| 1. |
- Bohlin, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Perceived gender inequality in the couple relationship and musculoskeletal pain in middle-aged women and men
- 2013
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 41:8, s. 825-831
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: Musculoskeletal pain is a major health problem, especially in women, and is partially determined by psychosocial factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether gender inequality in the couple relationship was related to musculoskeletal pain. Methods: Participants (n=721; 364 women and 357 men) were all individuals living in a couple relationship in the Northern Swedish Cohort, a 26-year Swedish cohort study. Self-administered questionnaire data at age 42 years comprised perceived gender inequality in the couple relationship and musculoskeletal pain (in three locations, summarised into one score and median-split), concurrent demographic factors, psychological distress, and previous musculoskeletal pain at age 30 years. Associations were examined using logistic regression. Results: Gender inequality was positively associated with symptoms of musculoskeletal pain in the total sample, remaining significant after addition of possible confounders and of previous musculoskeletal pain. Separate adjustment for concurrent psychological distress attenuated the association but not below significance. The association was present and of comparable strength in both women and men. Conclusions: Gender inequality in the couple relationship might contribute to the experience of musculoskeletal pain in both women and men. The results highlight the potential adverse bodily consequences of living in unequal relationships.
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| 2. |
- Byhamre, Marja Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Snus use during the life-course and risk of the metabolic syndrome and its components
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 45:8, s. 733-740
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between life-course exposure to snus and prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in adulthood.Design and method: Tobacco habits at baseline (age 16) and three follow-ups (ages 21, 30 and 43) were assessed among 880 participants in a population-based cohort in Northern Sweden. Presence of the metabolic syndrome at age 43 was ascertained using the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Odds ratios and CIs for risk of the metabolic syndrome and its components by snus use at 16, 21, 30 and 43 years were calculated using logistic regression. Cumulative snus use was defined as number of life periods (1-4) with current snus use.Results: At age 43, 164 participants (18.6%) were current snus users. We found no association between exclusive snus use at the ages of 16, 21, 30 and 43 years and the metabolic syndrome at age 43 years. Snus use (among non-smokers) was associated with raised triglycerides and high blood pressure in crude analysis, but not in multivariable models. There was no association between cumulative snus use and risk of the metabolic syndrome. Cumulative snus use was associated with central obesity, raised triglycerides and impaired fasting glucose/diabetes mellitus type 2 in crude analyses, but not after adjustments.Conclusion: The health consequences of snus exposure from adolescence to mid-adulthood do not seem to include increased risk of the metabolic syndrome or its components. The cardio-metabolic risk of dual exposure to snus and cigarettes may warrant further attention.
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| 3. |
- Hammarström, Anne, et al.
(författare)
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It´s no surprise! Men are not hit more than women by the health consequences of unemployment in the Northern Swedish Cohort
- 2011
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 39:2, s. 187-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: Research often fails to ascertain whether men and women are equally hit by the health consequences of unemployment. The aim of this study was to analyze whether men’s self-reported health and health behaviour were hit more by unemployment than women’s in a follow-up of the Northern Swedish Cohort.Methods: A follow-up study of a cohort of all school leavers in a middle-sized industrial town in northern Sweden was performed from age 16 to age 42. Of those still alive of the original cohort, 94% (n = 1,006) participated during the whole period. A sample was made of participants in the labour force and living in Sweden (n = 916). Register data were used to assess the length of unemployment from age 40 to 42, while questionnaire data were used for the other variables.Results: In multivariate logistic regression analyses significant relations between unemployment and mental health/smoking were found among both women and men, even after control for unemployment at the time of the investigation and indicators of health-related selection. Significant relations between unemployment and alcohol consumption were found among women, while few visits to a dentist was significant among men.Conclusions: Men are not hit more by the health consequences of unemployment in a Swedish context, with a high participation rate of women in the labour market. The public health relevance is that the study indicates the need to take gendered contexts into account in public health research.
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| 4. |
- Jonsson, Frida, et al.
