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- Andersen, Zorana J., et al.
(author)
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Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in 15 European cohorts within the ESCAPE project
- 2017
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In: Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. - Research triangle park : US department of health. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 125:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and breast cancer risk is inconsistent.OBJECTIVE: We examined the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in European women.METHODS: In 15 cohorts from nine European countries, individual estimates of air pollution levels at the residence were estimated by standardized land-use regression models developed within the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) and Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts – Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter (TRANSPHORM) projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤2.5μm, ≤10μm, and 2.5–10μm in diameter (PM2.5, PM10, and PMcoarse, respectively); PM2.5 absorbance; nitrogen oxides (NO2 and NOx); traffic intensity; and elemental composition of PM. We estimated cohort-specific associations between breast cancer and air pollutants using Cox regression models, adjusting for major lifestyle risk factors, and pooled cohort-specific estimates using random-effects meta-analyses.RESULTS: Of 74,750 postmenopausal women included in the study, 3,612 developed breast cancer during 991,353 person-years of follow-up. We found positive and statistically insignificant associations between breast cancer and PM2.5 {hazard ratio (HR)=1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.77, 1.51] per 5 μg/m(3)}, PM10 [1.07 (95% CI: 0.89, 1.30) per 10 μg/m(3)], PMcoarse[1.20 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.49 per 5 μg/m(3)], and NO(2) [1.02 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.07 per 10 μg/m(3)], and a statistically significant association with NOx [1.04 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.08) per 20 μg/m(3), p=0.04].CONCLUSIONS: We found suggestive evidence of an association between ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in European women.
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- Olsson, MIT, et al.
(author)
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Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions : Evidence from 37 Countries
- 2023
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In: Political Psychology. - : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. - 0162-895X .- 1467-9221. ; 44:6, s. 1163-1192
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women's political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women's (rather than men's) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men's higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men's leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed.
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| 5. |
- Pedersen, Marie, et al.
(author)
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Is There an Association Between Ambient Air Pollution and Bladder Cancer Incidence? Analysis of 15 European Cohorts
- 2018
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In: European Urology Focus. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-4569. ; 4:1, s. 113-120
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Ambient air pollution contains low concentrations of carcinogens implicated in the etiology of urinary bladder cancer (BC). Little is known about whether exposure to air pollution influences BC in the general population. Objective: To evaluate the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and BC incidence. Design, setting and participants: We obtained data from 15 population-based cohorts enrolled between 1985 and 2005 in eight European countries (N = 303 431; mean follow-up 14.1 yr). We estimated exposure to nitrogen oxides (NO2 and NOx), particulate matter (PM) with diameter <10 mu m (PM10), <2.5 mu m (PM2.5). between 2.5 and 10 mu m (PM2.5-10). PM2.5 absorbance (soot), elemental constituents of PM, organic carbon, and traffic density at baseline home addresses using standardized land-use regression models from the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects project. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: We used Cox proportional-hazards models with adjustment for potential confounders for cohort-specific analyses and meta-analyses to estimate summary hazard ratios (HRS) for BC incidence. Results and limitations: During follow-up, 943 incident BC cases were diagnosed. In the meta-analysis, none of the exposures were associated with BC risk. The summary HRs associated with a 10-mu g/m(3) increase in NO2 and 51-mu g/m(3) increase in PM2.5 were 0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89-1.08) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.63-1.18), respectively. Limitations include the lack of information about lifetime exposure. Conclusions: There was no evidence of an association between exposure to outdoor air pollution levels at place of residence and risk of BC. Patient summary: We assessed the link between outdoor air pollution at place of residence and bladder cancer using the largest study population to date and extensive assessment of exposure and comprehensive data on personal risk factors such as smoking. We found no association between the levels of outdoor air pollution at place of residence and bladder cancer risk.
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- Backeström, A., et al.
(author)
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Glucose metabolism and cognitive dysfunction
- 2010
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In: Abstracts of the EASD, Stockholm 2010. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. ; , s. S292-S292
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and aims: The association between type 2 diabetes and different forms of cognitive impairment is well established. The mechanism behind the association is however still unrevealed. We have recently reported that raised blood glucose levels were associated to impairment in episodic memory, the memory function first affected in the progress to dementia. However, patients with type 2 diabetes have not only elevated levels of blood glucose, but also increased levels of insulin because of insulin resistance. It has been suggested that insulin itself might have a negative effect on cognitive function and memory. Diabetes is associated with a long standing hyperglycaemia but also with hypertension and hyperlipideima, leading to micro and macro vascular disease. Thus, our aim was to study whether insulin affects episodic memory independently of glucose in a nondiabetic adult population. Materials and methods: We linked and matched two large population based data sets in Sweden, the Betula study and the Västerbotten Intervention Program. We identified 364 (F/M 207/157, mean age 50.5 ±8.0 years) nondiabetic subjects, free from dementia, who had participated in the two surveys within six months. The memory test included testing of episodic memory. We transformed the results using the mean values and standard deviation from the youngest age group to compute a composite z-score (subjects’ value minus mean score in the 40-year-old group divided by SD). Fasting plasma insulin (FPI) and glucose (FPG) were analyzed with standard methods. Results: Women had higher levels of episodic memory (mean z-score -0.06, SD 0.54) compared to men (mean z-score -0.36, SD 0.51, p<0.001). Given the sex difference in the outcome variable we stratified for sex. In a univariate linear regression both FPG (B -0.274, SE 0.068, Beta -0.271, p<0.001) and FPI (B -0.389, SE 0.131, Beta -0.204, p=0.003) were significantly associated with episodic memory in women but not in men. FPG, but not FPI, remained significantly associated with episodic memory after adjustment for hypertension, total P-cholesterol, bodymass index, educational level, depression, smoking and cardiovascular disease ( FPG: B -0.218, SE 0.070, Beta -0.220, p=0.002; FPI: B -0.232, SE 0.149, Beta -0.127, p=n.s.), when FPG and FPI were analyzed separately. Entering both FPG and FPI into the regression model did not attenuate the association between FPG and episodic memory (FPG: B -0.204, SE 0.071, Beta -0.206, p=0.005). Conclusion: We conclude that an increase in plasma glucose, but not plasma insulin, is associated with impairment in episodic memory in women. This could be explained by a negative effect on the hippocampus caused by raised plasma glucose levels.
