1. |
- Auguer, Nathalie, et al.
(author)
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Leaving Sweden behind : gains in life expectancy in Canada
- 2015
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 43:4, s. 340-347
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims: Sweden and Canada are known for quality of living and exceedingly high life expectancy, but recent data on how these countries compare are lacking. We measured life expectancy in Canada and Sweden during the past decade, and identified factors responsible for changes over time. Methods: We calculated life expectancy at birth for Canada and Sweden annually from 2000 to 2010, and determined the ages and causes of death responsible for the gap between the two countries using Arriaga's method. We determined how population growth, ageing, and mortality influenced the number of deaths over time. Results: During 2000-2010, life expectancy in Canada caught up with Sweden for men, and surpassed Sweden by 0.4 years for women. Sweden lost ground owing to a slower reduction in circulatory and tumour mortality after age 65 years compared with Canada. Nonetheless, population ageing increased the number of deaths in Canada, especially for mental and nervous system disorders. In Sweden, the number of deaths decreased. Conclusions: In only one decade, life expectancy in Canada caught up and surpassed Sweden due to rapid improvements in circulatory and tumour mortality. Population ageing increased the number of deaths in Canada, potentially stressing the health care system more than in Sweden.
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2. |
- Axelsson Fisk, Sten, et al.
(author)
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Social inequalities in the risk of giving birth to a small for gestational age child in Sweden 2010–16 : a cross-sectional study adopting an intersectional approach
- 2024
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In: European Journal of Public Health. - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 34:1, s. 22-28
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Well-established associations exist between the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) and unidimensional sociodemographic factors. We investigated social inequalities in SGA risk and adopted an intersectional approach that simultaneously considers different social categories. By doing so, we could assess heterogeneities in SGA risk within unidimensional sociodemographic categories. Methods: We included all live 679 694 singleton births in Sweden between 2010 and 2016. The outcome was SGA, and the exposures were age, maternal educational level, dichotomous migration status and civil status. Thirty-six possible combinations of these factors constituted the exposure in an intersectional model. We present odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)—a measurement of discriminatory accuracy (i.e. the ability to discriminate the babies born SGA from those who are not). Results: Women with low education and women born outside Sweden had ORs of 1.46 (95% CI 1.38–1.54) and 1.50 (95% CI 1.43–1.56) in unidimensional analyses, respectively. Among women aged under 25 with low education who were born outside Sweden and unmarried, the highest OR was 3.06 (2.59–3.63). The discriminatory accuracy was low for both the unidimensional model that included all sociodemographic factors (AUC 0. 563) and the intersectional model (AUC 0.571). Conclusions: The intersectional approach revealed a complex sociodemographic pattern of SGA risk. Sociodemographic factors have a low accuracy in identifying SGA at the individual level, even when quantifying their multi-dimensional intersections. This cautions against interventions targeted to individuals belonging to socially defined groups to reduce social inequalities in SGA risk.
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4. |
- Brydsten, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Young people's labour market patterns and later mental health : A sequence analysis exploring the role of region of origin for young people's labour market trajectories and mental health
- 2020
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In: SSM - Population Health. - : Elsevier. - 2352-8273. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: This study used Swedish longitudinal register data to identify clusters of trajectories in labourmarket positions from young adulthood to mid-life, analyse the trajectory cluster composition regarding regionof origin, and to examine if the trajectories was associated with mid-life mental ill health.Method: A cohort of 98 634 individuals (at age 20, 1998) were followed yearly across 18 years, of whom 23.4%were foreign-born or second-generation migrants. Sequence Analysis with Hierarchical Cluster Analysis was usedto map individual labour market trajectories (age 20–37) and identify clusters of trajectories, and logisticregression to assess the association between trajectories and mental ill health in mid-life (age 36 to 38). Labour market states were constructed by main source of income, while mental health was operationalised as hospitaladmission for psychiatric care or receiving a psychiatric diagnosis at a health centre. Early-life course factors andprevious health status was included as covariates.Results: Four clusters of trajectories were identified, separately for women and men, reflecting a rapid labourmarket entry with stable employment (T1), higher education into stable employment (T2), turbulence withseveral transitions between states (T3), and turbulence into labour market exclusion (T4). Migrants and secondgenerationmigrants were more often found in trajectory 3 and 4 than native-born, and these trajectories werealso associated with poor mental health in mid-life.Conclusion: Migrants showed more turbulent transitions between labour market states than natives, and moreoften found in trajectories with long-term instability and labour market exclusion. Furthermore, the risk ofmental ill health in mid-life were higher among trajectories more frequent among migrants.