(författare)
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Social capital across the life course and functional somatic symptoms in mid-adulthood
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 42:7, s. 581-588
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To examine social capital across life and functional somatic symptoms in middle-age, according to life-course models of cumulative risk and sensitive periods.Methods: Data from the 26-year prospective study the Northern Swedish Cohort enabled complete case analyses on 940 individuals (451 women and 489 men) participating in questionnaire surveys at ages 16, 21, 30 and 42. Social capital was operationalized at the individual level, comprising items on social participation, social influence and social support. Functional somatic symptoms were a summary measure of self-reported physical symptoms, palpitation and sleeping difficulties occuring during the 12 months prior to the data collection. Linear regression was used as the main statistical method, examining the relationship between functional somatic symptoms at age 42 and social capital across life.Results: Lower levels of social capital accumulated over the life course were associated with higher levels of functional somatic symptoms at age 42, for both women and men. Social capital was, especially among adolescent men, related to functional somatic symptoms at age 42, independently of social capital later in life and baseline material circumstances.Conclusions: The health impact of poor social capital may be due to accumulation across the life course and to adolescence being a particularly sensitive period. It is relevant for preventive work to acknowledge effects of social capital throughout life.
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| 5. |
- Ramadani, Royasia Viki, et al.
(författare)
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The moderating effect of income on the relationship between body mass index and health-related quality of life in Northern Sweden
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 47:7, s. 765-773
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and whether this relationship is influenced by the level of income in Northern Sweden. Overweight and obesity are rising major public health problems which also affect HRQoL. While socioeconomic inequalities in health are persisting or increasing in many countries, including Sweden, little attention has been paid to the more complex roles of income in relation to health.METHODS: Data were drawn from a 2014 cross-sectional survey from Northern Sweden (Health on Equal Terms), comprising individuals aged 20-84 years ( N = 20,082 individuals included for analysis). BMI and HRQoL were self-reported and individual disposable income in 2012 was retrieved from population registers. Multiple linear regressions were performed with HRQoL scores regressed on BMI and income, their interaction and additional covariates.RESULTS: The underweight, overweight and obesity groups reported significantly lower HRQoL compared to the normal weight group. Moreover, the relationship between BMI and HRQoL varied significantly by level of income, with a stronger association among those with the lowest level of income.CONCLUSIONS: Income has a role as an effect modifier in the relationship between BMI and HRQoL that can be construed as an indirect income inequality. Efforts to promote HRQoL in populations should consider the different impact of being overweight and obese in different socioeconomic groups.
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| 6. |
- Szilcz, Máté, et al.
(författare)
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Income inequalities in leisure time physical inactivity in northern Sweden : a decomposition analysis
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 48:4, s. 442-451
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: Increasing income inequalities in leisure time physical inactivity have been reported in the relatively socially equal setting of northern Sweden. The present report seeks to contribute to the literature by exploring the contribution of different factors to the income inequalities in leisure time physical inactivity in northern Sweden.METHODS: This study was based on the 2014 Health on Equal Terms survey, distributed in the four northernmost counties of Sweden. The analytical sample consisted of 21,000 respondents aged 16-84. Six thematic groups of explanatory variables were used: demographic variables, socioeconomic factors, material resources, family-, psychosocial conditions and functional limitations. Income inequalities in leisure time physical inactivity were decomposed by Wagstaff-type decomposition analysis.RESULTS: Income inequalities in leisure time physical inactivity were found to be explained to a considerable degree by health-related limitations and unfavourable socioeconomic conditions. Material and psychosocial conditions seemed to be of moderate importance, whereas family and demographic characteristics were of minor importance.CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that in order to achieve an economically equal leisure time physical inactivity, policy may need to target the two main barriers of functional limitations and socioeconomic disadvantages.
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| 7. |
- Szilcz, Máté, et al.
