| 1. |
- Andersson, John, et al.
(författare)
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PM2.5 exposure and olfactory functions
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Health Research. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 0960-3123 .- 1369-1619. ; 32:11, s. 2484-2495
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Growing evidence indicates that air pollution can negatively impact cognitive functions. The olfactory system is interesting in this context as it is directly exposed to pollutants and also associated with cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate long- and short-term PM2.5 exposure in association with olfactory functions. Scores from odor tests were obtained from the Betula project - a longitudinal cohort study. Estimates of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations at the participants' residential address were obtained from a dispersion-model. Daily mean PM2.5 concentrations were obtained from a measuring station close to the test location. We found a positive association between long-term PM2.5 exposure and odor identification, i.e. exposure was associated with a better ability to identify odors. We also found an interaction effect between PM2.5 and age on odor identification. We found no associations between any PM2.5 exposure and odor detection or between short-term PM2.5 exposure and olfactory functions.
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| 2. |
- Azfar, Hossain Syed, et al.
(författare)
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Cardiovascular Disease and Mental Distress Among Ethnic Groups in Kyrgyzstan
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Public Health. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-2565. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to characterize different ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan regarding cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mental distress, and to investigate the association between CVD and mental distress. The mental distress was measured in terms of sleep disturbance, burnout, and stress.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among six ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan, aged 18 years and above. The sample was stratified for age, education, family status, and income. We used the Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire to assess sleep disturbance, the physical and emotional subscale of the Shirom Melamed Burnout Questionnaire to assess burnout, and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale to assess perceived stress.Results: The distribution of CVD differed significantly between the six ethnic groups, with higher prevalence among East Europeans, and Western Asians and lower among Other minorities and Central Asians. In all ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan, individuals with CVD had increased odds of sleep disturbance and burnout. There was a significant difference in burnout and stress between persons with and without CVD in Kyrgyz and East European ethnic groups.Conclusion: There was a significant difference in burnout and stress between persons with and without CVD in Kyrgyz and East European ethnic groups. In addition to CVD prevention, mitigating sleep disturbance and preventing burnout in the general population should be aimed at in public health measures.
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| 3. |
- Enkvist, Hampus, et al.
(författare)
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Stress, mental ill-health and functional somatic syndromes in incident and chronic sleep disturbance in a general adult population
- 2023
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Ingår i: Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2164-2850. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Sleep disturbance may constitute health problems for the afflicted individual, but documentation of its chronicity is sparse. The objective was to investigate the extent to which incident and chronic sleep disturbance are associated with stress, mental ill-health and functional somatic syndromes.Design: This was a prospective, longitudinal study with 3-year interval between two assessments (T1 and T2), with a population-based sample forming groups with incident sleep disturbance (disturbance only at T2; n = 303), chronic sleep disturbance (disturbance at T1 and T2; n = 343) and without sleep disturbance (neither at T1 nor T2; n = 1421). Questionnaire data were used at T2 of physician-based diagnosis of anxiety disorder, depression, exhaustion syndrome, and functional somatic syndrome as well as of degree of stress, burnout, anxiety and depression.Results: Significant associations were found between chronic sleep disturbance and all four diagnoses (odds ratios = 1.74–2.19), whereas incident sleep disturbance was associated only with exhaustion syndrome and depression (odds ratios = 2.18–2.37). Degree of stress, burnout, anxiety and depression increased significantly from the referents to incident and chronic sleep disturbance, in that order (eta2 = 0.083–0.166), except for the two latter groups not differing in depression.Conclusion: The findings imply that healthcare professionals should be observant regarding various conditions of, apart from stress, mental ill-health and functional somatic syndromes in patients who present themselves with sleep disturbance, and in particular chronic disturbance.
