Publicaties

BACKGROUND: adults aged 80 and over, a fast growing age-group, with increased co-morbidity and frailty have not been the focus of previous research on dyspnoea. We investigate the correlates of dyspnoea and its association with adverse outcomes in...

BACKGROUND: Most research on multidimensional frailty focuses on deficits and risks of adverse outcomes. However, although some frail older people report a low quality of life (QoL), others still report a relatively high QoL. More knowledge about ...

To date, there is no consensus regarding cardiovascular risk management in the very old. Studies have shown that the relationship between traditional cardiovascular risk factors and mortality is null or even inverted within this age group. This re...

BACKGROUND: The aim was to study temporal changes in incidence, disease phenotype at diagnosis, and mortality of adult inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] patients in South Limburg, The Netherlands, diagnosed between 1991 and 2010. In addition, the 2...

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that prenatal exposure to n-3 long-chain fatty acids protects against asthma and other allergy-related diseases later in childhood. The extent to which fish intake in pregnancy protects against child asthma and rh...

This paper investigates risk profiles of frailty among older people, as these are essential for detecting those individuals at risk for adverse outcomes and to undertake specific preventive actions. Frailty is not only a physical problem, but also...

HIV-related behaviors are non-linear and unpredictable due to the influence of contextual forces. Therefore, in this PhD research, a social epidemiological approach was opted to study the influence of contextual and mediating factors on HIV-relate...

The tumour immune microenvironment is considered to influence cancer behaviour and outcome. Using a panel of markers for innate and adaptive immune cells we set out to characterise and understand the bladder tumour microenvironment of 114 patients...

This thesis investigates the predictive value of respiratory function for adverse health outcomes in adults aged 80 and over, the fastest growing age-group worldwide. Using the dataset of BELFRAIL, a population-based, prospective cohort of adults ...

BACKGROUND: Identifying older people affected by cancer who are more at risk of negative health outcomes is a major issue in health initiatives focusing on medical effectiveness. In this regard, psychological risk factors such as patients' percept...

The occurrence and general applicability of the CD4:8 ratio as a surrogate predictor of mortality among the oldest old have only been tested in a few longitudinal studies. Here, the predictive value of CD4:8 ratio for mortality with respect to the...

To evaluate the utility of pre-operative diagnostic models for ovarian cancer based on ultrasound and/or biomarkers for referring patients to specialized oncology care. The investigated models were RMI, ROMA, and three models from the Internationa...

What is the role of a single dose of oral corticosteroids for those with acute sore throat? Using the GRADE framework according to the BMJ Rapid Recommendation process, an expert panel make a weak recommendation in favour of corticosteroid use. Th...

© 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. Health care systems around the world are changing to improve access and quality, as well as seeking to contain costs. These changes are being sought against a backcloth of improvements in bot...

Objectives: Assessment of clinical communication helps teachers in healthcare education determine whether their learners have acquired sufficient skills to meet the demands of clinical practice. The aim of this paper is to give input to educators ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate Decisional Conflict and Regret among parents regarding the decision on initiating comfort or active care in extreme prematurity and to relate these to decision-making characteristics. STUDY DESIGN: A nationwide, multicenter,...

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the utilization of formal and informal home care among older patients with cancer (OCP) and to compare this with middle-aged patients with cancer (MCP) and older patients without cancer (ONC). Additionally, ...

Since 2008, the Oxford Diagnostic Horizon Scan Programme has been identifying and summarising evidence on new and emerging diagnostic technologies relevant to primary care. We used these reports to determine the sequence and timing of evidence for...

BACKGROUND: Many register studies make use of information about permanent nursing home residents. Statistics Denmark (StatD) identifies nursing home residents by two different indirect methods, one based on reports from the municipalities regardin...

BACKGROUND: Facilitation is a widely used implementation method in quality improvement. Reviews reveal a variety of understandings of facilitation and facilitator roles. Research suggests that facilitation interventions should be flexible and tail...