1.
2.
Bornehag, Carl-Gustaf, 1957-, et al.
(author)
The SELMA study : a birth cohort study in Sweden following more than 2000 mother-child pairs
2012
In: Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. - Hoboken, USA : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0269-5022 .- 1365-3016. ; 26:5, s. 456-467
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Background: This paper describes the background, aim and study design for the Swedish SELMA study that aimed to investigate the importance of early life exposure during pregnancy and infancy to environmental factors with a major focus on endocrine disrupting chemicals for multiple chronic diseases/disorders in offspring.Methods: The cohort was established by recruiting women in the 10th week of pregnancy. Blood and urine from the pregnant women and the child and air and dust from home environment from pregnancy and infancy period have been collected. Questionnaires were used to collect information on life styles, socio-economic status, living conditions, diet and medical history.Results: Of the 8394 reported pregnant women, 6658 were invited to participate in the study. Among the invited women, 2582 (39%) agreed to participate. Of the 4076 (61%) non-participants, 2091 women were invited to a non-respondent questionnaire in order to examine possible selection bias. We found a self-selection bias in the established cohort when compared with the non-participant group, e.g. participating families did smoke less (14% vs. 19%), had more frequent asthma and allergy symptoms in the family (58% vs. 38%), as well as higher education among the mothers (51% vs. 36%) and more often lived in single-family houses (67% vs. 60%).Conclusions: These findings indicate that the participating families do not fully represent the study population and thus, the exposure in this population. However, there is no obvious reason that this selection bias will have an impact on identification of environmental risk factors.
3.
Hildingsson, I., et al.
(author)
Editorial
2010
In: Sexual & Reproductive HealthCare. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-5756 .- 1877-5764. ; 1:1
Journal article (peer-reviewed)
4.
5.
Malm, Mari-Cristin, et al.
(author)
Waiting in no-man’s-land – Mothers’ experiences before the induction of labour after their baby has died in utero
2011
In: Sexual & Reproductive HealthCare. - : Elsevier. - 1877-5756 .- 1877-5764. ; 2:2, s. 51-55
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Objective: Carrying death instead of life is beyond understanding and a huge psychological challenge for apregnant mother. The aim of this study was to investigate the mothers’ experiences of the time from thediagnosis of the death of their unborn baby until induction of labour.Method: In this qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 mothers whose babieshad died prior to birth. The interviews were then analysed using content analysis.Results: The overall theme that emerged from the mothers’ experiences is understood as ‘‘waiting in noman’s-land’’, describing the feeling of being set aside from normality and put into an area which is unrecognized.Four categories were established: ‘involuntary waiting’ describes the sense of being left withoutinformation about what is to come; ‘handling the unimaginable’ concerns the confusing state of findingoneself in the worst-case scenario and yet having to deal with the birth; ‘broken expectations’ is aboutthe loss not only of the baby but also of future family life; and ‘courage to face life’ describes the determinationto go on and face reality.Conclusions: The mother’s experiences during the time after the information of their baby’s death in uterountil the induction of labour can be understood as a sense of being in no-man’s-land, waiting withoutknowing for what or for how long.
6.
7.
8.
Brennan, Donal J., et al.
