| 1. |
- Badache, Andreea C., 1991-, et al.
(författare)
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Why Are Old-Age Disabilities Decreasing in Sweden and Denmark? Evidence on the Contribution of Cognition, Education, and Sensory Functions
- 2022
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Ingår i: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1079-5014 .- 1758-5368. ; 78:3, s. 483-495
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Improvements in educational attainment, cognitive and sensory functions, and a decline in the prevalence of disabilities have been observed in older adults in Sweden and Denmark. In the present study, it was investigated whether better cognition, higher educational attainment, and improved sensory function among older adults aged 60 and older in these countries have contributed to decreasing rates of old-age disabilities.Methods: The analyses were based on repeated cross-sectional data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe for the 2004-2017 period. Descriptive data were used to benchmark the declining prevalence of disabilities, improving cognitive and sensory functions, and increased educational level. The association between time and disabilities was analyzed with logistic regression models, and the contribution of the improved cognitive function, education, and sensory function to the declining prevalence of old-age disabilities was estimated using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method for mediation analysis.Results: The analysis suggests that the declining prevalence of old-age disabilities in Sweden and Denmark between 2004 and 2017 can largely be attributed to improved cognitive function and vision and to a lesser extent by education and hearing ability.Discussion: These findings raise important questions about the causal mechanisms producing the associations between cognition, education, and sensory functions and disability in older age. Future studies should explore the causal nature of the associations between these mediators and old-age disabilities. In addition, they should explore whether these findings differ across regional and cultural contexts and over different time periods.
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| 2. |
- Badache, Andreea, 1991-, et al.
(författare)
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Longitudinal associations between sensory and cognitive functioning in adults 60 years or older in Sweden and Denmark
- 2024
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Ingår i: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics (Print). - : Elsevier. - 0167-4943 .- 1872-6976. ; 121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to explore the bidirectional, longitudinal associations between self-reported sensory functions (hearing/vision) and cognitive functioning among older adults in Sweden and Denmark during the period 2004-2017.METHODS: The study is based on data from The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and consists of 3164 persons aged 60 to 93 years. Within-person associations between sensory and cognitive functions were estimated using random intercept cross-lagged panel models.RESULTS: The results indicated that cognitive and sensory functions were associated within their respective domains over time. The results on the bidirectional associations between sensory functions and cognition over time showed weak and statistically non-significant estimates.CONCLUSION: Our study showed no clear evidence for cross-lagged effects between sensory functions and cognitive functioning. Important to note, however, is that using longitudinal data to estimate change within persons is a demanding statistical test and various factors may have contributed to the absence of conclusive evidence in our study. We discuss several of these factors.
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| 3. |
- Bell, Max, et al.
(författare)
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Individual and neighborhood risk factors of hospital admission and death during the COVID-19 pandemic : a population-based cohort study
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMC Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1741-7015. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disproportionately affects minority populations in the USA. Sweden — like other Nordic countries — have less income and wealth inequality but lacks data on the socioeconomic impact on the risk of adverse outcomes due to COVID-19.Methods: This population-wide study from March 2020 to March 2022 included all adults in Stockholm, except those in nursing homes or receiving in-home care. Data sources include hospitals, primary care (individual diagnoses), the Swedish National Tax Agency (death dates), the Total Population Register “RTB” (sex, age, birth country), the Household Register (size of household), the Integrated Database For Labor Market Research “LISA” (educational level, income, and occupation), and SmiNet (COVID data). Individual exposures include education, income, type of work and ability to work from home, living area and living conditions as well as the individual country of origin and co-morbidities. Additionally, we have data on the risks associated with living areas. We used a Cox proportional hazards model and logistic regression to estimate associations. Area-level covariates were used in a principal component analysis to generate a measurement of neighborhood deprivation. As outcomes, we used hospitalization and death due to COVID-19.Results: Among the 1,782,125 persons, male sex, comorbidities, higher age, and not being born in Sweden increase the risk of hospitalization and death. So does lower education and lower income, the lowest incomes doubled the risk of death from COVID-19. Area estimates, where the model includes individual risks, show that high population density and a high percentage of foreign-born inhabitants increased the risk of hospitalization.Conclusions: Segregation and deprivation are public health issues elucidated by COVID-19. Neighborhood deprivation, prevalent in Stockholm, adds to individual risks and is associated with hospitalization and death. This finding is paramount for governments, agencies, and healthcare institutions interested in targeted interventions.
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| 4. |
- Enroth, Linda, et al.