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5. |
- Chen, Hua, et al.
(author)
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Bereavement and Prognosis in Heart Failure : A Swedish Cohort Study
- 2022
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In: JACC. Heart failure. - : Elsevier BV. - 2213-1779 .- 2213-1787. ; 10:10, s. 753-764
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The role of stress in the prognosis of heart failure (HF) is unclear. This study investigated whether the death of a close family member, a severe source of stress, is associated with mortality in HF.Objectives: This study assessed whether the death of a close family member is associated with mortality in HF.Methods: Patients from the Swedish Heart Failure Registry during 2000-2018 and/or in the Swedish Patient Register with a primary diagnosis of HF during 1987-2018 (N = 490,527) were included in this study. Information was obtained on death of family members (children, partner, grandchildren, siblings, and parents), mortality, sociodemographic variables, and health-related factors from several population-based registers. The association between bereavement and mortality was analyzed by using Poisson regression.Results: Loss of a family member was associated with an increased risk of dying (adjusted relative risk: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.27-1.30). The association was present not only in case of the family member's cardiovascular deaths and other natural deaths but also in case of unnatural deaths. The risk was higher for 2 losses than for 1 loss and highest in the first week after the loss. The association between bereavement and an increased mortality risk was observed for the death of a child, spouse/partner, grandchild, and sibling but not of a parent.Conclusions: Death of a family member was associated with an increased risk of mortality among patients with HF. Further studies are needed to investigate whether less severe sources of stress can also contribute to poor prognosis in HF and to explore the mechanisms underlying this association.
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6. |
- Chen, Hua, et al.
(author)
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Bereavement in childhood and young adulthood and the risk of atrial fibrillation : a population-based cohort study from Denmark and Sweden
- 2023
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In: BMC Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1741-7015. ; 21
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Adverse childhood life events are associated with increased risks of hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and stroke later in life. Limited evidence also suggests that stress in adulthood may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Whether childhood adversity may lead to the development of AF is unknown. We investigated whether the loss of a parent or sibling in childhood is associated with an increased risk of AF and compared this effect to that of similar losses in young adulthood.Methods We studied 6,394,975 live-born individuals included in the Danish (1973–2018) and Swedish Medical Birth Registers (1973–2014). We linked data from several national registers to obtain information on the death of parents and siblings and on personal and familial sociodemographic and health-related factors. We analyzed the association between bereavement and AF using Poisson regression.Results Loss of a parent or sibling was associated with an increased AF risk both when the loss occurred in childhood and in adulthood; the adjusted incident rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals were 1.24 (1.14–1.35) and 1.24 (1.16–1.33), respectively. Bereavement in childhood was associated with AF only if losses were due to cardiovascular diseases or other natural causes, while loss in adulthood was associated with AF not only in case of natural deaths, but also unnatural deaths. The associations did not differ substantially according to age at loss and whether the deceased was a parent or a sibling.Conclusions Bereavement both in childhood and in adulthood was associated with an increased AF risk.
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7. |
- Chen, Hua, et al.
