Publications and manuscripts

The research review reports key results from three studies applying three different perspectives on alcohol and substance use in older adults. It condenses the experience of the three studies, covering drinking patterns, client profiles in healthcare settings and challenges to home care, into lessons learned.

Tobacco smoking is a major preventable risk for non-communicable diseases. The manuscript published in Tobacco Prevention and Cessation investigates predictors of tobacco smoking among acutely ill patients admitted to a Moscow hospital, and the association between smoking and alcohol use. The Expert Group on Alcohol and Substance Use has contributed to the study.

The use of psychoactive prescription medication is increasing in the general population, which is a cause of concern particularly among older people. The manuscript published in BMJ Open presents the findings of a blood sample analysis that determined the frequency of psychoactive substance use among acutely hospitalised patients. The Expert Group on Alcohol and Substance Use has contributed to the study.

In the Northern Dimension Antibiotic Resistance Study (NoDARS), Finland, Germany, Latvia, Poland, Russia and Sweden collected urine samples from outpatient women (aged 18-65 years) with symptoms of uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) to investigate the levels of antimicrobial resistance among E. coli isolates. This manuscript published in Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance presents the outcomes of the study.

The manuscript published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence estimates the prevalence of harmful alcohol use in relation to socio-demographic characteristics among acutely ill medical patients, and examines identification measures of alcohol use. The Expert Group on Alcohol and Substance Use has contributed to the study.

To implement health promotion and disease prevention, reliable and timely information on population’s health, its determinants and their distribution are needed. The manuscript on the Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) published in the European Journal of Public Health presents the trends in preventable premature loss of life, its causes and developments between 2003-2013 in Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea Region. The manuscript is based on research carried out by the Expert Group on Non-Communicable Diseases.

The manuscript published in European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases presents the fecal carriage prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase production in E. coli (EP-EC) and/or Klebsiella prenunomiae (EP-KP) and risk factors associated with carriage among adult study subjects in Finland, Germany, Latvia, Poland, Russia and Sweden. The manuscript presents the findings of the Northern Dimension Antibiotic Resistance Study (NoDARS).