Læknablađiđ
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Research shows a high prevalence of mental disorders and psychotropic medication among older people, especially in nursing homes. Knowledge of this concerning issue among Icelandic nursing homes residents is limited, despite its importance for mental health policymaking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medication in Icelandic nursing homes, the relationship between these factors and how they have evolved from 2003 to 2018. ⋯ Age related changes influence the effect of psychotropic drugs and studies have not supported their positive long-term effects for older people who are also sensitive to associated adverse effects, especially in cases of polypharmacy. Therefore, it is important that psychotropic drugs use is based on accurate mental health assessment. To reduce psychotropic medication, other mental health interventions need to be developed.
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Prevalence of hypertension, which is the most common risk factor for cardiovascular disease in elderly people, increases with age. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between diet and blood pressure in elderly Icelanders, with focus on cod liver oil, and to compare their diet to dietary guidelines. ⋯ The results indicate that intake of cod liver oil is associated with lower blood pressure among elderly people and may therefore have beneficial effects on health. A notable proportion of participants was at risk of vitamin D, vitamin B6, iodine, and iron deficiency.
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Sudden cardiac death in young athletes is relatively uncommon and is usually caused by occult underlying cardiovascular disease. Studies have indicated that preparticipation screening may reduce the incidence of sudden death. Our aim was to study the feasibility of standardized preparticipation screening in young competitive Icelandic athletes. The prevalence of risk factors was studied in order to evaluate how often further examination is indicated and to assess possible costs. ⋯ Symptoms associated with cardiac disease are frequently described among young athletes. Abnormal ECG was commonly found. Further examination with echocardiography may be indicated in one of every four athletes screened.
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Comparative Study
[The impact of lung diseases, smoking and e-cigarette use on the severity of COVID-19 illness at diagnosis].
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused public health and economic turmoil across the globe. Severe COVID-19 disease most often presents with pneumonia and complications in acutely ill patients often stem from the lungs. The associations of lung disease, smoking and e-cigarette use with the incidence and severity of COVID-19 are unclear on a population level. ⋯ The age distribution and prevalence of lung disease and their risk factors are described in the context of COVID-19 incidence and symptom severity in a whole-nation cohort of Icelanders. The cohort is younger and had less severe symptoms than in many previosly published studies of COVID-19. Interestingly, the prevalences of smoking and e-cigarette use were lower than in the Icelandic general population and they were not associated with symptom severity at diagnosis. To conclude, the results presented here indicate that underlying lung diseases are prevalent among people with severe COVID-19 symptoms but fail to demonstrate an association between cigarette smoking or e-cigarette smoking with COVID-19 severity.