| 1. |
- Aradhya, Siddartha, et al.
(författare)
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Immigrant ancestry and birthweight across two generations born in Sweden : an intergenerational cohort study
- 2022
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Ingår i: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ. - 2059-7908. ; 7:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction Differences in birthweight are often seen between migrants and natives. However, whether migrant-native birthweight inequalities widen, narrow or remain persistent across generations when comparing the descendants of immigrants and natives remains understudied. We examined inequalities in birthweight of mothers (G2) and daughters (G3) of foreign-born grandmothers (G1) compared with those of Swedish-born grandmothers.Methods We used population registers with multigenerational linkages to identify 314 415 daughters born in Sweden during the period 1989–2012 (G3), linked to 246 642 mothers (G2) born in Sweden during 1973–1996, and to their grandmothers (G1) who were Swedish or foreign-born. We classified migrants into non-western, Eastern European, the rest of Nordic and Western. We used multivariable methods to examine mean birthweight and low birthweight (<2500 g; LBW).Results Birthweight between individuals with Swedish background (G1) and non-western groups increased from -80 g to -147 g between G2 (mothers) and G3 (daughters), respectively. Furthermore, the odds of LBW increased among the G3 non-western immigrants compared with those with Swedish grandmothers (OR: 1.38, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.69). Birthweight increased in both descendants of Swedes and non-western immigrants, but less so in the latter (83 g vs 16 g).Conclusion We observed an increase in birthweight inequalities across generations between descendants of non-western immigrants and descendants of Swedes. This finding is puzzling considering Sweden has been lauded for its humanitarian approach to migration, for being one of the most egalitarian countries in the world and providing universal access to healthcare and education.
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| 2. |
- Dunlavy, Andrea, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Investigating the salmon bias effect among international immigrants in Sweden : a register-based open cohort study
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 32:2, s. 226-232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Studies of migration and health have hypothesized that immigrants may emigrate when they develop poor health (salmon bias effect), which may partially explain the mortality advantage observed among immigrants in high-income countries. We evaluated the salmon bias effect by comparing the health of immigrants in Sweden who emigrated with those who remained, while also exploring potential variation by macro-economic conditions, duration of residence and region of origin. Methods: A longitudinal, open cohort study design was used to assess risk of emigration between 1992 and 2016 among all adult (18+ years) foreign-born persons who immigrated to Sweden between 1965 and 2012 (n = 1 765 459). The Charlson Comorbidity Index was used to measure health status, using information on hospitalizations from the Swedish National Patient Register. Poisson regression models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for emigrating from Sweden. Results: Immigrants with low (RR = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.76-0.90) moderate (RR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.62-0.80) and high (RR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.48-0.82) levels of comorbidities had decreased risk of emigration relative to those with no comorbidities. There was no evidence of variation by health status in emigration during periods of economic recession or by duration of residence. Individuals with low to moderate levels of comorbidities from some regions of origin had an increased risk of emigration relative to those with no comorbidities. Conclusions: The study results do not support the existence of a salmon bias effect as a universal phenomenon among international immigrants in Sweden.