(author)
Tumour-specific HMG-CoAR is an independent predictor of recurrence free survival in epithelial ovarian cancer
2010
In: BMC Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2407. ; 10, s. 125-
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Background: Our group previously reported that tumour-specific expression of the rate-limiting enzyme in the mevalonate pathway, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutharyl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoAR) is associated with more favourable tumour parameters and a good prognosis in breast cancer. In the present study, the prognostic value of HMG-CoAR expression was examined in tumours from a cohort of patients with primary epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: HMG-CoAR expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tissue microarrays (TMA) consisting of 76 ovarian cancer cases, analysed using automated algorithms to develop a quantitative scoring model. Kaplan Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards modelling were used to estimate the risk of recurrence free survival (RFS). Results: Seventy-two tumours were suitable for analysis. Cytoplasmic HMG-CoAR expression was present in 65% (n = 46) of tumours. No relationship was seen between HMG-CoAR and age, histological subtype, grade, disease stage, estrogen receptor or Ki-67 status. Patients with tumours expressing HMG-CoAR had a significantly prolonged RFS (p = 0.012). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that HMG-CoAR expression was an independent predictor of improved RFS (RR = 0.49, 95% CI (0.25-0.93); p = 0.03) when adjusted for established prognostic factors such as residual disease, tumour stage and grade. Conclusion: HMG-CoAR expression is an independent predictor of prolonged RFS in primary ovarian cancer. As HMG-CoAR inhibitors, also known as statins, have demonstrated anti-neoplastic effects in vitro, further studies are required to evaluate HMG-CoAR expression as a surrogate marker of response to statin treatment, especially in conjunction with current chemotherapeutic regimens.
9.
Carlsson, Ing-Marie, 1961-, et al.
(author)
Maintaining power : women's experiences from labour onset before admittance to maternity ward
2012
In: Midwifery. - Oxon, United Kingdom : Elsevier. - 0266-6138 .- 1532-3099. ; 28:1, s. 86-92
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Background: in Sweden pregnant women are encouraged to remain at home until the active phase of labour. Recommendation is based on evidence, that women who seek care and are admitted in the latent phase of labour are subjected to more obstetric interventions and suffer more complications than women who remain at home until the active phase of labour. The aim of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of how women, who remain at home until the active phase of labour, experience the period from labour onset until admission to labour ward.Method: interviews were conducted with 19 women after they had given birth to their first child. A Constructivist Grounded theory method was used.Findings: ‘Maintaining power’ was identified as the core category, explaining the women's experience of having enough power, when the labour started. Four related categories: ‘to share the experience with another’, ‘to listen to the rhythm of the body’, ‘to distract oneself’ and ‘to be encased in a glass vessel’, explained how the women coped and thereby maintained power.Conclusions: the first time mothers in this study, who managed to stay at home during the latent phase of labour, had a sense of power that was expressed as a driving force towards the birth, a bodily and mental strength and the right to decide over their own bodies. This implies that women who maintain power have the ability to make choices during the birth process. The professionals need to be sensitive, supportive and respectful to women's own preferences in the health-care encounter, to promote the existing power throughout the birthing process.
10.
Bråbäck, Lennart, et al.
(author)
Confounding with familial determinants affects the association between mode of delivery and childhood asthma medication : a national cohort study
2013
In: Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology. - : BioMed Central. - 1710-1484 .- 1710-1492. ; 9:1, s. 14-
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
BACKGROUND: Mode of delivery may affect the risk of asthma but the findings have not been consistent and factors shared by siblings may confound the associations in previous studies. METHODS: The association between mode of delivery and dispensed inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) (a marker of asthma) was examined in a register based national cohort (n=199 837). A cohort analysis of all first born children aged 2-5 and 6-9 years was performed. An age-matched sibling-pair analysis was also performed to account for shared genetic and environmental risk factors. RESULTS: Analyses of first-borns demonstrated that elective caesarean section was associated with an increased risk of dispensed ICS in both 2-5 (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-1.29) and 6-9 (aOR=1.21, 1.09-1.34) age groups. In the sibling-pair analysis, the increased risk associated with elective caesarean section was confirmed in 2-5 year olds (aOR=1.22, 1.05-1.43) but not in 6-9 year olds (aOR=1.06, 0.78-1.44). Emergency caesarean section and vacuum extraction had some association with dispensed ICS in the analyses of first-borns but these associations were not confirmed in the sibling-pair analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Confounding by familial factors affects the association between mode of delivery and dispensed ICS. Despite this confounding, there was some evidence that elective caesarean section contributed to a modestly increased risk of dispensed ICS but only up to five years of age.
