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Biomedical subjects

Mona Olofsson

Publications and source records attributed to Mona Olofsson.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Fatigue and health-related quality of life in elderly patients with and without heart failure in primary healthcare.

BACKGROUND: Patients with heart failure (HF) in primary healthcare are in many respects not comparable to those in specialized care and the knowledge about different patient groups with and without HF is limited. AIMS: To compare fatigue and health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL) when adjusting for age, gender and social provision in patients with confirmed HF (n=49) to a group of patients with symptoms indicating HF but without HF (NHF, n=59) and to an age-and sex-matched control-group (n=40). METHOD: A questionnaire including the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, the SF-36, and the Social Provisions Scale was used. RESULTS: The average age in all groups was 78 years. Patients in the HF and NHF groups reported worse physical QoL and more general and physical fatigue than the control group. HF patients had worse general health than the NHF group. CONCLUSION: Elderly patients in primary healthcare with confirmed heart failure and patients with symptoms similar to heart failure perceived they had a significantly worse physical QoL and more general and physical fatigue than an age- and sex-matched control group. The similarities between the patient groups indicate the importance of the symptom experience for Hr-QoL.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2006

Are elderly patients with suspected HF misdiagnosed? A primary health care center study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies are published on heart failure patients in primary health care, in elderly in advanced age. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of the diagnosis of heart failure in all men and women with focus on age and gender. METHODS: The patients were recruited from one selected primary health care in the city of Skellefteå, Sweden. The general practitioners included all patients who had symptoms and signs indicating heart failure. The patients were then referred for an echocardiographic examination and a final cardiology consultation. RESULTS: The general practitioners identified 121 women and 49 men with suspected heart failure of whom 39% (51 women and 16 men) were above 80 years. Women were significantly older than men (mean age 78 and 75 years, respectively, p = 0.03). The main symptom was dyspnoea (80%). Confirmed heart failure was verified in 45% of the patients and was significantly more common in men than women (p = 0.02). Of all men and women above 80 years, 75% and 22%, respectively (p = 0.01) had a verified systolic heart failure, while there were no significant gender differences in patients younger than 80. In a multivariate regression analysis taking gender, age, smoking, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, angina, myocardial infarction and diabetes into account, myocardial infarction (OR = 4.3, CL = 1.8-10.6) hypertension (OR = 3.4, CI = 1.6-6.9) atrial fibrillation (OR = 2.8, CL = 1.0-7.9) remained significantly predictive of a confirmed diagnosis of heart failure. CONCLUSION: This study showed the difficulty of diagnosing heart failure accurately based only on clinical symptoms, especially in women above 80 years.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2005

Gender makes a difference in the description of dyspnoea in patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Dyspnoea is a common symptom of chronic heart failure (CHF). In the community setting, patients with CHF are most often women. AIM: To examine the impact of gender on the description of dyspnoea and to explore which clinical variables support a diagnosis of CHF. METHODS: From four primary health care centres, 158 patients with CHF were included. Patients were examined with echocardiography and a cardiologist assessed the diagnosis of CHF. The patients filled in a questionnaire containing 11 descriptors of dyspnoea. RESULTS: A diagnosis of CHF was confirmed in 87 (55%) patients (47 males and 40 females). One descriptor, I feel that I am suffocating, was significantly scored higher in CHF patients (p=0.014) as compared to non-CHF patients. Three descriptors, My breath does not go in all the way (p=0.006), I feel that I am suffocating (p=0.040), and I cannot get enough air (p=0.0327) were significantly scored higher among men with CHF, compared to no descriptor among women with CHF. Being male (OR=2.7; CI: 1.3-5.6, p=0.008), having diabetes (OR=5.6; CI: 1.7-18.2, p=0.004), IHD (OR=3.3; CI: 1.3-8.5, p=0.014), and a borderline significance for age (OR=1.04; CI: 0.99-1.08, p=0.058) predicted a confirmed diagnosis of CHF. CONCLUSION: Three descriptors of dyspnoea were associated with CHF among men, whereas no such association was found among women. Our results suggest that gender is an important factor and should-together with age, underlying heart disease, and diabetes-be taken into account when symptoms are evaluated in the diagnosis of CHF in primary care.

Age Factors↗