(författare)
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Time trends in absolute and relative socioeconomic inequalities in leisure time physical inactivity in northern Sweden
- 2018
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 46:1, s. 112-123
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: The aim was to investigate the time trends in educational, occupational, and income-related inequalities in leisure time physical inactivity in 2006, 2010, and 2014 in northern Swedish women and men.METHODS: This study was based on data obtained from the repeated cross-sectional Health on Equal Terms survey of 2006, 2010, and 2014. The analytical sample consisted of 20,667 (2006), 31,787 (2010), and 21,613 (2014) individuals, aged 16-84. Logistic regressions were used to model the probability of physical inactivity given a set of explanatory variables. Slope index of inequality (SII) and relative index of inequality (RII) were used as summary measures of the social gradient in physical inactivity. The linear trend in inequalities and difference between gender and years were estimated by interaction analyses.RESULTS: The year 2010 displayed the highest physical inactivity inequalities for all socioeconomic position indicators, but educational and occupational inequalities decreased in 2014. However, significant positive linear trends were found in absolute and relative income inequalities. Moreover, women had significantly higher RII of education in physical inactivity in 2014 and significantly higher SII and RII of income in physical inactivity in 2010, than did men in the same years.CONCLUSIONS: The recent reduction in educational and occupational inequalities following the high inequalities around the time of the great recession in 2010 suggests that the current policies might be fairly effective. However, to eventually alleviate inequities in physical inactivity, the focus of the researchers and policymakers should be directed toward the widening trends of income inequalities in physical inactivity.
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| 8. |
- Waenerlund, Anna-Karin, 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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Trends in educational and income inequalities in cardiovascular morbidity in middle age in Northern Sweden 1993–2010
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: Research is scarce regarding studies on income and educational inequality trends in cardiovascular disease in Sweden. The aim of this study was to assess trends in educational and income inequalities in first hospitalizations due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) from 1993 to 2010 among middle-aged women and men in Northern Sweden.METHODS: The study comprised repeated cross-sectional register data from year 1993-2010 of all individuals aged 38-62 years enrolled in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP). Data included highest educational level, total earned income and first-time hospitalization for CVD from national registers. The relative and slope indices of inequality (RII and SII, respectively) were used to estimate educational and income inequalities in CVD for six subsamples for women and men, and interaction analyses were used to estimate trends across time periods.RESULTS: Educational RII and SII were stable in women, while they decreased in men. Income inequalities in CVD developed differently compared with educational inequalities, with RII and SII for both men and women increasing during the study period, the most marked for RII in women rising from 1.52 in the 1990s to 2.62 in the late 2000s.CONCLUSIONS: The trend of widening income inequalities over 18 years in the middle-aged in Northern Sweden, in the face of stable or even decreasing educational inequalities, is worrisome from a public health perspective, especially as Swedish authorities monitor socioeconomical inequalities exclusively by education. The results show that certain social inequalities in CVD rise and persist even within a traditionally egalitarian welfare regime.
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| 9. |
- Wagenius, Cecilia M., et al.
(författare)
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Access for all? : Assessing vertical and horizontal inequities in healthcare utilization among young people in northern Sweden
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Previous studies in Sweden have detected socioeconomic inequities in access to healthcare services. However, there is limited information regarding access in younger populations. The aim of this study was to explore vertical and horizontal inequities in access to healthcare services in young adults in the north of Sweden.METHODS: The study used data from the Health on Equal Terms survey (age group 16-24 years, n = 2726) for the health and healthcare variables and from national registers for the sociodemographic characteristics. Self-rated healthcare utilization was measured as visits to general practitioners, youth clinics and nurses. Crude and multivariable binomial regression analysis, stratified by sex, was used to assess vertical equity, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, and horizontal equity, adjusting for need variables.RESULTS: Vertical inequity was detected for all three healthcare services (youth clinics, general practitioners and nurses), with variations for men and women. Horizontal inequities were also found for both men and women in relation to all three healthcare services.CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that both vertical and horizontal inequities in access exist for young people in northern Sweden and that the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and healthcare utilization are complex and need further investigation.
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