Medical services; casualties and medical statistics of the great war,

Mode of access: Internet.

The presentation of medical statistics.

Mode of access: Internet.

Interesting and useful medical statistics.

Mode of access: Internet.

Tabulating equipment and Army medical statistics

Mode of access: Internet.

An introduction to statistics in the medical sciences.

Mode of access: Internet.

Incidence and direct medical costs of hospitalizations due to osteoporotic fractures in Switzerland

The objective of this study was to estimate the annual direct medical costs of hospitalizations due to osteoporotic fractures in Switzerland. Days of hospital stay in 1992 were quantified using the casuistic of the medical statistics department of VESKA (Vereinigung Schweizerischer Krankenhäuser, the Swiss Hospital Association), which covers 43% of all hospital beds of that country. Number and incidence of total hospitalizations due to fractures were calculated by extrapolating to 100% the 43% VESKA-selected sample. To estimate number and incidence of hospitalizations due to osteoporotic fractures, internationally accepted age-specific osteoporosis attribution rates were applied. According to the latter the probability of a fracture being caused by osteoporosis increases with age. Mean length of stay for all fractures was calculated (= total hospital days divided by number of cases). By multiplying these mean lengths of stay by the number of osteoporosis-related fracture cases, the number of bed-days due to osteoporotic fractures was calculated. To compare the direct medical costs of hospitalization due to osteoporosis with those due to other frequent diseases, days of hospital stay caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, acute myocardial infarction and breast cancer were estimated using the same methodology. A total estimate of 63,170 (f: 33,596, m: 29,574) hospitalizations due to fractures (and other osteoporosis-related diagnoses) was calculated, thus leading to overall annual incidence rates of hospitalizations for fractures of 950/100,000 women and 877/100,000 men. In women, 548,615 hospital days were found to be caused by osteoporosis, 353,654 days by COPD, 352,062 days by stroke, 200,669 days by breast carcinoma and 131,331 days by myocardial infarction. In men, COPD caused more hospitalization days (537,164) than myocardial infarction (196,793), stroke (180,524) or osteoporosis (152,857). Taking a mean price for a hospital day in Switzerland of 845 Swiss francs, the annual costs of acute hospitalizations due to osteoporosis and its complications were approximately 600 million Swiss francs (f: 464, m: 130 million Swiss francs) in 1992. We conclude that there is enough economic evidence to justify wide-scale interventions against osteoporosis in Switzerland.

Epidemiology and direct medical costs of osteoporotic fractures in men and women in Switzerland

The aim of this study was to estimate the hospitalization incidence and the total number of hospital days related to all fractures and osteoporotic fractures in the year 2000 in Switzerland and to compare these with data from other frequent disorders in men and women. The official administrative and medical statistics database of the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics (SFOS) from the year 2000 was used. It covered 81.2% of all registered patient admissions and was considered to be representative of the entire population. We included the ICD-10 codes of 84 diagnoses that were compatible with an underlying osteoporosis and applied the best matching age-specific osteoporosis attribution rates published for the ICD-9 diagnosis codes to the individual ICD-10 codes. To preserve comparability with previously published data from 1992, we grouped the data related to the ICD-10 fracture codes into seven diagnosis pools (fractures of the axial skeleton, fractures of the proximal upper limbs, fractures of the distal upper limbs, fractures of the proximal lower limbs, fractures of the distal lower limbs, multiple fractures, and osteoporosis) and analyzed them separately for women and men by age group. Incidences of hospitalization due to fractures were calculated, and the direct medical costs related to hospitalization were estimated. In addition, we compared the results with those from chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD), stroke, acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, diabetes and breast carcinoma from the same database. In Switzerland during 2000, 62,535 hospitalizations for fractures (35,586 women and 26,949 men) were registered. Fifty-one percent of all fractures in women and 24% in men were considered as osteoporotic. The overall incidences of hospitalization due to fractures were 969 and 768 per 100,000 in women and men, respectively. The hospitalization incidences for fractures of the proximal lower limbs and the axial skeleton increased exponentially after the age of 65 years. The direct medical cost of hospitalization of patients with osteoporosis and/or related fractures was 357 million CHF. Hip fractures accounted for approximately half of these costs in women and men. Among other common diseases in women and men, osteoporosis ranked number 1 in women and number 2 (behind COPD) in men. When compared with data from 1992, the average length of stay had shortened by 8.4 days for women and 4.7 days for men, leading to a decrease of almost 40% in direct medical costs related to acute hospitalizations. This apparent decrease in cost might result from a shift into the ambulatory cost segment, for which the assessment and management tools need to be developed. We conclude that, in 2000, osteoporosis continued to be a heavy burden on the Swiss healthcare system. Lack of awareness of the disease and its consequences prevents widespread use of drugs with anti-fracture efficacy. This limits their potential to reduce costs.

Priorities in health statistics : proceedings of the 19th national meeting of the Public Health Conference on Records and Statistics, August 1983.

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Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroups M7b1 ' 2 and M8a Affect Clinical Expression of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy in Chinese Families with the m.11778G -> A Mutation

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is the most extensively studied mitochondrial disease, with the majority of the cases being caused by one of three primary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. Incomplete disease penetrance and gender bias are two

1-Y's for mental reasons

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