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| 4. |
- Höglund, Per, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of group interventions on stress and sleep problems in primary care
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Objectives: The majority of patients who seek help for stress and sleep problems do so in primary health care in Sweden. However, the resources for psychological treatment are limited. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a low-intensity student-led group interventions, applying cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with an indicated prevention approach in primary care for recovery and reducing symptoms of stress and sleep disturbance.Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design, interventions were conducted for stress (n=274, mean age=38 years, 75% women) and sleep (n=106, mean age=44 years, 56% women) problems in consecutively recruited primary care patients. These were compared with a control group (n=221, mean age=45 years, 91% women) recruited via social media. The interventions were CBT-based psychoeducative group interventions that consisted of four 90-min sessions and led by psychology students. Assessment was completed at pre- and post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Main outcome measures were the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale and the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire for the stress intervention, and the Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire for the sleep intervention. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the 15-item Patient Health Questionnaire were used to assess anxiety, depression and somatization as secondary outcome measures for both interventions. Analysis of covariance (pre- vs post-intervention) and reliable change index (pre-intervention vs three-month follow-up) were applied.Results: Statistically significant, but small effects of improved health in comparison to the control group were found on stress and burnout (η2=.021-.030) in the stress intervention, and on sleep (η2=.017) in the sleep intervention. The proportion of patients in the stress intervention with a reliable improvement at three-month follow-up was 28% for stress and 59% for burnout, and 0% and 33%, respectively, for the control group. Among those with a reliable improvement in burnout, 31% also met a recovery criterion (<4.0). In the sleep intervention, 25% of the patients showed a reliable improvement in sleep and 61% in burnout, and 6% and 33%, respectively, for the control group. The effects of the stress intervention were statistically significant, but small on anxiety and depression (η2=.021-.047), as were the effects of the sleep intervention on stress and burnout (η2=.017-.026). Conclusion: The results suggest that psychology students can effectively provide a low-intensity group-delivered CBT intervention for patients exhibiting symptoms of stress, burnout and sleep disturbance in routine general medical practice, offering promising opportunities for scalability expansion. Although the average treatment effects were small, a substantial proportion of the patients showed reliable improvement or recovery at 3-month follow-up. This suggests that the interventions decrease the prevalence of burnout and sleep disturbance or improve the well-being of individuals experiencing mental distress.
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| 5. |
- Höglund, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Risk factors for insomnia and burnout : a longitudinal population-based cohort study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Stress and Health. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1532-3005 .- 1532-2998. ; 39:4, s. 798-812
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Insomnia and burnout are highly prevalent in the general population, calling for understanding of its causes. Taking a broad approach, the aim of this study was to determine various mental and somatic risk factors for development of insomnia and burnout and stratifying for sex and age group. Questionnaire data were used from a Swedish population-based sample aged 18–79 years, from which cohorts without insomnia (n = 1702) and without burnout (n = 1972) at baseline were followed-up after 3 years. Self-reports of eight mental and somatic conditions at baseline were used as independent variables in logistic regression analyses to predict development of insomnia and burnout at 3-year follow-up. All eight studied conditions were significant risk factors for development of both insomnia (odds ratio, OR = 1.62–2.73) and burnout (OR = 2.20–3.21). Burnout and poor self-rated health had the highest ORs for insomnia, and poor self-rated health, anxiety and somatic symptoms had the highest ORs for burnout. The ORs were generally similar between men and women, whereas age groups tended to differ in some of the risk factors. The study highlights the importance of a broad assessment of both mental and somatic conditions in the prevention of insomnia and burnout.