(författare)
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Changes in socioeconomic differentials in old age life expectancy in four Nordic countries : the impact of educational expansion and education-specific mortality
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Ageing. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1613-9372 .- 1613-9380. ; 19:2, s. 161-173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Overall progress in life expectancy (LE) depends increasingly on survival in older ages. The birth cohorts now reaching old age have experienced considerable educational expansion, which is a driving force for the social change and social inequality. Thus, this study examines changes in old age LE by educational attainment in the Nordic countries and aims to fnd out to what extent the change in national LEs is attributable to education-specifc mortality and the shifting educational composition. We used national register data comprising total 65+populations in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to create period life tables stratifed by fve-year age groups (65–90+), sex and educational attainment. Difference in LE between 2001 and 2015 was decomposed into the contributions of mortality changes within each educational group and changes in educational composition. Increasing LE at all ages and in all educational groups coincided with persistent and growing educational inequalities in all countries. Most of the gains in LE at age 65 could be attributed to decreased mortality (63–90%), especially among those with low education, the largest educational group in most countries. The proportion of the increase in LE attributable to improved education was 10–37%, with the highest contributions recorded for women in Norway and Sweden. The rising educational levels in the Nordic countries still carry potential for further gains in national LEs. However, the educational expansion has contributed to uneven gains in LE between education groups, which poses a risk for the future increase of inequalities in LE.
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| 5. |
- Fors, Stefan, 1976-
(författare)
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Blood on the tracks : Life-course perspectives on health inequalities in later life
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of the thesis was to explore social inequalities in: a) mortality during mid-life, b) health in later life, and c) old-age mortality, from a life-course perspective. The studies are based on longitudinal Swedish survey and registry data. The results from Study I showed substantial inequalities in health, based on social class and gender, among older adults (aged 55+). Moreover, the magnitude of these inequalities did not change during the period 1991-2002. The results from Study II revealed social inequalities in cognitive functioning among the oldest old (aged 77+). Social turbulence and social class during childhood, education and social class in adulthood were all independently associated with level of cognitive functioning in later life. In Study III, social inequalities in mortality during mid-life (i.e., between ages 25 and 69) were explored. The results showed that childhood living conditions were associated with marital status and social class in adulthood and that, in turn, these conditions were associated with mid-life mortality. Thus, the results suggested that childhood disadvantage may serve as a stepping stone to a hazardous life-course trajectory. Study IV explored the association between income in mid-life, income during retirement and old-age mortality (i.e., mortality during retirement). The results showed that both income during mid-life and income during retirement were associated with old-age mortality. Mutually adjusted models showed that income in mid-life was more important for women’s mortality and that income during retirement was more important for men’s. Thus, the results of the present thesis suggest that there are substantial social inequalities in the likelihood of reaching old age, as well as in health and mortality among older adults. These inequalities are shaped by differential exposures throughout the life-course that affect health in later life both through direct effects and through processes of accumulation.
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| 6. |
- Fors, Stefan, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Cohort-specific disability trajectories among older women and men in Europe 2004–2017
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Ageing. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1613-9372 .- 1613-9380. ; 19:4, s. 1111-1119
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As the population of Europe grows older, one crucial issue is how the incidence and prevalence of disabilities are developing over time in the older population. In this study, we compare cohort-specific disability trajectories in old age across subsequent birth cohorts in Europe, during the period 2004–2017.We used data from seven waves of data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Mixed effects logistic regression models were used to model trajectories of accumulation of ADL limitations for subsequent birth cohorts of older women and men in different European regions. The results showed that there were sex differences in ADL and IADL limitations in all regions for most cohorts. Women reported more limitations than men, particularly in Eastern and Southern rather than Northern and Western Europe. Among men in Eastern, Northern and Western Europe, later born cohorts reported more disabilities than did earlier born birth cohorts at the same ages. Similar patterns were observed for women in Northern and Western Europe. In contrast, the risk of disabilities was lower in later born cohorts than in earlier born birth cohorts among women in Eastern Europe. Overall, results from this study suggest that disability trajectories in different cohorts of men and women were by and large similar across Europe. The trajectories varied more depending on sex, age and region than depending on cohort.
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| 7. |
- Gudjonsdottir, Hrafnhildur, et al.
(författare)
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Cohort Profile : The Stockholm Diabetes Prevention Programme (SDPP)
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 51:6, s. e401-e413
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Stockholm Diabetes Prevention Programme (SDPP) was established in the mid-1990s as a baseline for a community-based intervention aimed at primary prevention of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The intervention was found to be ineffective, but the cohort continues to contribute to our understanding of the pathogenesis of T2D and cardiometabolic risk factors.The cohort comprises 15 070 men and 19 416 women, born between 1938 and 1961, resident in five municipalities in Stockholm County, Sweden, at baseline. A sub-cohort answered a screening survey (10 236 men and 16 481 women), and a sub-cohort of those participated in a clinical examination (3128 men and 4821 women) at baseline (clinical cohort).The clinical cohort has been followed up after 10 years, when 2383 men and 3329 women participated, and after 20 years, when 1752 men and 2545 women participated.Socioeconomic, demographic and health-related register information was collected for all. The screening survey contains self-reported information on own and familial T2D. For the clinical cohort, we conducted oral glucose tolerance tests, drew blood and took blood pressures and anthropometric measurements. The participants also filled in questionnaires on lifestyle and psychosocial conditions.Data are available on request after ethical approval; information is available on the study webpage [Stockholm-Diabetes-Prevention-Programme-(SDPP)(regionstockholm.se)].
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| 8. |
- Ilinca, Stefania, et al.
