Background: Many studies have used disease-specific instruments, such as the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT), when studying health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients. Few studies however, have described normative HRQOL values in the general population using FACT - General Population (FACT-GP). The general aim of the present study is thus to describe the normative HRQOL values in the general Swedish population by using the FACT-GP instrument and to investigate to what degree sociodemographic factors and status of self-rated health (SRH) correlate with HRQOL. Methods: The participants consisted of a pre-stratified (gender, age and education) sample of Swedish citizens that previously had enrolled to be a part of a web panel hosted by a research institute (SOM Institute) at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. The HRQOL was assessed by using the FACT-GP and SRH. Results: A higher FACT-GP score was mainly associated with males, higher age, higher income and better SRH. The results showed that the Swedish sample scored lower on FACT-GP than previous studies. Conclusions: Since HRQOL is frequently used as an important endpoint in healthcare research, there is an increasing need for normative data. The results from this study serve as a general population standard against which other studied HRQOL-data could be evaluated.

Since there are no formal definition of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) there may be a lack of coherence and understanding of how to interpret HRQOL-data. The aim of this study is to summarize HRQOL-results that have used the FACT-M questionnaire in patients with melanoma, and specifically to summarize FACT-M between tumor stage. This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. original studies on cutaneous melanoma between 2005 and 2020, written in English, containing "Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Melanoma" OR "Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy M" OR FACT-M OR FACT/M OR FACTM OR "FACT M" OR FACT-melanoma OR "FACT Melanoma" together with FACT-M numbered data and basic patient characteristics, using the databases Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and PsycINFO. 16 articles describing 14 patient cohorts published 2008-2020 were included. The majority of the studies did not report subscale scores in accordance with FACT-M guidelines. The results did indicate that FACT-M total scores were inversely correlated with AJCC stage. Subscale analysis demonstrated varying degrees of correlation with AJCC stage. The Melanoma Surgery Subscale score was lowest in stage III patients, probably reflecting more advanced surgical procedures in this group of patients. Though this review is based on a questionnaire limited to the assessment of melanoma patients, it highlights the universal need for clinical studies to describe their selected HRQOL-questionnaires, its definition of HRQOL and its dimensions, as well as comply with the questionnaire's guidelines when reporting HRQOL-data.

Objectives: Compare mental health, stress, and well-being in the Swedish population as measured before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Repeated cross-sectional design using data measured before (Jan-2019; n = 2791) and during (Oct/Nov-2020; n = 2926) COVID-19 pandemic in Swedish population-representative cohorts. Following constructs were measured: anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II), stress (Perceived Stress Scale-10 items), health-related quality of life (HRQOL[Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General Population]) and self-rated health (SRH) was assessed with a single-item question. Results: When adjusting for age, sex, education, and income there were significantly higher levels of anxiety (M = 9.15 vs. 8.48, p < 0.01) and depression (M = 3.64 vs. 3.30, p = 0.03), lower levels of stress (M = 14.06 vs. 14.91, p < 0.001), but worsened HRQOL (M = 76.40 vs. 77.92, p < 0.01) and SRH (M = 6.91 vs. 7.20, p < 0.001), observed in 2020 compared to 2019. For the negative effects seen in anxiety, depression, HRQOL, and SRH, higher income and education had a protective effect. The decrease in stress was also correlated with higher income. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a small but significant worsening in mental health and well-being in the general Swedish population, where higher socioeconomic status seemed to have a protective effect.

Introduction: There is a high prevalence of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in prison populations compared to the general population, and ADHD has also been shown to be associated with criminality and antisocial behavior. This systematic review examines the effect of pharmacological ADHD treatment on criminal recidivism, ADHD symptoms, and rehabilitation in inmates with ADHD.Methods: Adhering to PRISMA 2020 and AMSTAR guidelines, we conducted a structured search on September 6, 2023 using PubMed. We focused on original research published in peer‐reviewed scientific journals, following the IMRaD format, written in English, containing the established search terms, based on participants who met the criteria for ADHD diagnosis (any edition of DSM), and who were incarcerated at the start of pharmacological treatment for ADHD. The primary outcome was criminal recidivism, the secondary outcomes were ADHD symptoms, and rehabilitation‐related factors such as global function, norm‐breaking/antisocial behavior, adaptation to society/institutional behavior, cognitive function, and well‐being.Results: Five studies, based on three patient cohorts, were included in this systematic review. Surprisingly, only one study investigated criminal recidivism. That study indicated that self‐reported criminal recidivism was lower than expected among inmates who had received pharmacological ADHD treatment. The five studies showed varying results in the effectiveness of pharmacological ADHD treatment on ADHD symptoms and other rehabilitation‐related factors. The included studies also varied regarding participant characteristics, study design, dosage, adherence to treatment, treatment regimes, and measured outcomes. All studies reported using osmotic‐release oral system (OROS) methylphenidate as their drug of choice.Conclusion: We conclude that there is limited empirical evidence to support the efficacy of pharmacological ADHD treatment on criminal recidivism in inmates diagnosed with ADHD. Still, evidence suggests that these treatments can reduce ADHD symptoms and enhance rehabilitation outcomes, which may, in turn, lower the rate of reoffending. We point to the need for more targeted research in this area.

Background: Few studies have investigated the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with melanoma in-transit metastases (ITM). The aim was to investigate the association between tumor burden and HRQOL, including disparities pertaining to sex and age, in treatment-naïve patients with ITM. Methods: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Melanoma (FACT-M) questionnaire was used to assess HRQOL Pairwise comparisons using t-tests between clinical cutoffs are presented and multiple linear regression analysis showing the unique associations of gender, age, number of tumors, tumor size, presence of lymph node metastases, and tumor localization. Results: A total of 95 patients, 47% females and 53% males (median age 72 years) were included between 2012 and 2021. Women scored significantly lower on emotional well-being (p = 0.038) and lower on FACT-M (p = 0.058). Patients who had ≥10 tumors scored significantly lower on FACT-M (p = 0.015), emotional- and functional well-being (p = 0.04, p = 0.004, respectively), melanoma scale (p = 0.005), and FACT-G (p = 0.027). There was no significant difference in HRQOL depending on age, size of tumors, localization, or presence of lymph node metastases. Conclusion: For patients with melanoma ITMs, the female sex and higher tumor burden (i.e., number of tumors) were significantly correlated with lower HRQOL. However, these findings do not fully explain HRQOL for this patient population, and future research should consider the possibility that there are specific questions for patients with ITM where current instruments might fail to measure their discomfort to the full extent.