| 1. |
- Andersén, Heidi, et al.
(author)
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Is there still a social gradient in respiratory symptoms? A population-based nordic EpiLung-study
- 2024
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In: Respiratory Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 0954-6111 .- 1532-3064. ; 223
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Respiratory symptoms are a common public health issue that can partly be attributed to preventable risk factors, such as tobacco smoking and occupational exposure, which are more common in individuals with lower socioeconomic status.Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the social gradient in respiratory symptoms in Nordic countries.Methods: This study included participants aged 30–65 years from five cross-sectional population-based questionnaire surveys in 2016 in Finland and Sweden (N = 25,423) and in 2017–2019 in Norway (N = 27,107). Occupational skill levels 1 and 2 (occupations requiring compulsory education) were combined and compared to skill levels 3 and 4 (occupations requiring upper secondary and tertiary education). Meta-analysis was conducted to obtain pooled age- and sex adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of associations between occupational skill and the respiratory symptoms including recurrent wheeze, dyspnoea, and productive cough.Results: In the meta-analysis, recurrent wheeze, dyspnoea, and productive cough showed a social gradient. The participants with occupational skill 1 and 2 had higher risk for recurrent wheeze (aOR 1.78, 95% CI 1.34–2.22) and dyspnoea (aOR 1.59, 95% CI 1.29–1.90) compared to occupational skill 3 and 4 in Sweden and Finland. Similarly increased risk was observed for combined assessment of dyspnoea and wheeze (aOR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03–1.07) in Norway. In a meta-analysis including all three countries, the aOR for productive cough was 1.31 95% CI 1.07–1.56.Conclusions: Occupations with lower, compared to higher, skill levels were associated with an increased risk of recurrent wheeze, dyspnoea, and productive cough.
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| 2. |
- Backman, Helena, et al.
(author)
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Level of Education Modifies Asthma Mortality in Norway and Sweden. The Nordic EpiLung Study
- 2024
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In: JOURNAL OF ASTHMA AND ALLERGY. - : Dove Medical Press. - 1178-6965. ; 17, s. 209-218
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and Aim: The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), asthma and mortality is complex and multifaceted, and it is not established if educational level modifies the association between asthma and mortality. The aim was to study the association between asthma and mortality in Sweden and Norway and to what extent educational level modifies this association. Participants and Methods: Within the Nordic EpiLung Study, >56,000 individuals aged 30-69 years participated in population -based surveys on asthma and associated risk factors in Sweden and Norway during 2005-2007. Data on educational level and 10-year all -cause mortality were linked by national authorities. The fraction of mortality risk attributable to asthma was calculated, and Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for mortality related to asthma, stratified by educational level. Results: In total, 5.5% of all deaths was attributed to asthma. When adjusted for potential confounders, the HR for mortality related to asthma was 1.71 (95% CI 1.52-1.93). Those with primary level of education had higher hazard of all -cause death related to asthma than those with tertiary level (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.48-2.18, vs HR 1.39, 95% CI 0.99-1.95). Conclusion: Asthma was associated with an overall 71% increased all -cause mortality and 5.5% of deaths can be attributed to asthma. Educational levels modified the risk of mortality associated with asthma, with the highest risk among those with primary education.
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| 3. |
- Gong, Tong, et al.
(author)
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The genetic architecture of dog ownership : large-scale genome-wide association study in 97,552 European-ancestry individuals.
- 2024
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In: G3. - 2160-1836.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dog ownership has been associated with several complex traits and there is evidence of genetic influence. We performed a genome-wide association study of dog ownership through meta-analysis of 31,566 Swedish twins in five discovery cohorts and additional 65,986 European-ancestry individuals in three replication cohorts from Sweden, Norway, and the UK. Association test with >7.4 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms were meta-analyzed using a fixed effect model after controlling for population structure and relatedness. We identified two suggestive loci using discovery cohorts, which did not reach genome-wide significance after meta-analysis with replication cohorts. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms-based heritability of dog ownership using linkage disequilibrium score regression was estimated at 0.123 (CI 0.038-0.207) using the discovery cohorts and 0.018 (CI -0.002, 0.039) when adding in replication cohorts. Negative genetic correlation with complex traits including type 2 diabetes, depression, neuroticism and asthma was only found using discovery summary data. Furthermore, we did not identify any genes/gene-sets reaching even suggestive level of significance. This genome-wide association study does not, by itself, provide clear evidence on common genetic variants that influence the dog ownership among European-ancestry individuals.
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| 4. |
- Khalili, Bita, et al.
(author)
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Associations between common genetic variants and income provide insights about the socioeconomic health gradient
- 2024
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on income among individuals of European descent and leveraged the results to investigate the socio-economic health gradient (N=668,288). We found 162 genomic loci associated with a common genetic factor underlying various income measures, all with small effect sizes. Our GWAS-derived polygenic index captures 1 - 4% of income variance, with only one-fourth attributed to direct genetic effects. A phenome-wide association study using this polygenic index showed reduced risks for a broad spectrum of diseases, including hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, coronary atherosclerosis, depression, asthma, and back pain. The income factor showed a substantial genetic correlation (0.92, s.e. = .006) with educational attainment (EA). Accounting for EA's genetic overlap with income revealed that the remaining genetic signal for higher income related to better mental health but reduced physical health benefits and increased participation in risky behaviours such as drinking and smoking.
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