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| 6. |
- Höglund, Per, 1969-
(författare)
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Stress, sleep disturbance, and related ill-health : from prevalence and risk-factors to indicated interventions
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- With focus on stress-related ill-health and insomnia/sleep disturbance, the overall aim of this thesis was to determine severity and prevalence, risk factors and effectiveness of low-intensity group sessions. This was accomplished by taking epidemiological and quasi-experimental approaches. With the aim of examining symptom severity and prevalence of insomnia, burnout, anxiety, depression, and somatization across different age groups and sexes, Study I used cross-sectional data (n=3406) from the baseline data collection of the Västerbotten Environmental Health Study (VEHS). In comparison to men, women in most age groups exhibited higher levels of symptom severity and prevalence of caseness in various mental health conditions. Insomnia (28.6%) and burnout (17.3%) were common in the population.With focus on risk factors for insomnia and burnout, Study II used a longitudinal design and VEHS data (n=1702–1972) to compare a range of mental and somatic conditions in a general population. The results showed that all examined health conditions were risk factors for cases of insomnia and burnout. For example, insomnia can increase the risk of developing burnout (odds ratio: 2.67), and burnout increase the risk of developing insomnia (odds ratio: 2.73), underscoring the importance of early detection and prevention. The aim of Study III was to examine the effectiveness of four low-intensity group sessions for stress (n=274) and sleep disturbance (n=106) conducted by psychology students. A non-randomized controlled trial design was used in primary care with naturally occurring groups. A control group (n=221) was recruited via social media. Whereas effects were small at post-treatment, a substantial proportion of the patients showed a reliable improvement or recovery at 3-month follow-up. This thesis provides support for the assumption that severity and prevalence of insomnia, burnout, anxiety, depression, and somatization are common in the population. Burnout and insomnia are mutual risk factors and underscore the importance of indicated prevention in primary care. Low-intensity group interventions facilitated by non-experts can be effective and scalable for patients with stress and sleep disturbance.
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| 7. |
- Landis, Basile Nicolas, et al.
(författare)
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"Taste Strips" - a rapid, lateralized, gustatory bedside identification test based on impregnated filter papers.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-1459 .- 0340-5354. ; 256:2, s. 242-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To elaborate normative values for a clinical psychophysical taste test ("Taste Strips"). BACKGROUND: The "Taste Strips" are a psychophysical chemical taste test. So far, no definitive normative data had been published and only a fairly small sample size has been investigated. In light of this shortcoming for this easy, reliable and quick taste testing device, we attempted to provide normative values suitable for the clinical use. SETTING: Normative value acquisition study, multicenter study. METHODS: The investigation involved 537 participants reporting a normal sense of smell and taste (318 female, 219 male, mean age 44 years, age range 18-87 years). The taste test was based on spoon-shaped filter paper strips ("Taste Strips") impregnated with the four (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter) taste qualities in four different concentrations. The strips were placed on the left or right side of the anterior third of the extended tongue, resulting in a total of 32 trials. With their tongue still extended, patients had to identify the taste from a list of four descriptors, i. e., sweet, sour, salty, and bitter (multiple forced-choice). To obtain an impression of overall gustatory function, the number of correctly identified tastes was summed up for a "taste score". RESULTS: Taste function decreased significantly with age. Women exhibited significantly higher taste scores than men which was true for all age groups. The taste score at the 10(th) percentile was selected as a cut-off value to distinguish normogeusia from hypogeusia. Results from a small series of patients with ageusia confirmed the clinical usefulness of the proposed normative values. CONCLUSION: The present data provide normative values for the "Taste Strips" based on over 500 subjects tested.
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| 8. |
- Lindahl, Bernt, et al.
(författare)
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Health literacy is independently and inversely associated with carotid artery plaques and cardiovascular risk
- 2020
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Ingår i: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. - : Sage Publications. - 2047-4873 .- 2047-4881. ; 27:2, s. 209-215
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: Health literacy, the degree to which individuals understand and act upon health information, may have a pivotal role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with low health literacy potentially explaining poorer adherence to prevention guidelines. We investigated the associations between health literacy, ultrasound-detected carotid atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk factors.Methods: Baseline data (cross-sectional analysis) from a randomized controlled trial, integrated within the Västerbotten Intervention Program, Northern Sweden, was used. We included 3459 individuals, aged 40 or 50 years with ≥1 conventional risk factor or aged 60 years old. The participants underwent clinical examination, blood sampling, carotid ultrasound assessment of intima-media wall thickness (CIMT) and plaque formation, and answered a questionnaire on health literacy – the Brief Health Literacy Screen. The European Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation and Framingham Risk Score were calculated.Results: About 20% of the participants had low health literacy. Low health literacy was independently associated with the presence of ultrasound-detected carotid artery plaques after adjustment for age and education, odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 1.54 (1.28–1.85), demonstrating a similar level of risk as for smoking. Health literacy was associated with CIMT in men. Low health literacy was associated with higher CVD risk scores. Sensitivity analyses with low health literacy set to 9% or 30% of the study sample, respectively, yielded essentially the same results.Conclusions: Low health literacy was independently associated with carotid artery plaques and a high level of CVD risk scores. Presenting health information in a fashion that is understood by all patients may improve preventive efforts.
