| 1. |
- Blomgren, K. J., et al.
(författare)
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Interviewer variability - quality aspects in a case-control study
- 2006
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Ingår i: Eur J Epidemiol. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0393-2990 .- 1573-7284. ; 21:4, s. 267-77
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quality assurance and quality control are important for the reliability of case-control studies. Here we describe the procedures used in a previously published study, with emphasis on interviewer variability. To evaluate risk factors for acute pancreatitis, information including previous diagnoses and medication was collected from medical records and by telephone interviews from 462 cases and 1781 controls. Quality assurance procedures included education and training of interviewers and data validity checks. Quality control included a classification test, annual test interviews, expert case validation, and database validation. We found pronounced variations between interviewers. The maximal number of interviews per day varied from 3 to 9. The adjusted average (95% CI) number of diagnoses captured per interview of cases was 4.1 (3.8-4.3) and of controls 3.5 (3.4-3.7) (excluding one deviating interviewer). For drugs, the average (95% CI) number per interview was 3.9 (3.7-4.1) for cases and 3.3 (3.2-3.4) for controls (excluding one deviating interviewer). One of the fourteen interviewers deviated significantly from the others, and more so for controls than for cases. This interviewer's data ;were excluded. Nonetheless, data concerning controls more frequently needed correction and supplementation than for cases. Erroneous coding of diagnoses and medication was also more frequent among controls. Thus, a system for quality control of coding practices is crucial. Variability in interviewers' ability to ascertain information is a possible source of bias in interview-based case-control studies when "blinding" cannot be achieved.
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| 2. |
- Eilegård Wallin, Alexandra, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Bereaved siblings' perception of participating in research : a nationwide study
- 2013
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Ingår i: Psycho-Oncology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1057-9249 .- 1099-1611. ; 22:2, s. 411-416
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectiveThe objective of the present study is to examine bereaved siblings' perception of research participation.MethodsA Swedish nationwide study on avoidable and modifiable health care‐related factors in paediatric oncology among bereaved siblings who lost a brother or sister to cancer between the years 2000 and 2007 was conducted. Data are presented as proportions, and the differences between groups were statistically tested at the 5% significant level using Fisher's exact test.ResultsOut of 240 eligible siblings, 174 responded (73 %). None of the siblings (0/168) thought their participation would affect them negatively in the long term. However, 13% (21/168) stated it was a negative experience to fill out the questionnaire, whereas 84% (142/169) found it to be a positive experience. Women were more likely to report their participation as positive in a long‐term perspective compared with men (p = 0.018).ConclusionsNone of the bereaved siblings in this Swedish nationwide study anticipated any long‐term negative effect from their research participation. A majority reported it as positive to revisit their needs and experiences throughout their brother or sister's illness and death 2–9 years following the loss. We believe that the stepwise approach used in this study contributed to the high acceptance.
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| 3. |
- Eilegård Wallin, Alexandra, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Psychological health in siblings who lost a brother or sister to cancer 2 to 9 years earlier
- 2013
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Ingår i: Psycho-Oncology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1057-9249 .- 1099-1611. ; 22:3, s. 683-691
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to assess long-term psychological distress in siblings who lost a brother or sister to cancer 2 to 9 years earlier, as compared with a control group of non-bereaved siblings from the general population.METHODS: During 2009, we conducted a nationwide follow-up study in Sweden by using an anonymous study-specific questionnaire. Siblings who had lost a brother or sister to cancer between the years 2000 and 2007 and also a control group of non-bereaved siblings from the general population were invited to participate. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure psychological distress, and to test for differences in the ordinal outcome responses between the groups, we used Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank-sum test.RESULTS: Among the bereaved siblings, 174/240 (73%) participated and 219/293 (75%) among the non-bereaved. Self-assessed low self-esteem (p = 0.002), difficulties falling asleep (p = 0.005), and low level of personal maturity (p = 0.007) at follow-up were more prevalent among bereaved siblings. However, anxiety (p = 0.298) and depression (p = 0.946), according to HADS, were similar.CONCLUSION: Bereaved siblings are at increased risk of low self-esteem, low level of personal maturity and difficulties falling asleep as compared with non-bereaved peers. Yet, the bereaved were not more likely to report anxiety or depression.