(author)
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Death of a Parent and the Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke in Denmark and Sweden
- 2022
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In: JAMA Network Open. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 2574-3805. ; 5:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IMPORTANCE Increasing evidence suggests that parental death is associated with unhealthy behaviors and mental ill-health. Knowledge regarding the link between parental death and the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke remains limited.OBJECTIVES To investigate whether parental death is associated with an increased risk of IHD and stroke and whether these associations differ by the characteristics of the loss.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This population-based cohort study, involving linkages between several nationwide registers, included 3 766 918 individuals born between 1973 and 1998 in Denmark and between 1973 and 1996 in Sweden. Participants were followed up until 2016 in Denmark and 2014 in Sweden. Data were analyzed from December 2019 to May 2021.EXPOSURES Death of a parent.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Diagnosis with or death due to IHD or stroke. Poisson regression was used to analyze the associations between parental death and IHD and stroke risk.RESULTS Altogether, 48.8% of the participants were women, and 42.7% were from Denmark. A total of 523 496 individuals lost a parent during the study period (median age at loss, 25 years; IQR, 17-32 years). Parental death was associated with a 41% increased risk of IHD (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.41; 95% CI, 1.33-1.51) and a 30% increased risk of stroke [IRR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.21-1.38). The associations were observed not only if the parent died because of cardiovascular or other natural causes but also in cases of unnatural deaths. The associations were stronger when both parents had died (IHD: IRR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.59-2.21; stroke: IRR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.35-1.98) than when 1 parent had died (IHD: IRR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.28-1.47; stroke: IRR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.19-1.36) but did not differ substantially by the offspring's age at loss or the deceased parents' sex. The risk of acute myocardial infarction was highest in the first 3 months after loss.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this cohort study, parental death in the first decades of life was associated with an increased risk of IHD and stroke. The associations were observed not only in cases of parental cardiovascular and other natural deaths but also in cases of unnatural deaths. Family members and health professionals may need to pay attention to the cardiovascular disease risk among parentally bereaved individuals.
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8. |
- Chilunga, Felix Patience, et al.
(author)
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Differences in incidence, nature of symptoms, and duration of long COVID among hospitalised migrant and non-migrant patients in the Netherlands : a retrospective cohort study
- 2023
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In: The Lancet Regional Health - Europe. - 2666-7762. ; 29
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Comprehensive data on long COVID across ethnic and migrant groups are lacking. We investigated incidence, nature of symptoms, clinical predictors, and duration of long COVID among COVID-19 hospitalised patients in the Netherlands by migration background (Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan, and Surinamese origin, Others).Methods We used COVID-19 admissions and follow up data (January 2021–July 2022) from Amsterdam University Medical Centers. We calculated long COVID incidence proportions per NICE guidelines by migration background and assessed for clinical predictors via robust Poisson regressions. We then examined associations between migration background and long COVID using robust Poisson regressions and adjusted for derived clinical predictors, and other biologically relevant factors. We also assessed long COVID symptom persistence at one-yearpost-discharge.Findings 1886 patients were included. 483 patients had long COVID (26%, 95% CI 24–28%) at 12 weeks post-discharge.Symptoms like dizziness, joint pain, insomnia, and headache varied by migration background. Clinical predictors of long COVID were female sex, hospital admission duration, intensive care unit admission, and receiving oxygen, or corticosteroid therapy. Long COVID risk was higher among patients with migration background than Dutch origin patients after adjustments for derived clinical predictors, age, smoking, vaccination status, comorbidities and remdesivir treatment. Only 14% of long COVID symptoms persisted at one-year post-discharge.Interpretation There are significant differences in occurrence, nature of symptoms, and duration of long COVID by migration background. Studies assessing the spectrum of functional limitation and access to post-COVID healthcare are needed to help plan for appropriate and accessible health care interventions.Funding The Amsterdam UMC COVID-19 biobank is supported by the Amsterdam UMC Corona Research Fund and the Talud Foundation (Stichting Talud). The current analyses were supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation[NNF21OC0067528]
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10. |
- Dunlavy, Andrea, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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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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In: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 32:2, s. 226-232
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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12. |
- Grotta, Alessandra, et al.
