Long-term results from bariatric surgery amongst individuals with obesity is considered good in general, with regard to weight loss, complications of obesity or quality of life. However, risk of nutrient deficiency might be increased. The aim of the study was to assess vitamin D status of patients before and after metabolic and bariatric surgery at Landspitali.
 
  Data on 25(OH)D concentration and parathyroid hormone (PTH) was retrieved from medical records for patients undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery at Landspitali from 2001-2018 (n=539). Insufficient vitamin D status was defined as 25(OH)D concentration p<45 nmol/L in 2001-2012 but p<50 nnmol/L from 2013-2018, due to changes in analytical method during the study period. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as 25(OH)D p<30 nmol/L for both time periods. Guidelines on supplement use are provided before discharge from the hospital and up to 18 months after surgery, RESULTS Mean concentration of 25(OH)D before surgery was 51 nmol/L (SD 30 nmol/L at Landspitali.  https://www.selleckchem.com/screening/natural-product-library.html  In large majority of subjects, 25(OH)D concentration increased after surgery, following recomendations on supplement intake. The results highlight the need for greater emphasis on correcting possible nutrient deficiencies before surgery.Diseases connected with work in hay have been known in Iceland for a long time. In 1981 scientific studies of these diseases were started in Iceland at the request of the Farmers Union. The results of these studies are summarized in this article. In studies of hay a great amount of storage mites, moulds and thermophilic actinomycetes (microlyspora faeni) were found in addition to allergens from mice and pollen. Symptoms caused by hay dust were mainly from nose and eyes in people with positive skin tests, but cough, dyspnea and fever were equally common in those with negative skin tests. The most common causes of allergy in farming families were storage mites and cattle, but allergy to cats, dogs and grass pollen were less common rurally than in the Reykjavik area. When comparing individuals working in heavy hay dust with those working in cleaner air, the former group had a higher likelihood of having a positive precipitin test against micropolyspora faeni, fever after work in hay and airway obstruction. It was shown that Icelandic farmers were more likely to get emphysema than other people irrespective of smoking. In a large study of homes in the Reykjavik area almost no mites were found. In spite of this, positive specific IgE tests against dust mites were equally common as in Uppsala, Sweden, where dust mites were found in 16% of homes. In further studies it was found, that 57% of people in the study had been more and less exposed to hay dust. They had either been raised on a farm, been on a farm in the summer during childhood or owned horses and fed them with hay. We have argued that cross allergy to storage mites may be the cause of a rather common allergy to house dust mites. A new study of middle-aged individuals has shown that allergy to storage mites is a little more common in the Reykjavik area than in Aarhus, Bergen or Uppsala. The most likely explanation is that they have more often been exposed to hay dust.
  Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) has been the standard of treatment for aortic stenosis but transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is increasingly used as treatment in Iceland and elsewhere. Our objective was to assess the outcome of TAVI in Iceland, focusing on indications, complications and survival.
 
  This retrospective study included all TAVI-procedures performed in Iceland between January 2012 and June 2020. Patient characteristics, outcome and complications were registered, and overall estimated survival compared to an age and sex matched Icelandic reference-population. The mean follow-up was 2.4 years.
 
  Altogether 189 TAVI procedures (mean age 83±6 years, 41.8% females), were performed, all with a self-expanding biological valve. Most patients (81.5%) had symptoms of severe heart failure (NYHA-class III-IV) and median EuroSCORE-II was 4.9 (range 0.9-32). Echocardiography pre-TAVI showed a mean aortic-valve area of 0.67 cm2 and a max aortic-valve gradient of 78 mmHg. One out of four patients (26.5%) needed permanent pacemaker implantation following TAVI. Other complications were mostly vascular-related (13.8%) but cardiac cardiac temponade and stroke occurred in 3.2 and 2.6% of cases, respectively and severe paravalvular aortic valve regurgitation in 0.5% cases. Thirty-day mortality was 1.6% (n=3) with one-year survival of 93.5% (95% CI 89.8-97.3). Finally long-term survival survival of TAVI-patients was similar to the matched reference population (p=0.23).
 
  The outcome of TAVI-procedures in Iceland is good, especially regarding 30-day mortality and long-term survival that was comparable to a reference population. Incidence of major complications was also low.
 The outcome of TAVI-procedures in Iceland is good, especially regarding 30-day mortality and long-term survival that was comparable to a reference population. Incidence of major complications was also low.
  Health care professionals are caught between the wish of patients to speed up health-related communication via emails and the need for protecting health information.
 
  We aimed to analyze the demographic characteristics of patients providing an email, and study the distribution of emails' domain names.
 
  We used the information system of the European Hospital Georges Pompidou (HEGP) to identify patients who provided an email address. We used a 11 matching strategy to study the demographic characteristics of the patients associated with the presence of an email, and described the characteristics of the emails used (in terms of types of emails-free, business, and personal).
 
  Overall, 4.22% (41,004/971,822) of the total population of patients provided an email address. The year of last contact with the patient is the strongest driver of the presence of an email address (odds ratio [OR] 20.8, 95% CI 18.9-22.9). Patients more likely to provide an email address were treated for chronic conditions and were more likely born between 1950 and 1969 (taking patients born before 1950 as reference [OR 1.