Fibrosing interstitial lung disease (F-ILD) are a heterogeneous group of diseases with multiple subtypes. Both idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other ILDs associated with a risk of developing progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) are subtypes of this category. A multidisciplinary team discussion, including a chest high-resolution CT (HRCT), is usually considered the gold standard for diagnosis of F-ILD. Repeated HRCT is one of several established methods to assess progression and thus development of PPF, but it is associated with substantial costs and radiation exposure. Thoracic ultrasound (TUS) and other ultrasound (US) methods have emerged as radiation-free methods for both diagnosing and monitoring disease severity in F-ILD. Yet, consistent knowledge on the use of different TUS- and US methods in patients with F-ILD is limited.
The LORD study is a prospective cohort study conducted in participants with F-ILD at a tertiary ILD centre in Denmark. Physiological testing and patient-related outcome measures, together with TUS- and US examinations, will be performed at inclusion, after 6 and 12 months. The correlations between these assessments will be evaluated. HRCT will be conducted between 3 months prior to and 1 month after baseline, and after 1 year. At least 34 participants will be included.
The protocol was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (journal number: 22/45135) and the Science Ethics Committee for the Region of Southern Denmark (journal number: S-20220036). Results will be published in peer-reviewed international journals and will be presented at an international congress.
To develop and validate the Internalised Stigma Scale for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (ISS-GDM), a questionnaire measuring self-reported internalised stigma among women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We hypothesised that internalised GDM stigma could be reliably and validly assessed through a short psychometric instrument.
Cross-sectional validation study.
Follow-up data from the Danish, multicentre Face-it trial for women with prior GDM and their families.
In total, 248 women completed the ISS-GDM approximately 1 year after their GDM affected pregnancy.
The primary outcome was psychometric properties of the ISS-GDM, assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch analysis (RA). Secondary outcomes included identification of item anomalies (local response dependence, differential item functioning).
A large proportion of respondents endorsed statements reflecting self-disappointment, self-blame and an altered self-perception. Less endorsed statements included feeling inferior to other mothers or guilt towards family members due to GDM. The ISS-GDM demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties. CFA indicated that item 2 assessing self-perceived capabilities as a mother did not load onto the main factor, while CFA and RA identified local response dependence and differential item functioning by body mass index. After adjustments, a two-factor solution supported calculating a sum score of items 1 and 3–11, with item 2 retained as a stand-alone indicator of perceived parenting capabilities. The 10-item scale demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=0.78).
The ISS-GDM is a reliable and valid tool for assessing internalised stigma among women with prior GDM. Our findings further suggest that a substantial proportion of women with prior GDM experience self-blame and an altered self-perception due to their diagnosis. The ISS-GDM scale enables research into its prevalence, severity and consequences.
For several decades, mortality has decreased more rapidly among individuals with a higher socioeconomic position than among those with a lower position. This widening social inequality gap has increasingly been recognised as an important aspect of public health research and policies. The objective of this study was to examine trends in educational inequality in healthy life expectancy (HLE) in Denmark between 2010 and 2021 at the age of 30 years.
The study is a population-based study based on register data on longest attained education, standard life tables and self-reported health information from nationwide health surveys.
The study is conducted among the general adult population in Denmark.
Participants include respondents from the Danish National Health Survey and the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2021 aged ≥30 years.
Expected lifetime in good self-rated health, with no long-standing illness and with no activity limitations was estimated by Sullivan’s method, and educational inequality was expressed by the Slope Index of Inequality.
Between 2010 and 2021, educational inequality in HLE increased among both men and women for long-standing illness (5-year trend: +1.1 and +1.2 years) and activity limitations (+2.4 and +2.6 years) but remained stable among men (+0.1 year) and decreased among women (–0.3 year) for self-rated health. For the latter two indicators, the inequality gap narrowed after 2017.
Trends in educational inequality in HLE in Denmark 2010–2021 vary by health indicator. Steadily widening gaps were demonstrated for long-standing illness, while narrowing gaps were seen after 2017 for activity limitations and self-rated health. Future studies are encouraged to explore potential health risk behaviours that may explain or modify these inequality trends.