BackgroundResearch has illustrated that the decision-making process regarding healthcare seeking for symptoms is complex and associated with a variety of factors, including gender differences. Enhanced understanding of the frequency of symptoms and the healthcare seeking behaviour in the general population may increase our knowledge of this complex field.The primary objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of self-reported symptoms and the proportion of individuals reporting GP contact, in a large Danish nationwide cohort. A secondary objective was to explore gender differences in GP contacts in response to experiencing one of the 44 predefined symptoms.MethodsA Danish nationwide cohort study including a random sample of 100,000 individuals, representative of the adult Danish population aged 20 years or above. A web-based questionnaire survey formed the basis of this study. A total of 44 different symptoms covering a wide area of alarm symptoms and non-specific frequently occurring symptoms were selected based on extensive literature search. Further, items regarding contact to the GP were included. Data on socioeconomic factors were obtained from Statistics Denmark.ResultsA total of 49,706 subjects completed the questionnaire. Prevalence estimates of symptoms varied from 49.4 % (24,537) reporting tiredness to 0.11 % (54) reporting blood in vomit. The mean number of reported symptoms was 5.4 (men 4.8; women 6.0).The proportion of contact to the GP with at least one symptom was 37 %. The largest proportion of GP contacts was seen for individuals reporting blood in the urine (73.2 %), whereas only 11.4 % of individuals with increase in waist circumference reported GP contact. For almost 2/3 of the symptoms reported, no gender differences were found concerning the proportion leading to GP contacts.ConclusionPrevalence of symptoms and GP contacts are common in this overview of 44 different self-reported symptoms. For almost 2/3 of the reported symptoms no gender differences were found concerning the proportion leading to GP contacts. An enhanced understanding of healthcare seeking decisions may assist healthcare professionals in identifying patients who are at risk of postponing contact to the GP and may help development of health campaigns targeting these individuals.
The authors examined the association between semen quality and caffeine intake among 2,554 young Danish men recruited when they were examined to determine their fitness for military service in 2001-2005. The men delivered a semen sample and answered a questionnaire including information about caffeine intake from various sources, from which total caffeine intake was calculated. Moderate caffeine and cola intakes (101-800 mg/day and < or =14 0.5-L bottles of cola/week) compared with low intake (< or =100 mg/day, no cola intake) were not associated with semen quality. High cola (>14 0.5-L bottles/week) and/or caffeine (>800 mg/day) intake was associated with reduced sperm concentration and total sperm count, although only significant for cola. High-intake cola drinkers had an adjusted sperm concentration and total sperm count of 40 mill/mL (95% confidence interval (CI): 32, 51) and 121 mill (95% CI: 92, 160), respectively, compared with 56 mill/mL (95% CI: 50, 64) and 181 mill (95% CI: 156, 210) in non-cola-drinkers, which could not be attributed to the caffeine they consumed because it was <140 mg/day. Therefore, the authors cannot exclude the possibility of a threshold above which cola, and possibly caffeine, negatively affects semen quality. Alternatively, the less healthy lifestyle of these men may explain these findings.
Introduction. In order to develop strategies to prevent delay in diagnosis, it is important to gain knowledge of symptoms and healthcare-seeking processes in the population. This paper describes a combined survey and register-based study with (1) focus on development of a questionnaire concerning experience of symptoms and subsequent consequences and (2) feasibility of the study. Methods. The study is a nationwide cohort study of 100 000 individuals randomly selected from the Danish general population. A comprehensive questionnaire concerning experience of symptoms and subsequent consequences was developed. The methodological framework for the development included defining the domains to be measured, identification of previous items, scales and questionnaires in the literature, and pilot and field testing. Results. A total of five domains and 16 subdomains were defined covering the area of symptom experience, symptom characteristics, reaction in response to symptom experience, external factors, and personality characteristics with potential influence on the symptom experience. In total, 49 706 questionnaires were completed, yielding a response rate of 52.2%. Conclusion. We developed a comprehensive questionnaire used in a large combined survey and register-based study concerning experience of symptoms and subsequent consequences of symptom experiences. We succeeded in conducting a large survey providing the groundwork for The Danish Symptom Cohort.
GERD, FD and IBS are common conditions in the general population and the overlap between these conditions is also quite common. When diagnosing patients with GERD, FD and IBS, physicians should keep in mind that these patients could be suffering from more than one of these conditions.
Conclusion:Use of PPIs has increased substantially during the past decade, without a change in indications for use of PPIs in the same time range. Interventions to enhance adherence to guidelines and promote rational use of PPIs do not seem to have had a substantial infl uence on the overall prescribing rate.
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