| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Brantsæter, A. L., et al.
(författare)
-
Diet matters, particularly in pregnancy – Results from MoBa studies of maternal diet and pregnancy outcomes
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Norsk Epidemiologi. - 0803-2491. ; 24:1-2, s. 63-77
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Awareness that maternal diet may influence the outcome of pregnancy as well as the long-term health of mother and child has increased in recent years. A new food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed and validated specifically for the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The MoBa FFQ is a semi-quantitative tool which covers the average intake of food, beverages and dietary supplements during the first 4 to 5 months of pregnancy. It includes questions about intakes of 255 foods and dishes and was used from 2002 onwards. Data assessed by the MoBa FFQ is available for 87,700 pregnancies. Numerous sub-studies have examined associations between dietary factors and health outcomes in MoBa. The aim of this paper is to summarize the results from 19 studies of maternal diet and pregnancy outcomes, which is the complete collection of studies based on the MoBa FFQ and published before September 2014. The overall research question is whether maternal diet – from single substances to dietary patterns – matters for pregnancy outcome. The pregnancy outcomes studied till now include birth size measures, infants being small and large for gestational age, pregnancy duration, preterm delivery, preeclampsia, as well as maternal gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention. As a whole, the results from these studies corroborate that the current dietary recommendations to pregnant women are sound and that maternal diet during pregnancy is likely to contribute to reduce the risk of pregnancy complications including preterm birth, preeclampsia, and reduced foetal growth. The results provide supporting evidence for recommending pregnant women to consume vegetables, fruit, whole grain, fish, dairy, and water regularly and lower the intake of sugar sweetened beverages, processed meat products and salty snacks. The results showing negative impact of even low levels of environmental contaminants support the precautionary advice on consumption of foods containing these. New findings are that particularly lean fish explained the positive association between seafood intake and foetal growth, and the indications of a protective effect of probiotic and antimicrobial foods on pregnancy outcomes. This points to the importance of diet composition for a healthy gut flora and the body’s immune response. Although these studies are observational and cannot infer causality, the results identify diet as an important modifiable lifestyle factor, suggesting that healthy eating, defined as following the official recommendations, is particularly important in pregnancy.
|
|
| 3. |
- Brantsaeter, A. L., et al.
(författare)
-
Maternal intake of seafood and supplementary long chain n-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids and preterm delivery
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Bmc Pregnancy and Childbirth. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2393. ; 17:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Preterm delivery increases the risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Studies suggest that maternal diet may affect the prevalence of preterm delivery. The aim of this study was to assess whether maternal intakes of seafood and marine long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn-3PUFA) from supplements were associated with preterm delivery. Methods: The study population included 67,007 women from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Maternal food and supplement intakes were assessed by a validated self-reported food frequency questionnaire in mid-pregnancy. Information about gestational duration was obtained from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. We used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between total seafood, lean fish, fatty fish, and LCn-3PUFA intakes and preterm delivery. Preterm was defined as any onset of delivery before gestational week 37, and as spontaneous or iatrogenic deliveries and as preterm delivery at early, moderate, and late preterm gestations. Results: Lean fish constituted 56%, fatty fish 34% and shellfish 10% of seafood intake. Any intake of seafood above no/rare intake (> 5 g/d) was associated with lower prevalence of preterm delivery. Adjusted HRs were 0.76 (CI: 0.66, 0.88) for 1-2 servings/week (20-40 g/d), 0.72 (CI: 0.62, 0.83) for 2-3 servings/week (40-60 g/d), and 0.72 (CI: 0.61, 0. 85) for >= 3 servings/week (>60 g/d), p-trend <0.001. The association was seen for lean fish (p-trend: 0.005) but not for fatty fish (p-trend: 0.411). The intake of supplementary LCn-3PUFA was associated only with lower prevalence of early preterm delivery (before 32 gestational weeks), while increasing intake of LCn-3PUFA from food was associated with lower prevalence of overall preterm delivery (p-trend: 0.002). Any seafood intake above no/rare was associated with lower prevalence of both spontaneous and iatrogenic preterm delivery, and with lower prevalence of late preterm delivery. Conclusions: Any intake of seafood above no/rare consumption was associated with lower prevalence of preterm delivery. The association was stronger for lean than for fatty fish. Intake of supplementary LCn-3PUFA was associated only with early preterm delivery. The findings corroborate the current advice to include fish and seafood as part of a balanced diet during pregnancy.
|
|
| 4. |
- Frischknecht, R., et al.
