| 1. |
- Bixby, H., et al.
(author)
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Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults
- 2019
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 569:7755, s. 260-4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.
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| 2. |
- Mishra, A, et al.
(author)
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Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents' growth and development
- 2023
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 615:7954, s. 874-883
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.
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| 3. |
- Davies, G., et al.
(author)
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Study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function
- 2018
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In: Nature Communications. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2041-1723. ; 9:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- General cognitive function is a prominent and relatively stable human trait that is associated with many important life outcomes. We combine cognitive and genetic data from the CHARGE and COGENT consortia, and UK Biobank (total N = 300,486; age 16-102) and find 148 genome-wide significant independent loci (P < 5 × 10-8) associated with general cognitive function. Within the novel genetic loci are variants associated with neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders, physical and psychiatric illnesses, and brain structure. Gene-based analyses find 709 genes associated with general cognitive function. Expression levels across the cortex are associated with general cognitive function. Using polygenic scores, up to 4.3% of variance in general cognitive function is predicted in independent samples. We detect significant genetic overlap between general cognitive function, reaction time, and many health variables including eyesight, hypertension, and longevity. In conclusion we identify novel genetic loci and pathways contributing to the heritability of general cognitive function.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Per A., et al.
(author)
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Anger and disgust shape judgments of social sanctions across cultures, especially in high individual autonomy societies
- 2024
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Research. - 2045-2322. ; 14:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- When someone violates a social norm, others may think that some sanction would be appropriate. We examine how the experience of emotions like anger and disgust relate to the judged appropriateness of sanctions, in a pre-registered analysis of data from a large-scale study in 56 societies. Across the world, we find that individuals who experience anger and disgust over a norm violation are more likely to endorse confrontation, ostracism and, to a smaller extent, gossip. Moreover, we find that the experience of anger is consistently the strongest predictor of judgments of confrontation, compared to other emotions. Although the link between state-based emotions and judgments may seem universal, its strength varies across countries. Aligned with theoretical predictions, this link is stronger in societies, and among individuals, that place higher value on individual autonomy. Thus, autonomy values may increase the role that emotions play in guiding judgments of social sanctions.
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| 5. |
- Kehoe, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable
- 2019
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 364:6438, s. 341-
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 6. |
- Wallsten, Daniel, et al.
(author)
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Treating co-morbid insomnia and social anxiety disorder with sequential CBT protocols : a single-case experimental study
- 2021
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In: Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1352-4658 .- 1469-1833. ; 49:6, s. 641-657
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Although insomnia disorder and social anxiety disorder are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders, no studies have yet evaluated the use of sequential evidence-based treatment protocols in the population with co-morbid social anxiety disorder and insomnia disorder.AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the effects of sequential treatments on co-morbid insomnia disorder and social anxiety disorder. As depression is a common co-morbid syndrome for both insomnia and social anxiety, a secondary aim was to examine depressive symptoms.METHOD: A single-case repeated crossover AB design was used. Ten participants between 18 and 59 years of age with co-morbid DSM-5 diagnoses of insomnia disorder and social anxiety disorder received sequential treatments with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Seven participants completed the treatment course. The primary outcomes were symptoms of insomnia and social anxiety, and the secondary outcome was symptoms of depression.RESULTS: The effects of CBT on people with co-morbid social anxiety disorder and insomnia disorder were mixed. The majority of participants improved their sleep quality and lessened symptoms of social anxiety and depression. However, participants differed in their degree of improvement concerning all three disorders.CONCLUSIONS: Sequential CBT treatments are potentially effective at decreasing symptoms of social anxiety and insomnia for people with co-morbid social anxiety disorder and insomnia disorder. The variation in outcome across participants makes firm conclusions about the treatment efficacy difficult to draw.
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| 7. |
- Rietveld, CA, et al.
(author)
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Replicability and robustness of genome-wide-association studies for behavioral traits
- 2014
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In: Psychological science. - : SAGE Publications. - 1467-9280 .- 0956-7976. ; 25:11, s. 1975-1986
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A recent genome-wide-association study of educational attainment identified three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) whose associations, despite their small effect sizes (each R2 ≈ 0.02%), reached genome-wide significance ( p < 5 × 10−8) in a large discovery sample and were replicated in an independent sample ( p < .05). The study also reported associations between educational attainment and indices of SNPs called “polygenic scores.” In three studies, we evaluated the robustness of these findings. Study 1 showed that the associations with all three SNPs were replicated in another large ( N = 34,428) independent sample. We also found that the scores remained predictive ( R2 ≈ 2%) in regressions with stringent controls for stratification (Study 2) and in new within-family analyses (Study 3). Our results show that large and therefore well-powered genome-wide-association studies can identify replicable genetic associations with behavioral traits. The small effect sizes of individual SNPs are likely to be a major contributing factor explaining the striking contrast between our results and the disappointing replication record of most candidate-gene studies.
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| 8. |
- Eriksson, Per Erik, et al.
(author)
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How gaze time on screen impacts the efficacy of visual instructions
- 2018
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In: Heliyon. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-8440. ; 4:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article explores whether GTS (gaze time on screen) can be useful as an engagement measure in the screen mediated learning context. Research that exemplifies ways of measuring engagement in the on-line education context usually does not address engagement metrics and engagement evaluation methods that are unique to the diverse contemporary instructional media landscape. Nevertheless, unambiguous construct definitions of engagement and standardized engagement evaluation methods are needed to leverage instructional media's efficacy. By analyzing the results from a mixed methods eye-tracking study of fifty-seven participants evaluating their visual and assembly performance levels in relation to three visual, procedural instructions that are versions of the same procedural instruction, we found that the mean GTS-values in each group were rather similar. However, the original GTS-values outputted from the ET-computer were not entirely correct and needed to be manually checked and cross validated. Thus, GTS appears not to be a reliable, universally applicable automatic engagement measure in screen-based instructional efforts. Still, we could establish that the overall performance of learners was somewhat negatively impacted by lower than mean GTS-scores, when checking the performance levels of the entire group (N = 57). When checking the stimuli groups individually (N = 17, 20, 20), the structural diagram group's assembly time durations were positively influenced by higher than mean GTS-scores.
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| 9. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, et al.
(author)
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Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies
- 2021
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In: Nature Communications. - : Nature Research. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate. Little is known about peoples preferred responses to norm violations across countries. Here, in a study of 57 countries, the authors highlight cultural similarities and differences in peoples perception of the appropriateness of norm violations.
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| 10. |
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