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| 4. |
- Engström, Gabriella, et al.
(författare)
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Self-assessed health, sadness and happiness in relation to the total burden of symptoms from the lower urinary tract
- 2005
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Ingår i: BJU Int. - 1464-4096. ; 95, s. 810-815
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) on self-assessed health, sadness and happiness of men. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 504 men (aged 40-80 years) in the rural community of Surahammar, Sweden, who a year earlier had reported stress incontinence, urgency or postvoid dribbling in answer to a postal questionnaire, and 504 age-matched control men from the same community. The occurrence of 12 specific LUTS was rated using the Danish Prostatic Symptom Score. Health, sadness and happiness were measured by three questions from the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 health survey questionnaire. RESULTS: Completed questionnaires were returned by 74.2% of men (748/1008). A low score for health was reported by 34% of men with one to four LUTS, by 67% with five to eight, and by 75% with nine or more LUTS. The total LUTS burden correlated with lower scores for happiness and with higher scores for sadness. For each of the 12 specific LUTS, men with the symptom had lower scores for health and happiness, and higher scores for sadness, than men without the symptom. Comparing men with the symptom of 'other incontinence' to men with no 'other incontinence', the relative risk (95% confidence interval) of impaired health was 2.2 (1.8-2.8), while that of a high score for happiness was 0.5 (0.3-0.7) and that of greater sadness was 2.3 (1.7-3.3). Social status, marital status, education, smoking, physical activity and urinary tract infection all affected the impact of LUTS. CONCLUSIONS: The total burden of LUTS is related to self-assessed health, sadness and happiness.
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| 5. |
- Rådestad, Ingela, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term outcomes for mothers who have or have not held their stillborn baby
- 2009
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Ingår i: Midwifery. - : Elsevier BV. - 0266-6138 .- 1532-3099. ; 25:4, s. 422-429
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: to investigate long-term outcomes of mothers who have or have not held their stillborn baby, and predictors of having held the baby. Design: postal questionnaires. Setting: a nation-wide cohort study of mothers who gave birth to a singleton stillborn baby in Sweden in 1991. Participants: 314 out of 380 women answered the questionnaire and 309 reported whether or not they had held their baby. Measurements: scales measuring anxiety, depression and well-being. Findings: 126 (68%) mothers of 185 babies stillborn after 37 gestational weeks had held their baby and 82 (68%) mothers of 120 babies stillborn at gestational weeks 28-37 had also done so. Compared with mothers who agreed completely with the statement that staff gave enough support to hold the baby, mothers who did not agree were less likely to have held their baby [relative risk (RR) 4.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.7-6.1], and mothers with a low level of education were less Likely to have held their baby than mothers with a higher level of education (RR 2.2; 95% CI 1.3-3.8). Mothers who had not held their babies born after 37 gestational weeks had an increased risk of headache (RR 4.3; 95% CI 1.1-16.5), and they were less satisfied with their steep (RR 2.7; 95% CI 1.5-5.0). The increased risk of long-term outcomes associated with not holding, compared with holding, a stillborn baby were Less pronounced for women who gave birth at gestational week 28-37 compared with women who gave birth after 37 gestational weeks. Key conclusions: in this cohort, we found an overall beneficial effect of having held a stillborn baby born after 37 gestational weeks, whereas findings for having held a stillborn baby born at gestational weeks 28-37 are uncertain. The attitude of staff influenced whether or not the mother held her stillborn baby. Implications for practice: if the mother is guided by staff in a sensitive way to hold her stillborn term baby, the experience wit( possibly be beneficial for her in the long term.
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| 6. |
- Surkan, P. J., et al.
