NEW STUDY. Men with a high body mass index (BMI) in their upper teens had an elevated risk of severe COVID-19, requiring hospitalization, later in life, University of Gothenburg researchers show in a register study. For some time, overweight and obesity have been recognized risk factors for severe COVID-19. To date, however, there have been no studies to monitor large groups of individuals whose obesity was identified at an early…
Physical function and medicines linked to risk of falling and fractures
DOCTORAL THESIS. In older women, inability to stand on one leg for more than a few seconds is a risk factor for fracture. Another physical test yields similar results. Moreover, SSRIs can be linked to relatively poor physical function, a University of Gothenburg thesis shows. Osteoporosis, with its associated fractures, is a growing public health problem that causes suffering and heavy costs in health care. In her doctoral thesis at…
Obesity in four out of ten adults with COVID-19 in intensive care
NEW STUDY. People with obesity were overrepresented among adults in Sweden receiving intensive care for COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. Just over 39 percent had obesity, compared with some 16 percent in the population. The risks of prolonged hospitalization and death in intensive care units (ICUs) was also higher for patients with obesity, as a study from the University of Gothenburg shows. The aim of the study,…
Akademiliv’s podcast on register-based research
PODCAST. A new episode of Sahlgrenska Academy’s podcast Akademiliv is finally out! We talk with Fredrik Nyberg, visiting professor of register epidemiology, about the possibilities of register-based research. The interviews were held by Karin Allander and Elin Lindström. The podcast is only available in Swedish. Listen to this edition here: https://soundcloud.com/sahlgrenskaakademin/fredrik-nyberg-om-mojligheterna-med-registerforskning Quality registers are registers supported by public funds and that are usually aimed at a special patient group. The…
Sharp fall in amputations due to type 1 diabetes
NEW STUDY. Amputation in type 1 diabetes is becoming relatively less common in Sweden. The rate has fallen by just over 40 percent over an approximately 20-year period, a University of Gothenburg study shows. The results, published in the journal Diabetologia, are based on registry data on 46,088 people with type 1 diabetes in the years 1998–2019. The study involved linking data from the Swedish National Diabetes Register, the National…