(author)
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Suicide Around the Anniversary of a Parent's Death in Sweden
- 2023
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In: JAMA Network Open. - : American Medical Association. - 2574-3805. ; 6:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IMPORTANCE: Bereavement following parental death experienced in adulthood may be associated with suicide over many years, but this risk has received scant attention.OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the risk of suicide increases among adult children around the anniversary of a parent's death.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This case-crossover study used Swedish register-based longitudinal data from 1990 to 2016, based on the entire national population. Participants included all adults aged 18 to 65 years who experienced parental death and subsequently died by suicide. Conditional logistic regression was used to quantify the association between the anniversary (or preanniversary and postanniversary periods) and suicide, controlling for time-invariant confounding. All analyses were stratified by sex of the offspring. The analyses were also stratified by the sex of the deceased parent, time since parental death, age, and marital status. Data analyses were performed in June 2022.EXPOSURES: Anniversary of a parent's death (or preanniversary and postanniversary periods).MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Suicide.RESULTS: Of 7694 individuals who died by suicide (76% intentional self-harm), 2255 (29%) were women, and the median (IQR) age at suicide was 55 (47-62) years. There was evidence of an anniversary reaction among women, with a 67% increase in the odds of suicide when exposed to the period from the anniversary to 2 days after the anniversary, compared with when not being exposed (odds ratio [OR], 1.67; 95% CI, 1.07-2.62). The risk was particularly pronounced among maternally bereaved women (OR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.20-4.40) and women who were never married (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 0.99-4.37), although the latter was not statistically significant. An increased risk of suicide from the day before up to the anniversary was observed among women bereaved between the ages of 18 and 34 years (OR, 3.46; 95% CI, 1.14-10.56) and between the ages of 50 and 65 years (OR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.04-6.15). Men had an attenuated suicide risk for the period from the day before up to the anniversary (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.36-0.92).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These findings suggest that the anniversary of a parent's death is associated with an increased suicide risk among women. Women bereaved at younger or older ages, those who were maternally bereaved, and those who never married appeared to be particularly vulnerable. Families and social and health care professionals need to consider anniversary reactions in suicide prevention.
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13. |
- Hiyoshi, Ayako, 1972-, et al.
(author)
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Caregiving and changes in health-related behaviour
- 2023
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In: Social Science and Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 0277-9536 .- 1873-5347. ; 322
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Potential health risks for informal caregivers have been hypothesised to be partly related to adverse changes in health-related behaviour, but evidence is limited. We examined whether smoking, drinking, eating, physical activity or leisure pursuits change in relation to co-resident or out-of-home caregiving (for someone outside the household), and if associations differ by sex, educational attainment, and welfare state typology. We conducted a longitudinal study using six waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, collecting data repeatedly from 2004 to 2017 for adults aged 50 years and older living in 17 European countries (57,962 individuals). To control for measured and unmeasured within-individual time-invariant confounders, we used fixed effects logistic models to analyse the repeated measures of caregiving, behaviour and covariates and estimated odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Among male participants, unhealthy eating increased while smoking decreased [ORs 1.26 (95%CI 1.01-1.58) and 0.53 (0.36-0.78), respectively] in survey waves in which they provided co-resident care, compared with the waves that they did not. Among female participants, there was little change in behaviour between waves with and without co-resident caregiving. When providing out-of-home care, lacks of physical activity and leisure pursuits declined. But in the same time, drinking increased both men and women, and especially among individuals with lower educational attainment and residing in non-Nordic countries. To conclude, overall, increased drinking when providing out-of-home care was most consistent, especially among individuals with lower educational attainment and residing in non-Nordic countries. Otherwise, the associations varied by the type of care, behaviour and population subgroups. These findings indicated that not all caregivers are susceptible to behavioural changes, and that not all behaviour may be involved similarly in linking caregiving to health risks. This opens possibilities to target specific behaviour and groups to prevent adverse changes in health behaviour in caregivers.
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14. |
- Hiyoshi, Ayako, et al.
