overall aim to evaluate if use of the Work Stress Questionnaire (WSQ), combined with feedback at consultation, can be used by healthcare professionals in primary health care to prevent sickness absence. The specific aim of the present study was to investigate whether there were differences in pharmacy dispensing of prescription medications between the intervention group and the control group. METHODS: The study was a randomized controlled trial. Non-sick-listed employed women and men, aged 18 to 64 years, seeking care at primary health care centres (PHCCs) were eligible participants. The intervention included early identification of work-related stress by the WSQ, general practitioner (GP) training and GP feedback at consultation. Pharmacy dispensing data from the Swedish Prescription Drug Register for a period of 12 months following the intervention was used. Primary outcomes were the number of different medications used, type of medication and number of prescribing clinics. Data was analysed using Mann Whitney U tests and chi-square tests. RESULTS: The study population included 271 individuals (132 in the intervention group and 139 in the control group). The number of different medications used per individual did not differ significantly between the control group (median 4.0) and the intervention group (median 4.0, p-value 0.076). The proportion of individuals who collected more than 10 different medications was higher in the control group than in the intervention group (15.8% versus 4.5%, p = 0.002). In addition, the proportion of individuals filling prescriptions issued from more than three different clinics was higher in the control group than in the intervention group (17.3% versus 6.8%, p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: Systematic use of the WSQ combined with training of GPs and feedback at consultation may affect certain aspects of pharmacological treatment in primary health care patients. In this randomised control trial, analysis of pharmacy dispensing data show that patients in the intervention group had less polypharmacy and filled prescriptions issued from a smaller number of different clinics. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier: NCT02480855. Registered 20 May 2015.

Overuse of methylphenidate: an analysis of Swedish pharmacy dispensing data.

PURPOSE: To identify overuse of methylphenidate and to investigate patterns of overuse in relation to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Swedish national, pharmacy dispensing data were analyzed for all 56,922 individuals aged 6-79 years, who filled a methylphenidate prescription between 2010 and 2011. Overuse was defined as having above 150% days covered by the dispensed amount during 365 days from the first prescription fill, assuming use at the maximum recommended daily dose. RESULTS: In total, 4,304 individuals (7.6% of the methylphenidate users) were categorized as overusers. The risk of overuse increased with age (OR for 46-65 years vs 6-12 years 17.5, 95% CI 14.3-21.3), and was higher in men (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.3-1.5) and individuals with low income (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.2), as well as in individuals with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.3-1.6), health care visits (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.2-1.4), previous ADHD medication use (OR 2.6, 95% CI 2.4-2.8), and previous diagnosis of mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use (OR 2.1 95% CI 2.0-2.3). CONCLUSION: Among individuals using methylphenidate in Sweden, 7.6% receive amounts that are larger than what they should have a medical need for, assuming that they were using the maximum recommended daily dose 365 days per year. Notably, the prevalence of overuse was associated with previous diagnosis of alcohol and drug misuse. The prevalence was also positively associated with higher age and previous use of ADHD medication. These findings may point toward a link between exposure time and overuse. However, future studies with long-term data are needed to investigate this.

Sociodemographic patterns in pharmacy dispensing of medications for erectile dysfunction in Sweden.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic factors and pharmacy dispensing of medications for erectile dysfunction (ED) in the general population of middle-aged and elderly men. By considering a number of medical conditions that could promote or contraindicate use of ED medication, the analysis could help capture prescription patterns that might not be explained by medical needs. METHODS: Individual-level pharmacy dispensing data from 2006 for a population-based cohort of 216,148 men aged 45-79 years in the county Scania, Sweden, were analysed. Multiple logistic regression was applied, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated to quantify the discriminatory accuracy (DA) of the associations. National trends in pharmacy dispensing of ED medication between 2006 and 2016 were also analysed. RESULTS: Pharmacy dispensing of ED medication increased between 2006 and 2016, particularly among men aged 65-79 years (from 6.8 to 9.2%). Dispensing of ED medication was positively associated with higher socioeconomic position, and divorced and widowed men were more likely to fill a prescription with ED medication than married men. These associations remained after adjusting for medical conditions. The DA of the associations was, however, rather low (AUC = 0.69 among 45-64 year olds and AUC = 0.65 among 65-79 year olds). CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy dispensing of ED medication seem linked to the individuals socioeconomic position, age and marital status suggesting sociodemographic disparities in the pharmacy dispensing targeting sexual function. However, the low DA of the associations shows the limited capacity of these factors to predict ED medication use at the individual level.

Refill Adherence in Relation to Substitution and the Use of Multiple Medications: A Nationwide Population Based Study on New ACE-Inhibitor Users.

OBJECTIVE: Generic substitution has contributed to economic savings but switching products may affect patient adherence, particularly among those using multiple medications. The aim was to analyse if use of multiple medications influenced the association between switching products and refill adherence to angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in Sweden. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: New users of ACE-inhibitors, starting between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2007, were identified in the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Refill adherence was assessed using the continuous measure of medication acquisition (CMA) and analysed with linear regression and analysis of covariance. RESULTS: The study population included 42735 individuals whereof 51.2% were exposed to switching ACE-inhibitor and 39.6% used multiple medications. Refill adherence was higher among those exposed to switching products than those not, but did not vary depending on the use of multiple medications or among those not. Refill adherence varied with age, educational level, household income, country of birth, previous hospitalisation and previous cardiovascular diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The results indicate a positive association between refill adherence and switching products, mainly due to generic substitution, among new users of ACE-inhibitors in Sweden. This association was independent of use of multiple medications.

Testosterone prescribing in the population-a short social epidemiological analysis in Sweden.

PURPOSE: In recent years, there has been an increased interest for use of pharmaceutical testosterone among elderly men. However, it is still scarcely studied if this use is conditioned by socioeconomic factors in the general population of elderly men. METHODS: Using individual-level data from a population-based cohort of men aged 65-84 years in the County Scania, Sweden, we analysed testosterone use in 2006 in relation to demographic and socioeconomic factors by means of multiple logistic regression. We also analysed national data at the ecological level to investigate trends in prescribing between 2006 and 2014. RESULTS: The prevalence of testosterone use in Sweden among 65- to 84-year-old men increased by 83%, from 3.3 per 1000 men in 2006 to 6.0 in 2014. Testosterone use was more than twice as common in men in the highest income quintile compared with those in the lowest (0.68% versus 0.25%, odds ratio 2.69 and 95% confidence interval 1.80-4.02). Besides in the high-income group, testosterone use was highest in 65- to 69-year-old men, divorced men and, specially, in men with a previous hospital diagnose of hypogonadism. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show socioeconomic inequities in prescription of testosterone. This is a short analysis based on limited data, but because information on this topic is scarce, our analysis adds a relevant piece of evidence and highlights the need for further research.