All Publications

• Factors Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Treatment Choice Across Four European CountriesAbstract

  PURPOSE: The aim of this analysis was to identify factors associated with the choice of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) therapy at the time of intensification of antidiabetic treatment across 4 European countries. METHODS: Antidiabetic drug prescrition/dispensing records and patients’ characteristics were obtained from the electronic health care records of patients with T2DM from the Netherlands (NL), Italy, and Spain (ES) (all, 2007-2011); and the United Kingdom (UK; 2008-2012)

  Heintjes EM, Overbeek JA, Hall GC, Prieto-Alhambra D, Lapi F, Hammar N, Bezemer ID. Clin Ther. 2017 Nov 03; 39 2296-2310.

• Exploring methods for comparing the real-world effectiveness of treatments for osteoporosis: adjusted direct comparisons versus using patients as their own controlAbstract

  Using Swedish and Dutch registry data for women initiating bisphosphonates, we evaluated two methods of comparing the real-world effectiveness of osteoporosis treatments that attempt to adjust for differences in patient baseline characteristics. Eah method has advantages and disadvantages; both are potential complements to clinical trial analyses

  Karlsson L, Mesterton J, Tepie MF, Intorcia M, Overbeek J, Strom O. Arch Osteoporos. 2017 Sep 21; 12 81.

• Relation Between Different Measures of Glycemic Exposure and Microvascular and Macrovascular Complications in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Observational Cohort StudyAbstract

  INTRODUCTION: This retrospective cohort study investigated the relation between different measures of glycemic exposure and micro- and macrovascular complications among patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: The analysis included patients receivinoral antihyperglycemic agents between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2014 from the General Practitioner Database from the PHARMO Database Network

  van Wijngaarden RPT, Overbeek JA, Heintjes EM, Schubert A, Diels J, Straatman H, Steyerberg EW, Herings RMC. Diabetes Ther. 2017 Sep 18; 1097-1109.

• Immortal time bias in pharmacoepidemiological studies on cancer patient survival: empirical illustration for beta-blocker use in four cancers with different prognosisAbstract

  Immortal time bias (ITB) is still seen frequently in medical literature. However, not much is known about this bias in the field of cancer (pharmaco-)epidemiology. In context of a hypothetical beneficial beta-blocker use among cancer patients, we amed to demonstrate the magnitude of ITB among 9876 prostate, colorectal, lung and pancreatic cancer patients diagnosed between 1998 and 2011, which were selected from a database linkage of the Netherlands Cancer Registry and the PHARMO Database Network

  Weberpals J, Jansen L, van Herk-Sukel MPP, Kuiper JG, Aarts MJ, Vissers PAJ, Brenner H. Eur J Epidemiol. 2017 Sep 01; 1019 - 103.

• Thrombotic risk minimization for Diane-35 and genericsAbstract

  BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of risk minimization measures on cyproterone acetate/ethinylestradiol (CPA/EE) use in the Netherlands. Potential indications of use and concomitant pharmacy dispensing of other hormonal contraceptves (HC) were assessed among new users in 2011, 2012, and 2014

  Bezemer ID, Smits E, Penning-van Beest FJA, Asiimwe A, Herings RMC. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2017 Sep 26; 26 1411-1417.

• Decrease in Switches to ‘Unsafe’ Proton Pump Inhibitors After Communications About Interactions with ClopidogrelAbstract

  BACKGROUND: In 2009 and 2010 medicines regulatory agencies published official safety statements regarding the concomitant use of proton pump inhibitors and clopidogrel. We wanted to investigate a change in prescription behaviour in prevalent gastrorotective drug users (2008-2011). METHODS: Data on drug use were retrieved from the Out-patient Pharmacy Database of the PHARMO Database Network

  Kruik-Kolloffel WJ, van der Palen J, van Herk-Sukel MPP, Kruik HJ, Movig KLL. Clin Drug Investig. 2017 Aug; 37 787-794.

• Ophthalmic nepafenac use in the Netherlands and DenmarkAbstract

  PURPOSE: To describe nepafenac use in the Netherlands and Denmark with reference to its approved indications. For context, we also describe the use of ketorolac and diclofenac. METHODS: We identified users in the PHARMO Database Network (the Netherands, 2008-2013) and the Danish national health registers (Denmark, 1994-2014)

  Margulis AV, Houben E, Hallas J, Overbeek JA, Pottegard A, Torp-Peder sen T, Perez-Gutthann S, Arana A. Acta Ophthalmol. 2017 Aug; 95 509-517.

• Use of antihistamines and risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia: a nested case-control study in five European countries from the ARITMO projectAbstract

  PURPOSE: After regulatory restrictions for terfenadine and astemizole in ’90s, only scarce evidence on proarrhythmic potential of antihistamines has been published. We evaluate the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VA) related to the use of indiidual antihistamines. METHODS: A matched case-control study nested in a cohort of new users of antihistamines was conducted within the EU-funded ARITMO project

  Poluzzi E, Diemberger I, DeRidder M, Koci A, Clo M, Oteri A, Pecchioli S, Bezemer I, Schink T, PilgaardUlrichsen S, Boriani G, Sturkenboom MCJ, DePonti F, Trifiro G. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2017 Aug 22; 1499 - 151.

• Statin Use After Diagnosis of Colon Cancer and Patient SurvivalAbstract

  BACKGROUND & AIMS: Statin use has been associated with a reduced incidence of colorectal cancer and might also affect survival of patients diagnosed with colon cancer. Statins are believed to inhibit Ras signaling and may also activate the bone morhogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway in colorectal cancer cells

  Voorneveld PW, Reimers MS, Bastiaannet E, Jacobs RJ, van Eijk R, Zander s MMJ, Herings RMC, van Herk-Sukel MPP, Kodach LL, van Wezel T, Kuppen PJK, Morreau H, van deVelde CJH, Hardwick JCH, Liefers GJ. Gastroenterology. 2017 Aug; 153 470-479 e4.

• Pharmaceutically treated anxiety but not depression prior to cancer diagnosis predicts the onset of cardiovascular disease among breast cancer survivorsAbstract

  PURPOSE: To examine the associations between pharmaceutically treated anxiety and depression present in the year prior to breast cancer diagnosis and the risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), while controlling for traditional cardiovascularisk factors and clinical characteristics in a population-based observational study

  Schoormans D, van dePoll-Franse L, Vissers P, van Herk-Sukel MPP, Peder sen SS, Rottmann N, Horsbol T, Dalton S, Denollet J. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2017 Jul 17; 259-266.