(author)
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Substance use disorder and suicide-related behaviour around dates of parental death and its anniversaries : a register-based cohort study
- 2022
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In: The Lancet Public Health. - : Elsevier BV. - 2468-2667. ; 7:8, s. e683-e693
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Parental death and its anniversaries, including anticipation of these dates, might cause distress andincrease the risk of substance use disorder and suicide-related behaviour in bereaved adolescents and young adults.We examined whether the risk of substance use disorder and suicide-related behaviour increases around the date ofparental death and subsequent anniversaries.Methods Using Swedish national registers, we conducted a cohort study of individuals aged 12–24 years. We includedindividuals aged 12–24 years between Jan 1, 2001, and Dec 31, 2014, whose parents were alive at entry (n=1 858 327)and followed up with them until the end of age 24 years. We excluded individuals with a half-sibling, a history ofemigration, a previous record of the outcome events, a parental death before study entry, two parental deaths on thesame day during the follow-up, or missing data for relevant variables. Follow-up ended on the day of an outcomeevent or on Dec 31, 2014; at age 25 years, emigration, or death; or a year before the second parental death. We studiedsubstance use disorder and suicide-related behaviour outcomes separately and included non-fatal and fatal events inboth outcomes. We used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs), controlling for baseline psychiatric,demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics. Parental death was modelled as a time-varying exposure over72 monthly periods, starting from 1 year before the parental death to the fifth year and later after the death.Unmeasured confounding was also addressed in within-individual comparisons using a case-crossover design.Findings During follow-up (median 7·5 [IQR 4·3–10·6] years), there were 42 854 substance use disorder events, witha crude rate of 3·1 per 1000 person-years. For suicide-related behaviour, there were 19 827 events, with a crude rate of1·4 per 1000 person-years. Most of the events studied were non-fatal. In the month of parental death, the HR forsubstance use disorder risk was 1·89 (95% CI 1·07–3·33) among male participants, and, for suicide-related behaviour,was 3·76 (1·79–7·89) among male participants and 2·90 (1·61–5·24) among female participants. In male participants,there was an increased risk around the first anniversary (substance use disorder: HR 2·64 [95% CI 1·56–4·46] duringthe anniversary month; 2·21 [1·25–3 ·89] for the subsequent month; and for suicide-related behaviour: 3·18[1·32–7·66] for the subsequent month). Among female participants, an increased risk of substance use disorderrecurred around every year consistently in the month before the anniversary of the death and there was an increasedrisk for suicide-related behaviour in the months of the first and second anniversaries.Interpretation Although effect sizes were large in this cohort study, the number of individuals who had the outcomeswas small. Nevertheless, adolescents and young adults, especially women and girls, who had the death of a parentshowed increased risk of substance use disorder and suicide-related behaviour around the first few death anniversaries.Adolescents and young adults, especially women and girls, who had the death of a parent could benefit from preventivemeasures to reduce distress around the first few years of death anniversaries
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15. |
- Honkaniemi, Helena, 1993-
(author)
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Mental health after migration to Sweden : The role of the social determinants of health
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)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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16. |
- Honkaniemi, Helena, 1993-, et al.
(author)
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Mental health by native-immigrant intermarriage in Sweden : a register-based retrospective cohort study
- 2022
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In: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 32:6, s. 877-883
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Native–immigrant intermarriage is often regarded as a proxy for integration, given that intermarried immigrants are more socioeconomically and culturally similar to natives than intramarried immigrants. This study aimed to assess whether integration affects mental health and care-seeking behaviours, examining prescription hazards for psychotropic medications by native–immigrant marital composition in Sweden.Methods: Total population register data were used to identify first-time married couples residing in Sweden between 31 December 2005 and 31 December 2016. Index persons were distinguished by gender and partners’ origin (native vs. immigrant), as well as by immigrants’ regions of origin, with intramarried natives as references. Using Cox regression, hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for antidepressant and anxiolytic prescriptions and adjusted for socioeconomic factors, presence of children and length and quality of marriage.Results: Intramarried immigrant women had higher psychotropic prescription hazards than intramarried native references (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.10–1.12), whereas intermarried immigrant women had equal hazards. Immigrant women’s hazards were lower than native references after adjustment. Intramarried immigrant men had the greatest prescription hazards (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.32–1.34), and intermarried immigrant men slightly higher hazards (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.10–1.13), than intramarried natives. All were partly attenuated after adjustment. Intermarriage hazards increased by similarities in regions of origin, especially among men.Conclusions: Integration indicated by intermarriage appears to be protective for the mental health of immigrants, especially for immigrant men. Future research should empirically disentangle the social, cultural and socioeconomic mechanisms underlying these health differences.
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17. |
- Honkaniemi, Helena, 1993-, et al.