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| 3. |
- Honkaniemi, Helena, 1993-
(författare)
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Mental health after migration to Sweden : The role of the social determinants of health
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Migrants often experience worse mental health after migration than natives in Sweden. Using survey, register and peer-reviewed published data, the five studies of this thesis explored the mental health variation of different migrant groups settled in Sweden, including by the timing of migration, level of integration and region of origin. In parallel, the studies considered the role of downstream (individual) and upstream (structural) social determinants of health as drivers of mental health inequalities.Study I assessed migrants’ risk of self-reported psychological distress by their age at migration and duration of residence in Sweden, relative to Swedish-born natives. Migrants generally had higher risks of psychological distress than natives, increasing with older age at migration and longer duration of residence, especially among migrants from regions not affiliated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Health differences were largely explained by inequalities in socioeconomic position, social connection and discrimination. Study II explored how prescription rates of psychotropic medications varied by native-migrant marital composition as a proxy for integration in Sweden. Intramarried migrants had the highest prescription hazards, whereas migrants intermarried with natives had lower hazards, albeit higher than for intramarried natives. Migrant women, but not men, had attenuated hazards after adjusting for socioeconomic and other marriage-related social factors.Study III reviewed the international literature for previous evidence of the effects of non-health-related policies for migrant health. Restrictive entry and integration policies, including social welfare policies, were found to be associated with poorer self-rated general and mental health. Studies examining generous integration-related policies revealed largely positive mental health effects for migrants.Study IV investigated the mental health effects of the 1995 Father’s quota, a Swedish parental leave reform that incentivized fathers’ leave use. Whereas both native and migrant fathers increased their parental leave use following the reform, only migrant fathers, especially those from non-OECD regions and with migrant partners, experienced concurrent decreases in psychiatric hospitalizations.Study V examined the mental health effects of another Swedish parental leave policy, the 2012 Double Days reform, which introduced a month of simultaneous parental leave for mothers and fathers. Although both native and migrant fathers had increased levels of parental leave use, only native fathers and their partners exhibited decreased psychotropic medication prescription rates and greater outpatient care uptake related to mental health. The findings of this thesis highlight the dynamic nature of mental health after migration, and the relevance of the social determinants of health within the receiving country context. The studies provide empirical support for how migrants’ mental health can vary by the timing of migration and level of integration, through downstream determinants, including socioeconomic position and social connection, and upstream determinants, such as welfare programs and migration policies. Taken together, the thesis emphasizes the need to consider migrant mental health inequalities as socially-patterned phenomena amenable to change after migration.
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| 4. |
- Honkaniemi, Helena, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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Psychiatric consequences of a father’s leave policy by nativity : a quasi-experimental study in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. - : BMJ. - 0143-005X .- 1470-2738. ; 76:4, s. 367-373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Parental leave use has been found to promote maternal and child health, with limited evidence of mental health impacts on fathers. How these effects vary for minority populations with poorer mental health and lower leave uptake, such as migrants, remains under-investigated. This study assessed the effects of a Swedish policy to encourage fathers’ leave, the 1995 Father’s quota, on Swedish-born and migrant fathers’ psychiatric hospitalisations.Methods We conducted an interrupted time series analysis using Swedish total population register data for first-time fathers of children born before (1992–1994) and after (1995–1997) the reform (n=198 589). Swedish-born and migrant fathers’ 3-year psychiatric hospitalisation rates were modelled using segmented negative binomial regression, adjusting for seasonality and autocorrelation, with stratified analyses by region of origin, duration of residence, and partners’ nativity.Results From immediately pre-reform to post-reform, the proportion of fathers using parental leave increased from 63.6% to 86.4% of native-born and 37.1% to 51.2% of migrants. Swedish-born fathers exhibited no changes in psychiatric hospitalisation rates post-reform, whereas migrants showed 36% decreased rates (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.64, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.86). Migrants from regions not predominantly consisting of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries (IRR 0.50, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.33), and those with migrant partners (IRR 0.23, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.38), experienced the greatest decreases in psychiatric hospitalisation rates.Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that policies oriented towards promoting father’s use of parental leave may help to reduce native–migrant health inequalities, with broader benefits for family well-being and child development.Data availability statement
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| 5. |
- Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal, et al.
(författare)
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Health Equity and Its Economic Determinants (HEED) : protocol for a pan-European microsimulation model for health impacts of income and social security policies
- 2022
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 12:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction Government policies on taxation and social security are important determinants of population health outcomes and health inequalities. However, there is a shortage of evidence to inform policymakers of the health consequences of such policies. The Health Equity and Its Economic Determinants project aims to assess the potential impacts of different taxation and social security policies across Europe on population health and health inequalities using a computer-based simulation that provides projections over multiple health domains.Methods and analysis In the first phase, key input parameters for the model will be estimated using estimation techniques that control for the effects of prior exposure on time-varying confounders and mediators (g-methods). The second phase will involve developing and validating the microsimulation model for the UK. Policy proposals, developed with policymakers, will be simulated in the third phase to investigate the impacts of income tax and social security changes on population health and health inequalities. In the final phase, the microsimulation model will be extended across other European countries.Ethics and dissemination This project will use deidentified secondary data for which ethical approval and consents were received by the original data collectors. No further ethical approval will be required for our main analytical datasets. Dissemination plans include academic publications, conference presentations, accessible policy briefings, mass media engagement and a project website. Both the syntax and the underlying synthetic data for the HEED microsimulation model will be made freely available through GitHub and the project website.
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