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| 9. |
- Nordin, Gustav, et al.
(författare)
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Somatic symptoms in sleep disturbance
- 2023
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Ingår i: Psychology, Health & Medicine. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1354-8506 .- 1465-3966. ; 28:4, s. 884-894
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite sleep disturbance and somatic symptoms being common health complaints, the relationship between these disturbances and single somatic symptoms is not well documented. The objectives of this study were to (i) identify somatic symptoms that are particularly associated with sleep disturbance, here referred to as somatic symptoms related to sleep disturbance (SS-SD), (ii) determine increased risk of sleep disturbance for each SS-SD and for a certain number of SS-SD, with and without controlling for anxiety and depression, and (iii) determine sensitivity and specificity for identifying sleep disturbance based on number of SS-SD in a general Swedish sample. Population-based, cross-sectional data based on validated questionnaire instruments were used from participants who constituted a sleep disturbance (n = 864) or a reference (n = 2340) group. Among 15 common somatic symptoms, stomach pain, back pain nausea/gas/indigestion, dizziness, and constipation/loose bowels/diarrhea were identified as SS-SD, with odds ratios of increased risk of sleep disturbance that ranged from 1.93 to 2.44 (1.36–1.79 and 1.54–1.91 when controlled for anxiety and depression, respectively). The risk of sleep disturbance increased by 1.44 times for each SS-SD (1.25 and 1.30 when controlled for anxiety and depression, respectively). A cutoff of two/three or more SS-SD had a sensitivity of 72.5/54.2% and a specificity of 50.0/69.7% for identifying sleep disturbances. When patients present with these somatic symptoms with or without a pathophysiological explanation, primary care clinicians may consider screening for sleep disturbance.
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| 10. |
- Nordin, Maria, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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Coping strategies, social support and responsibility in chemical intolerance
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Nursing. - : Blackwell Publishing Ltd. - 0962-1067 .- 1365-2702. ; 19:15/16, s. 2162-2173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims and objectives. To study coping strategies, social support and responsibility for improvement in chemical intolerance (CI). Background. Limited knowledge of CI among health professionals and lay persons places demands on the chemically intolerant individual’s coping strategies and perception of social support and ability to take responsibility for improvement. However, there is sparse literature on these issues in CI. Design. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based, quasi-experimental study. Method. Fifty-nine persons with mild, 92 with moderate and 31 with severe CI participated by rating (i) usage and effectiveness of six problem- and six emotion-focused coping strategies, (ii) emotional, instrumental and informative support provided by various sources and (iii) society’s and the inflicted individual’s responsibility for improvement. Results. The participants reported that the most commonly used and effective coping strategies were avoiding odorous/pungent environments and asking persons to limit their use of odorous/pungent substances (problem-focused strategies) as well as accepting the situation and reprioritising (emotion-focused strategies). High intolerance severity was associated with problemfocused coping strategies and relatively low intolerance with emotion-focused strategies. More emotional than instrumental and informative support was perceived, predominantly from the partner and other family members. Responsibility attributed to society was also found to increase from mild to moderate/severe intolerance. Conclusions. Certain coping strategies are more commonly used and perceived as more effective than others in CI. However, intolerance severity plays a role regarding both coping strategies and responsibility. Emotional support appears to be the most available type of support.
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