(författare)
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Events after stillbirth in relation to maternal depressive symptoms: a brief report.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Birth. - 1523-536X. ; 35:2, s. 153-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACT: Background: Actions taken after a stillbirth can affect long-term psychological morbidity. Our objective was to study how infant bonding and maternal actions after stillbirth are associated with ensuing depressive symptoms. Methods: Using the population-based Swedish Medical Birth Register, we identified all 380 Swedish-speaking women who gave birth to singleton stillborn infants in Sweden in 1991. Of these, 314 (83%) completed a postal questionnaire 3 years after the stillbirth. Items included actions taken to bond with the baby and demographics. The association between care-related factors and later maternal depressive symptoms was quantified using relative risks estimated using multivariable regression. Results: We observed an almost sevenfold increased risk of depressive symptoms for mothers who reported not being with their babies as long as they wished (adjusted risk ratio [RR] 6.9, 95% CI 2.4–19.8). Compared with women who became pregnant again within 6 months, those with no later pregnancy were at higher risk of depressive symptoms (adjusted RR 2.8, 95% CI 0.9–8.4). In addition, compared with women who experienced a stillbirth in their first pregnancy, stillbirth occurring with an infant who was third in the birth order was related to a twofold risk of elevated depressive symptoms (adjusted RR 2.2, 95% CI 0.8–6.4). Furthermore, stillbirth occurring in a fourth or later pregnancy was associated with an almost sevenfold risk of depressive symptomatology (adjusted RR 6.7, 95% CI 2.2–20.5). No evidence of an association was found between other care-related actions and subsequent maternal depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Our results suggest that a mother being with the stillborn baby for as long as desired and the birth order of the stillbirth may influence her later depressive symptomatology. Compared with mothers who became pregnant again within 6 months, those who did not have a subsequent pregnancy were at higher risk of depressive symptoms at 3 years’ follow-up
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| 7. |
- Surkan, Pamela J, et al.
(författare)
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Social support after stillbirth for prevention of maternal depression.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley. - 1600-0412 .- 0001-6349. ; 88:12, s. 1358-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. To study how social support is associated with ensuing maternal depression following stillbirth. Design. Data from a population-based national postal questionnaire. Setting. Sweden. Population. A total of 314 (83%) of all 380 Swedish-speaking women who gave birth to singleton stillborn infants in Sweden during 1991, identified through the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Methods. Postal questionnaires addressing maternal social support and demographics were completed three years following the stillbirth. The association between support-related factors and later maternal depression was assessed using multivariable regression models. Main outcome measure. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results. In adjusted analyses, a father’s refusal to talk about a stillborn baby with the mother was associated with an almost five-fold risk of later maternal depressive symptoms [adjusted risk ratio (RR) 4.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5–14.5]. The mother's belief that she could talk with the infant's father about the child was associated with a reduced risk (adjusted RR 0.5, 95% CI 0.1–0.9). Conclusions. Unwillingness of the father to discuss a stillborn infant with the mother was related to subsequent maternal depressive symptomatology.
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| 8. |
- Westerlund, Anna, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Dietary supplement use patterns in men with prostate cancer: the Cancer Prostate Sweden Study.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Annals of oncology. - Dordrecht : Elsevier BV. - 1569-8041 .- 0923-7534. ; 22:4, s. 967-972
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: In a European setting, we know little about the use of dietary supplements among men with prostate cancer (PCa) and to what extent lifestyle, disease or other factors influence such use. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated supplement use in 1127 men with incident PCa and in 900 population controls in Sweden. Age-adjusted binary regression with an identity link was carried out to estimate prevalence differences and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Modifying effects of lifestyle- and diet-related factors were explored by statistical assessment of additive interaction. RESULTS: Among men with PCa, 542 individuals (48%) had used supplements, which was a 10% (95% CI: 5.9%-15%) higher prevalence than among population controls. Among individuals with high intake of fatty fish, vegetables, and phytoestrogens, but low intake of saturated fat, supplement use was 29% (95% CI: 18%-41%) more common in men with PCa than in population controls. We found no evidence of heterogeneity by categories of education, smoking history, body mass index, fiber, fruit, or phytoestrogen intake, treatment, or disease stage. CONCLUSION: Supplement use is common in Swedish men with PCa, especially among those with a healthy dietary pattern.
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