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The occurrence of bacteremia in Northern Denmark, regardless of the place of acquisition, increased considerably in the past 15 years, and bacteremia was associated with persistently high 30-day mortality. Thus, bacteremia remains a clinical and public health concern.

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Background: Studies have suggested that replacing saturated fatty acids (SFAs) with carbohydrates is modestly associated with a higher risk of ischemic heart disease, whereas replacing SFAs with polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with a lower risk of ischemic heart disease. The effect of carbohydrates, however, may depend on the type consumed. Objectives: By using substitution models, we aimed to investigate the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) associated with a higher energy intake from carbohydrates and a concomitant lower energy intake from SFAs. Carbohydrates with different glycemic index (GI) values were also investigated. Design: Our prospective cohort study included 53,644 women and men free of MI at baseline. Results: During a median of 12 y of follow-up, 1943 incident MI cases occurred. There was a nonsignificant inverse association between substitution of carbohydrates with low-GI values for SFAs and risk of MI [hazard ratio (HR) for MI per 5% increment of energy intake from carbohydrates: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.07). In contrast, there was a statistically significant positive association between substitution of carbohydrates with high-GI values for SFAs and risk of MI (HR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.64). There was no association for carbohydrates with medium-GI values (HR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.21). No effect modification by sex was observed. Conclusion: This study suggests that replacing SFAs with carbohydrates with low-GI values is associated with a lower risk of MI, whereas replacing SFAs with carbohydrates with high-GI values is associated with a higher risk of MI.

Background-Obesity, measured as body mass index, is associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE). Body mass index is a marker of excess weight and correlates well with body fat content in adults; however, it fails to consider the distribution of body fat. We assessed the association between anthropometric variables and VTE. Methods and Results-From 1993 to 1997, 27 178 men and 29 876 women 50 to 64 years of age were recruited into a Danish prospective study (Diet, Cancer, and Health). During 10 years of follow-up, the outcome of VTE events was identified in the Danish National Patient Registry and verified by review of medical records. Body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and total body fat were measured at baseline. We used Cox proportional hazard models to assess the association between anthropometry and VTE. Age was used as a time axis, with further adjustment for smoking, physical activity, height, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cholesterol, and, among women, use of hormone replacement therapy. We verified 641 incident VTE events and found monotonic dose-response relationships between VTE and all anthropometric measurements in both sexes. In mutually adjusted analyses of waist and hip circumference, we found that hip circumference was positively associated with VTE in women but not in men, whereas waist circumference was positively associated with VTE in men but not in women. Conclusions-All measurements of obesity are predictors of the risk for VTE. Positive associations were found between VTE and body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and total body fat mass. (Circulation.

Summary. Background: Large-scale prospective studies are needed to assess whether smoking is associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE) (i.e. deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) independently of established risk factors. Objective: To investigate the association between smoking and the risk of VTE among middle-aged men and women. Methods: From 1993 to 1997, 27 178 men and 29 875 women, aged 50-64 years and born in Denmark, were recruited into the Danish prospective study ÔDiet, Cancer and HealthÕ. During follow-up, VTE cases were identified in the Danish National Patient Registry. Medical records were reviewed and only verified VTE cases were included in the study. Baseline data on smoking and potential confounders were included in gender stratified Cox proportional hazard models to asses the association between smoking and the risk of VTE. The analyses were adjusted for alcohol intake, body mass index, physical activity, and in women also for use of hormone replacement therapy. Results: During follow-up, 641 incident cases of VTE were verified. We found a positive association between current smoking and VTE, with a hazard ratio of 1.52 (95% CI, 1.15-2.00) for smoking women and 1.32 (95% CI, 1.00-1.74) for smoking men, and a positive dose-response relationship. Former smokers had the same hazard as never smokers. Conclusions: Smoking was an independent risk factor for VTE among middle-aged men and women. Former smokers have the same risk of VTE as never smokers, indicating acute effects of smoking, and underscoring the potential benefits of smoking cessation.

Abstractdeal is a software package for use with R. It includes several methods for analysing data using Bayesian networks with variables of discrete and/or continuous types but restricted to conditionally Gaussian networks. Construction of priors for network parameters is supported and their parameters can be learned from data using conjugate updating. The network score is used as a metric to learn the structure of the network and forms the basis of a heuristic search strategy. deal has an interface to Hugin.

Background: The incidence of ovarian cancer increases sharply with age, and many elderly patients have coexisting diseases. If patients with comorbidities are diagnosed with advanced stages, this would explain the poor survival observed among ovarian cancer patients with severe comorbidity. Our aims were to examine the prevalence of comorbidity according to stage of cancer at diagnosis, to estimate the impact of comorbidity on survival, and to examine whether the impact of comorbidity on survival varies by stage.