(author)
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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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In: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. - : BMJ. - 0143-005X .- 1470-2738. ; 76:4, s. 367-373
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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20. |
- Juárez, Sol Pia, 1982-, et al.
(author)
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COVID-19 mortality among immigrants by duration of residence in Sweden : a population-based cohort study
- 2024
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Explanations for the disproportional COVID-19 burden among immigrants relative to host-country natives include differential exposure to the virus and susceptibility due to poor health conditions. Prior to the pandemic, immigrants displayed deteriorating health with duration of residence that may be associated with increased susceptibility over time. The aim of this study was to compare immigrant–native COVID-19 mortality by immigrants’ duration of residence to examine the role of differential susceptibility. Methods: A population-based cohort study was conducted with individuals between 18 and 100 years old registered in Sweden between 1 January 2015 and 15 June 2022. Cox regression models were run to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Inequalities in COVID-19 mortality between immigrants and the Swedish-born population in the working-age group were concentrated among those of non-Western origins and from Finland with more than 15 years in Sweden, while for those of retirement age, these groups showed higher COVID-19 mortality HRs regardless of duration of residence. Both age groups of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East showed consistently higher COVID-19 mortality HRs. For the working-age population: Africa: HR<15: 2.46, 95%CI: 1.78, 3.38; HR≥15: 1.49, 95%CI: 1.01, 2.19; and from the Middle East: HR<15: 1.20, 95%CI: 0.90, 1.60; HR≥15: 1.65, 95%CI: 1.32, 2.05. For the retirement-age population: Africa: HR<15: 3.94, 95%CI: 2.85, 5.44; HR≥15: 1.66, 95%CI: 1.32, 2.09; Middle East: HR<15: 3.27, 95%CI: 2.70, 3.97; HR≥15: 2.12, 95%CI: 1.91, 2.34. Conclusions: Differential exposure, as opposed to differential susceptibility, likely accounted for the higher COVID-19 mortality observed among those origins who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic in Sweden.
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21. |
- Juárez, Sol Pia, et al.
(author)
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Differences in hospitalizations associated with severe COVID-19 disease among foreign- and Swedish-born
- 2023
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In: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 33:3, s. 522-527
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Differences in pre-existing health conditions are hypothesized to explain immigrants' excess COVID-19 mortality compared to natives. In this study, we evaluate whether immigrants residing in Sweden before the outbreak were more likely to be hospitalized for conditions associated with severe COVID-19 disease. Methods A cohort study using population-register data was conducted with follow-up between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2017. Poisson regression was fitted to estimate incidence rate ratio (RR) and 95% confident intervals (95% CI) for 10 causes of hospitalization. Results Compared to Swedish-born individuals, most immigrant groups showed a decreased risk of hospitalization for respiratory chronic conditions, CVD, cancer, chronic liver conditions and neurological problems. All immigrant groups had increased risk of hospitalization for tuberculosis [RR between 88.49 (95% CI 77.21; 101.40) for the Horn of Africa and 1.69 (95% CI 1.11; 2.58) for North America], HIV [RR between 33.23 (95% CI 25.17; 43.88) for the rest of Africa and 1.31 (95% CI 0.93; 1.83) for the Middle East] and, with a few exceptions, also for chronic kidney conditions, diabetes and thalassemia. Conclusions Foreign-born individuals-including origins with excess COVID-19 mortality in Sweden-did not show increased risk of hospitalizations for most causes associated with severe COVID-19 disease. However, all groups showed increased risks of hospitalization for tuberculosis and HIV and, with exceptions, for chronic kidney conditions, diabetes and thalassemia. Although studies should determine whether these health conditions explain the observed excess COVID-19 mortality, our study alerts to an increased risk of hospitalization that can be avoidable via treatment or preventive measures.
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22. |
- Juárez, Sol Pia, et al.
