| 1. |
- Christensen, Stine Holmegaard, et al.
(författare)
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A clear urban-rural gradient of allergic rhinitis in a population-based study in Northern Europe
- 2016
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Ingår i: European clinical respiratory journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2001-8525. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The protective effect of farm upbringing on allergic rhinitis is well known, but how upbringing in other environments influences the development of allergic rhinitis is scarcely investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between place of upbringing and pet keeping in childhood and allergic rhinitis and nasal symptoms in adulthood.METHODS: The population-based Respiratory Health in Northern Europe study includes subjects from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Estonia born in 1945-1973. This paper analyses 13,376 participants of the third study wave. Six categories of place of upbringing were defined: farm with livestock, farm without livestock, village in rural area, small town, city suburb, and inner city. Pets in the home at birth and during childhood were recorded. Data were analysed using adjusted logistic regression models.RESULTS: Livestock farm upbringing predicted less adult allergic rhinitis [odds ratio (OR) 0.68, 0.54-0.85] and nasal symptoms (OR 0.82, 0.68-0.99) than city upbringing, and an urban-rural gradient with decreasing risk per level of urbanisation was observed (OR 0.92, 0.88-0.94). Pets in the home at birth (OR 0.78, 0.68-0.88) and during childhood (OR 0.83, 0.74-0.93) were associated with less subsequent allergic rhinitis. Pet keeping did not explain the protective effect of place of upbringing.CONCLUSION: Risk of allergic rhinitis and nasal symptoms in adulthood was inversely associated with the level of urbanisation during upbringing. Pets at birth decreased the risk further, but did not explain the urban-rural gradient. Persistent beneficial effects of microbial diversity in early life might be an explanation for the findings.
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| 2. |
- Dratva, Julia, et al.
(författare)
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Validation of self-reported figural drawing scales against anthropometric measurements in adults
- 2016
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Ingår i: Public Health Nutrition. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1368-9800 .- 1475-2727. ; 19:11, s. 1944-1951
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The aim of the present study was to validate figural drawing scales depicting extremely lean to extremely obese subjects to obtain proxies for BMI and waist circumference in postal surveys.Design: Reported figural scales and anthropometric data from a large population-based postal survey were validated with measured anthropometric data from the same individuals by means of receiver-operating characteristic curves and a BMI prediction model.Setting: Adult participants in a Scandinavian cohort study first recruited in 1990 and followed up twice since.Subjects: Individuals aged 38-66 years with complete data for BMI (n 1580) and waist circumference (n 1017).Results: Median BMI and waist circumference increased exponentially with increasing figural scales. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses showed a high predictive ability to identify individuals with BMI > 25.0 kg/m(2) in both sexes. The optimal figural scales for identifying overweight or obese individuals with a correct detection rate were 4 and 5 in women, and 5 and 6 in men, respectively. The prediction model explained 74% of the variance among women and 62% among men. Predicted BMI differed only marginally from objectively measured BMI.Conclusions: Figural drawing scales explained a large part of the anthropometric variance in this population and showed a high predictive ability for identifying overweight/obese subjects. These figural scales can be used with confidence as proxies of BMI and waist circumference in settings where objective measures are not feasible.
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| 3. |
- Real, Francisco Gomez, et al.
(författare)
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The Association of Gum Bleeding with Respiratory Health in a Population Based Study from Northern Europe
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background There is little knowledge about how oral and respiratory health is interrelated even though the mucosa of the oral cavity and airways constitutes a continuum and the exposures to these are partly similar. Aims To investigate whether gum bleeding is related to asthma, respiratory symptoms and self-reported COPD. Methods A postal questionnaire including questions about respiratory and oral health was sent to general population samples in seven Northern European centres. In 13,409 responders, gum bleeding when brushing teeth was reported always/often by 4% and sometimes by 20%. Logistic regressions accounted for age, smoking, educational level, centre and gender. Effects of BMI, cardio-metabolic diseases, early life factors, gastro-oesophageal reflux, dental hygiene, nasal congestion, and asthma medication were addressed. Results Gum bleeding always/often was significantly associated with >= 3 asthma symptoms (OR 2.58, 95% CI 2.10-3.18), asthma (1.62 [1.23-2.14]) and self-reported COPD (2.02 [1.283.18]). There was a dose-response relationship between respiratory outcomes and gum bleeding frequency (>= 3 symptoms: gum bleeding sometimes 1.42 [1.25-1.60], often/always 2.58 [2.10-3.18]), and there was no heterogeneity between centres (p(heterogeneity) = 0.49). None of the investigated risk factors explained the associations. The observed associations were significantly stronger among current smokers (p(interaction) = 0.004). Conclusions A consistent link between gum bleeding and obstructive airways disease was observed, not explained by common risk factors or metabolic factors. We speculate that oral pathogens might have unfavourable impact on the airways, and that the direct continuity of the mucosa of the oral cavity and the airways reflects a pathway that might provide novel opportunities for interventions.
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