(författare)
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Gender differences in access to community-based care : a longitudinal analysis of widowhood and living arrangements
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Ageing. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1613-9372 .- 1613-9380. ; 19:4, s. 1339-1350
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Persistent inequalities in access to community-based support limit opportunities for independent living for older people with care needs in Europe. Our study focuses on investigating how gender, widowhood and living arrangement associate with the probability of receiving home and community-based care, while accounting for the shorter-term associations of transitions into widowhood (bereavement) and living alone, as well as the longer-term associations of being widowed and living alone. We use comparative, longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (collected between 2004 and 2015 in 15 countries) specifying sex-disaggregated random-effects within-between models, which allow us to examine both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among widowhood, living arrangements and community-based care use. We find widowhood and living alone are independently associated with care use for both older women and men, while bereavement is associated with higher probability of care use only for women. Socio-economic status was associated with care use for older women, but not for men in our sample. The gender-specific associations we identify have important implications for fairness in European long-term care systems. They can inform improved care targeting towards individuals with limited informal care resources (e.g. bereaved older men) and lower socio-economic status, who are particularly vulnerable to experiencing unmet care needs. Gender differences are attenuated in countries that support formal care provision, suggesting gender equity can be promoted by decoupling access to care from household and family circumstances.
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| 9. |
- Jørgensen, Terese S. H., et al.
(författare)
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Adult offspring and their socioeconomic resources for development and survival of stroke : A Swedish and Danish nationwide register-based study
- 2024
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 52:2, s. 216-224
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: To explore the relationships between adult offspring’s socioeconomic resources and the development of stroke and survival after stroke among older adults in Denmark and Sweden.Methods: The study included 1,464,740 Swedes and 835,488 Danes who had turned 65 years old between 2000 and 2015. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyse incident stroke and survival after stroke until 2020.Results: Lower level of offspring’s education, occupation and income were associated with higher hazards of stroke among both men and women in Sweden and Denmark. Associations with offspring’s education, occupation and income were most consistent for death after the acute phase and for educational level. From one to five years after stroke and compared with a high educational level of offspring, low and medium educational level were associated with 1.34 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11; 1.62) and 1.18 (95% CI: 1.10; 1.27) as well as 1.26 (95% CI: 1.06; 1.48) and 1.14 (1.07; 1.21) times higher hazard of death in Swedish women and men, respectively. The corresponding estimates in the Danish population were 1.36 (1.20; 1.53) and 1.10 (1.01; 1.20) for women and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.11; 1.32) and 1.13 (95% CI: 1.05; 1.21) for men.Conclusions: Adult offspring socioeconomic resources are, independently of how we measure them and of individual socioeconomic characteristics, associated with development of stroke in old age in both Denmark and Sweden. The relationships between offspring socioeconomic resources and death after stroke are present especially after the acute phase and most pronounced for educational level as a measure of offspring socioeconomic resources.
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| 10. |
- Politis, Marios, et al.
(författare)
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Sexual health among the oldest old : a population-based study among people aged 85 years and older in Stockholm, Sweden
- 2024
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Ingår i: Sexual Medicine. - 2050-1161. ; 12:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Sexual health is an important contributor to the well-being and life satisfaction of people aged >= 85 years, known as the oldest old. However, little is known about sexual health in this population.Aim To examine aspects of sexual health among the oldest old and explore its associations with sociodemographic, health-related, and lifestyle factors.Methods We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study including 183 individuals aged >= 85 years who were residents in Stockholm County, Sweden. Responders (response rate, 63%) were interviewed on a range of health, sociodemographic, and lifestyle parameters, including aspects of sexual health. Participants' responses to the sexual health items were reported as proportions with 95% CIs. Associations were examined with multivariable logistic regression.Outcomes We examined sexual activity, sexual satisfaction, problems related to sexual health, and inquiries on sexual health by a health care provider.Results Twelve percent of participants (95% CI, 8%-17.6%) were sexually active, and 63.9% (95% CI, 56.5%-70.9%) were satisfied with their sexual lives during the past year. A third (35%; 95% CI, 28.4%-42.2%) reported at least a problem related to sexual health. Only 2.2% (95% CI, 0.6%-5.5%) were asked about sexual health by a health care provider, while 8.2% (95% CI, 4.7%-13.2%) identified a need for such an assessment. Yet, 85.2% (95% CI, 79.3%-90.0%) indicated no need for their sexual health to be evaluated by a health care provider. Being partnered was positively associated with sexual activity (adjusted odds ratio, 9.13; 95% CI, 2.53-32.90), whereas having strong social support was positively associated with being satisfied with one's sexual life (adjusted odds ratio, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.53-5.74).Clinical Implications Health care providers should be proactive in assessing the sexual health of the oldest individuals.Strengths and Limitations A representative sample of an underresearched population was used in this study. However, the generalizability of our findings may be restricted due to the small sample. To maintain statistical power from a relatively small sample, we might have lost explanatory power. Given the observational cross-sectional nature of the data, we cannot draw causal inferences based on the observed associations.Conclusions A 10th of participants were sexually active, and the majority were satisfied with their sexual lives. Although many participants reported problems related to sexual health, few expressed the need to discuss sexual health with health care providers. Future studies should explore potential barriers to addressing sexual health and unmet health care needs among the oldest old.
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