(författare)
-
Comparison of the environmental assessment of an identical office building with national methods
- 2019
-
Ingår i: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. - : IOP Publishing. - 1755-1307 .- 1755-1315. ; , s. 012037-
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The IEA EBC Annex 72 focuses on the assessment of the primary energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of buildings during production, construction, use (including repair and replacement) and end of life (dismantling), i.e. during the entire life cycle of buildings. In one of its activities, reference buildings (size, materialisation, operational energy demand, etc.) were defined on which the existing national assessment methods are applied using national (if available) databases and (national/regional) approaches. The "be2226" office building in Lustenau, Austria was selected as one of the reference buildings. TU Graz established a BIM model and quantified the amount of building elements as well as construction materials required and the operational energy demand. The building assessment was carried out using the same material and energy demand but applying the LCA approach used in the different countries represented by the participating Annex experts. The results of these assessments are compared in view of identifying major discrepancies. Preliminary findings show that the greenhouse gas emissions per kg of building material differ up to a factor of two and more. Major differences in the building assessments are observed in the transports to the construction site (imports) and the construction activities as well as in the greenhouse gas emissions of the operational energy demand (electricity). The experts document their practical difficulties and how they overcame them. The results of this activity are used to better target harmonisation efforts.
|
|
| 5. |
- Frischknecht, R., et al.
(författare)
-
Comparison of the greenhouse gas emissions of a high-rise residential building assessed with different national LCA approaches - IEA EBC Annex 72
- 2020
-
Ingår i: IOP Conference Series. - : IOP Publishing. ; , s. 022029-
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The international research project IEA EBC Annex 72 investigates the life cycle related environmental impacts caused by buildings. The project aims inter alia to harmonise LCA approaches on buildings. Methods: To identify major commonalities and discrepancies among national LCA approaches, reference buildings were defined to present and compare the national approaches. A residential high-rise building located in Tianjin, China, was selected as one of the reference buildings. The main construction elements are reinforced concrete shear walls, beams and floor slabs. The building has an energy reference area of 4566 m2 and an operational heating energy demand of 250 MJ/m2a. An expert team provided information on the quantities of building materials and elements required for the construction, established a BIM model and quantified the operational energy demand. Results: The greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of the building were quantified using 17 country-specific national assessment methods and LCA databases. Comparisons of the results are shown on the level of building elements as well as the complete life cycle of the building. Conclusions: The results of these assessments show that the main differences lie in the LCA background data used, the scope of the assessment and the reference study period applied. Despite the variability in the greenhouse gas emissions determined with the 17 national methods, the individual results are relevant in the respective national context of the method, data, tool and benchmark used. It is important that environmental benchmarks correspond to the particular LCA approach and database of a country in which the benchmark is applied. Furthermore, the results imply to include building technologies as their contribution to the overall environmental impacts is not negligible. Grant support: The authors thank the IEA for its organizational support and the funding organizations in the participating countries for their financial support.
|
|
| 6. |
- Liljenström, Carolina, et al.
(författare)
-
Life cycle assessment as decision-support in choice of road corridor : case study and stakeholder perspectives
- 2020
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Sustainable Transportation. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1556-8318 .- 1556-8334. ; , s. 1-18
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Use of life cycle assessment (LCA) in choice of road corridor could reduce environmental impacts of traffic and infrastructure. This paper explores how the LCA model LICCER, designed to compare life cycle climate impact and energy use of alternative road corridors, fulfills practitioners’ requirements concerning data availability and usefulness for decision-making. Results are based on a case study where the model was applied to a Swedish road reconstruction project and a workshop with potential users of the model. In the case study, the shorter construction alternatives had the lowest traffic related impacts and the highest infrastructure related impacts. Earthworks, soil stabilization, and pavement contributed most to infrastructure related impacts. For the stakeholders, the LICCER model was considered useful because it includes both traffic and infrastructure, includes default data that the user can replace by project specific data, identifies possible improvements, and presents results relative to a reference alternative. However, the model could be improved by including further nation specific default data, different traffic scenarios depending on the road corridor, more detailed traffic scenarios, and an uncertainty assessment of the model output. These findings may be useful in the development and improvement of LCA models and when evaluating the suitability of existing models for use in early planning.
|
|
| 7. |
- Rasmussen, F. N., et al.