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| 7. |
- Balter, Leonie J. T., et al.
(author)
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Lipopolysaccharide-induced changes in the kynurenine pathway and symptoms of sickness behavior in humans
- 2023
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In: Psychoneuroendocrinology. - 0306-4530 .- 1873-3360. ; 153
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Metabolites of the kynurenine pathway are hypothesized to be implicated in inflammation-associated depression, but there is a lack of experimental studies in humans assessing the kinetics of kynurenine metabolites in relation to experimentally-induced sickness. The aim of the present study was to assess changes in the kynurenine pathway and to explore its relation to symptoms of sickness behavior during an acute experimental immune challenge.This double-blind placebo-controlled randomized cross-over study included 22 healthy human participants (n = 21 both sessions, Mage = 23.4, SD = 3.6, nine women) who received an intravenous injection of 2.0 ng/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and saline (placebo) on two different occasions in a randomized order. Blood samples (0 h, 1 h, 1.5 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 5 h, 7 h post-injection) were analyzed for kynurenine metabolites and inflammatory cytokines. The intensity of symptoms of sickness behavior was assessed using the 10-item Sickness Questionnaire at 0 h, 1.5 h, 3 h, 5 h, and 7 h post-injection.LPS induced significantly lower concentrations of plasma tryptophan (at 2 h, 4 h, 5 h, and 7 h post-injection), kynurenine (at 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, and 5 h post-injection), nicotinamide (at 4 h, 5 h, and 7 h post-injection), and higher levels for quinolinic acid at 5 h post-injection as compared to placebo. LPS did not affect kynurenic acid, 3-hydroxykynurenine, and picolinic acid. The development of the sickness symptoms was largely similar across items, with the highest levels around 1.5–3 h post-injection. Changes in plasma levels of kynurenine metabolites seem to coincide rather than precede or follow changes in subjective sickness. Exploratory analyses indicate that higher Sickness Questionnaire total scores at 1.5–5 h post-injection were correlated with lower kynurenic acid and nicotinamide levels.These results lend further support for LPS-induced changes in the kynurenine pathway, but may not, as interpreted from blood levels, causally link to LPS-induced acute symptoms of sickness behavior. Future research may consider a larger sample to further scrutinize the role of the kynurenine pathway in the sickness response.
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| 8. |
- Björk, Göran, 1956, et al.
(author)
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Flow of Canadian Basin Deep Water in the Western Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean
- 2010
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In: Deep Sea Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0967-0637 .- 1879-0119. ; 57:4, s. 577-586
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The LOMROG 2007 expedition targeted the previously unexplored southern part of the Lomonosov Ridge north of Greenland together with a section from the Morris Jesup Rise to Gakkel Ridge. The oceanographic data shows that Canadian Basin Deep Water (CBDW) passes the Lomonosov Ridge in the area of the Intra Basin close to the North Pole and then continues along the ridge towards Greenland and further along its northernmost continental slope. The CBDW is clearly evident as a salinity maximum and oxygen minimum at a depth of about 2000 m. The cross slope sections at the Amundsen Basin side of the Lomonosov Ridge and further south at the Morris Jesup Rise show a sharp frontal structure higher up in the water column between Makarov Basin water and Amundsen Basin water. The frontal structure continues upward into the Atlantic Water up to a depth of about 300 m. The observed water mass division at levels well above the ridge crest indicates a strong topographic steering of the flow and that different water masses tend to pass the ridge guided by ridge-crossing isobaths at local topographic heights and depressions. A rough scaling analysis shows that the extremely steep and sharply turning bathymetry of the Morris Jesup Rise may force the boundary current to separate and generate deep eddies.
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| 10. |
- Fazey, Ioan, et al.
(author)
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Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth : Visions of future systems and how to get there
- 2020
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In: Energy Research & Social Science. - : Elsevier. - 2214-6296 .- 2214-6326. ; 70
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge systems might need to look like and how we might get there. Findings suggest that envisioned future systems will need to be much more collaborative, open, diverse, egalitarian, and able to work with values and systemic issues. They will also need to go beyond producing knowledge about our world to generating wisdom about how to act within it. To get to envisioned systems we will need to rapidly scale methodological innovations, connect innovators, and creatively accelerate learning about working with intractable challenges. We will also need to create new funding schemes, a global knowledge commons, and challenge deeply held assumptions. To genuinely be a creative force in supporting longevity of human and non-human life on our planet, the shift in knowledge systems will probably need to be at the scale of the enlightenment and speed of the scientific and technological revolution accompanying the second World War. This will require bold and strategic action from governments, scientists, civic society and sustained transformational intent.
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