TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of sociodemographic factors, healthcare utilisation by general practitioner visits, somatic hospital admissions, and medication use in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark
AU - Bliddal, Mette
AU - Bjørk, Emma
AU - Karlstad, Øystein
AU - Wastesson, Jonas W.
AU - Wesselhoeft, Rikke
AU - Lindahl-Jacobsen, Rune
AU - Pottegård, Anton
AU - Jan Wensink, Maarten
AU - Rasmussen, Lotte
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - Purpose: The healthcare systems in Scandinavia inform nationwide registers and the Scandinavian populations are increasingly combined in research. We aimed to compare Norway (NO), Sweden (SE), and Denmark (DK) regarding sociodemographic factors and healthcare. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed aggregated data from the nationwide Scandinavian registers. We calculated country-specific statistics on sociodemographic factors and healthcare use (general practitioner visits, admissions to somatic hospitals, and use of medicines). Results: In 2018, population were 5295,619 (NO), 10,120,242 (SE), and 5781,190 (DK). The populations were comparable regarding sex, age, education, and income distribution. Overall, medication use was comparable, while there was more variation in hospital admissions and general practitioner visits. For example, per 1000 inhabitants, 703 (NO), 665 (SE), and 711 (DK) individuals redeemed a prescription, whereas there were 215 (NO), 134 (SE), and 228 (DK) somatic hospital admissions per 1000 inhabitants. General practitioner contacts per 1000 inhabitants were 7082 in DK and 5773 in NO (-data from SE). Conclusion: The Scandinavian countries are comparable regarding aggregate-level sociodemographic factors and medication use. Variations are noted in healthcare utilisation as measured by visits to general practitioners and admissions to hospitals. This variation should be considered when comparing data from the Scandinavian countries.
AB - Purpose: The healthcare systems in Scandinavia inform nationwide registers and the Scandinavian populations are increasingly combined in research. We aimed to compare Norway (NO), Sweden (SE), and Denmark (DK) regarding sociodemographic factors and healthcare. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed aggregated data from the nationwide Scandinavian registers. We calculated country-specific statistics on sociodemographic factors and healthcare use (general practitioner visits, admissions to somatic hospitals, and use of medicines). Results: In 2018, population were 5295,619 (NO), 10,120,242 (SE), and 5781,190 (DK). The populations were comparable regarding sex, age, education, and income distribution. Overall, medication use was comparable, while there was more variation in hospital admissions and general practitioner visits. For example, per 1000 inhabitants, 703 (NO), 665 (SE), and 711 (DK) individuals redeemed a prescription, whereas there were 215 (NO), 134 (SE), and 228 (DK) somatic hospital admissions per 1000 inhabitants. General practitioner contacts per 1000 inhabitants were 7082 in DK and 5773 in NO (-data from SE). Conclusion: The Scandinavian countries are comparable regarding aggregate-level sociodemographic factors and medication use. Variations are noted in healthcare utilisation as measured by visits to general practitioners and admissions to hospitals. This variation should be considered when comparing data from the Scandinavian countries.
KW - Data pooling
KW - Healthcare utilisation
KW - Medication use
KW - Pharmacoepidemiology
KW - Scandinavia
U2 - 10.1016/j.annepidem.2024.07.004
DO - 10.1016/j.annepidem.2024.07.004
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38992483
AN - SCOPUS:85199883923
SN - 1047-2797
VL - 98
SP - 1
EP - 7
JO - Annals of Epidemiology
JF - Annals of Epidemiology
ER -