(author)
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Explaining COVID-19 mortality among immigrants in Sweden from a social determinants of health perspective (COVIS) : protocol for a national register-based observational study
- 2023
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In: BMJ Open. - 2044-6055. ; 13:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction Adopting a social determinants of health perspective, this project aims to study how disproportionate COVID-19 mortality among immigrants in Sweden is associated with social factors operating through differential exposure to the virus (eg, by being more likely to work in high-exposure occupations) and differential effects of infection arising from socially patterned, pre-existing health conditions, differential healthcare seeking and inequitable healthcare provision. Methods and analysis This observational study will use health (eg, hospitalisations, deaths) and sociodemographic information (eg, occupation, income, social benefits) from Swedish national registers linked using unique identity numbers. The study population includes all adults registered in Sweden in the year before the start of the pandemic (2019), as well as individuals who immigrated to Sweden or turned 18 years of age after the start of the pandemic (2020). Our analyses will primarily cover the period from 31 January 2020 to 31 December 2022, with updates depending on the progression of the pandemic. We will evaluate COVID-19 mortality differences between foreign-born and Swedish-born individuals by examining each mechanism (differential exposure and effects) separately, while considering potential effect modification by country of birth and socioeconomic factors. Planned statistical modelling techniques include mediation analyses, multilevel models, Poisson regression and event history analyses. Ethics and dissemination This project has been granted all necessary ethical permissions from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Dnr 2022-0048- 01) for accessing and analysing deidentified data. The final outputs will primarily be disseminated as scientific articles published in open-access peer-reviewed international journals, as well as press releases and policy briefs.
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23. |
- Juárez, Sol P., et al.
(author)
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Health Risk Behaviours by Immigrants’ Duration of Residence : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Public Health. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1661-8556 .- 1661-8564. ; 67
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: The aim was to systematically review and synthesise international evidence on changes in health risk behaviours by immigrants’ duration of residence.Methods: We searched literature databases for peer-reviewed quantitative studies published from 2000 to 2019, examining alcohol, drug and tobacco use; physical inactivity; and dietary habits by duration of residence.Results: Narrative synthesis indicated that immigrants tend to adopt health risk behaviours with longer residence in North America, with larger variation in effect sizes and directionality in other contexts. Random-effects meta-analyses examining the pooled effect across all receiving countries and immigrant groups showed lower odds of smoking (OR 0.54, 0.46–0.63, I2 = 68.7%) and alcohol use (OR 0.61, 0.47–0.75, I2 = 93.5%) and higher odds of physical inactivity (OR 1.71, 1.40–2.02, I2 = 99.1%) among immigrants than natives, but did not provide support for a universal trend by duration of residence.Conclusion: Findings suggest that duration of residence could serve as an effective instrument to monitor immigrants’ health changes. However, differences in receiving country contex
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24. |
- Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal, et al.
(author)
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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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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 12:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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25. |
- Katikireddi, S Vittal, et al.
(author)
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Inequalities in all-cause and cause-specific mortality across the life course by wealth and income in Sweden : a register-based cohort study
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 49:3, s. 917-925
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Wealth inequalities are increasing in many countries, but their relationship to health is little studied. We investigated the association between individual wealth and mortality across the adult life course in Sweden.Methods: We studied the Swedish adult population using national registers. The amount of wealth tax paid in 1990 was the main exposure of interest and the cohort was followed up for 18 years. Relative indices of inequality (RII) summarize health inequalities across a population and were calculated for all-cause and cause-specific mortality for six different age groups, stratified by sex, using Poisson regression. Mortality inequalities by wealth were contrasted with those assessed by individual and household income. Attenuation by four other measures of socio-economic position and other covariates was investigated.Results: Large inequalities in mortality by wealth were observed and their association with mortality remained more stable across the adult life course than inequalities by income-based measures. Men experienced greater inequalities across all ages (e.g. the RII for wealth was 2.58 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.54-2.63) in men aged 55-64 years compared with 2.29 (95% CI 2.24-2.34) for women aged 55-64 years), except among the over 85s. Adjustment for covariates, including four other measures of socio-economic position, led to only modest reductions in the association between wealth and mortality.Conclusions: Wealth is strongly associated with mortality throughout the adult life course, including early adulthood. Income redistribution may be insufficient to narrow health inequalities-addressing the increasingly unequal distribution of wealth in high-income countries should be considered.
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