(författare)
-
Analysing methodological choices in calculations of embodied energy and GHG emissions from buildings
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Energy and Buildings. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0378-7788 .- 1872-6178. ; 158, s. 1487-1498
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The importance of embodied energy and embodied greenhouse gas emissions (EEG) from buildings is gaining increased interest within building sector initiatives and on a regulatory level. In spite of recent harmonisation efforts, reported results of EEG from building case studies display large variations in numerical results due to variations in the chosen indicators, data sources and both temporal and physical boundaries. The aim of this paper is to add value to existing EEG research knowledge by systematically explaining and analysing the methodological implications of the quantitative results obtained, thus providing a framework for reinterpretation and more effective comparison. The collection of over 80 international case studies developed within the International Energy Agency's EBC Annex 57 research programme is used as the quantitative foundation to present a comprehensive analysis of the multiple interacting methodological parameters. The analysis of methodological parameters is structured by the stepwise methodological choices made in the building EEG assessment practice. Each of six assessment process steps involves one or more methodological choices relevant to the EEG results, and the combination potentials between these many parameters signifies a multitude of ways in which the outcome of EEG studies are affected.
|
|
| 8. |
- Andersen, Sarah Cecilie, et al.
(författare)
-
Environmental impacts of circularity in the built environment: How do system boundaries affect decision support?
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Developments in the Built Environment. - 2666-1659. ; 18
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Life-Cycle Assessments (LCA) have become a common tool of decision support in the built environment regarding environmental impacts. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of different LCA approaches and system boundaries on decision support regarding circular design strategies. Three different ways of applying attributional LCA (ALCA) and one consequential LCA (CLCA) are assessed using a case study of a wooden beam with either virgin or reclaimed timber. While the conclusions are not readily scalable, the case study's results indicate that using reclaimed material is environmentally beneficial when applying ALCA. However, when applying CLCA the reclaimed material performs worse than the virgin material. This highlights the potential pitfalls of scaling up solutions based on LCA results without considering the broader consequences. While the current ALCA approach is useful for declarations, it may not provide comprehensive decision support for driving a transition in the built environment.
|
|
| 9. |
|
|
| 10. |
- Birgisdóttir, Dröfn, et al.
(författare)
-
A novel care guide for personalised palliative care – a national initiative for improved quality of care
- 2021
-
Ingår i: BMC Palliative Care. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-684X. ; 20, s. 1-12
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundEven when palliative care is an integrated part of the healthcare system, the quality is still substandard for many patients and often initiated too late. There is a lack of structured guidelines for identifying and caring for patients; in particular for those with early palliative care needs. A care guide can act as a compass for best practice and support the care of patients throughout their palliative trajectory. Such a guide should both meet the needs of health care professionals and patients and families, facilitating discussion around end-of-life decision-making and enabling them to plan for the remaining time in life. The aim of this article is to describe the development and pilot testing of a novel Swedish palliative care guide.MethodsThe Swedish Palliative Care Guide (S-PCG) was developed according to the Medical Research Council framework and based on national and international guidelines for good palliative care. An interdisciplinary national advisory committee of over 90 health care professionals together with patient, family and public representatives were engaged in the process. The feasibility was tested in three pilot studies in different care settings.ResultsAfter extensive multi-unit and interprofessional testing and evaluation, the S-PCG contains three parts that can be used independently to identify, assess, address, follow up, and document the individual symptoms and care-needs throughout the whole palliative care trajectory. The S-PCG can provide a comprehensive overview and shared understanding of the patients’ needs and possibilities for ensuring optimal quality of life, the family included.ConclusionsBased on broad professional cooperation, patients and family participation and clinical testing, the S-PCG provides unique interprofessional guidance for assessment and holistic care of patients with palliative care needs, promotes support to the family, and when properly used supports high-quality personalised palliative care throughout the palliative trajectory. Future steps for the S-PCG, entails scientific evaluation of the clinical impact and effect of S-PCG in different care settings – including implementation, patient and family outcomes, and experiences of patient, family and personnel.
|
|
