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- Lindqvist, Pelle G., et al.
(author)
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Are active sun exposure habits related to lowering risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women, a prospective cohort study?
- 2010
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In: Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-8227 .- 0168-8227. ; 90:1, s. 109-114
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim An inverse relationship exists between vitamin D levels and diabetes mellitus However, little is known about the correlation of sun exposure habits and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) Methods A South Swedish cohort study comprising 1000 women from each age group between 25 and 64 (n = 40,000) drawn from the Southern Swedish population registry 1990-1992 At the inception of the study 74% answered the inquiry (n = 29,518) and provided detailed information on their sun exposure habits and other variables A follow-up inquiry was sent 2000-2002 which 24,098 women answered The mean follow-up time was 11 years Logistic regression analysis was used and the main outcome was the relationship between type 2 DM and sun exposure habits. Results Our findings indicated that women with active sun exposure habits were at a 30% lower risk of having DM, as compared to those with non-active habits. There was an inverse relation between this risk reduction and BMI Conclusion Our investigation gives possible epidemiological explanation to ethnic and seasonal differences in type 2 DM and metabolic control The study supports that sunlight is involved in the glucose metabolism (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd All rights reserved.
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- Lindqvist, Pelle G., et al.
(author)
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Women with fair phenotypes seem to confer a survival advantage in a low UV milieu. A nested matched case control study
- 2020
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In: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 15:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Sun exposure in combination with skin pigmentation is the main determinant for vitamin D status. Human skin color seems to be adapted and optimized for regional sun ultraviolet (UV) intensity. However, we do not know if fair, UV-sensitive skin is a survival advantage in regions with low UV radiation. Methods A population-based nested case-control study of 29,518 Caucasian women, ages 25 to 64 years from Southern Sweden who responded to a questionnaire regarding risk-factors for malignant melanoma in 1990 and followed for 25 years. For each fair woman, defined as having red hair or freckles (n = 11,993), a control was randomly selected from all non-fair women from within the cohort of similar age, smoking habits, education, marital status, income, and comorbidity, i.e., 11,993 pairs. The main outcome was the difference in allcause mortality between fair and non-fair women in a low UV milieu, defined as living in Sweden and having low-to-moderate sun exposure habits. Secondary outcomes were mortality by sun exposure, and among those non-overweight. Results In a low UV milieu, fair women were at a significantly lower all-cause mortality risk as compared to non-fair women (log rank test p = 0.04) with an 8% lower all-cause mortality rate (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.92, 95% CI 0.84-1.0), including a 59% greater risk of dying from skin cancer among fair women (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.26-2.0). Thus, it seem that the beneficial health effect from low skin coloration outweigh the risk of skin cancer at high latitudes. Conclusion In a region with low UV milieu, evolution seems to improve all-cause survival by selecting a fair skin phenotype, i.e., comprising fair women with a survival advantage.
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3. |
- Ahlerup, Pelle, 1977, et al.
(author)
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Social Capital vs Institutions in the Growth Process
- 2007
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Is social capital always important for economic growth? A number of recent micro studies suggest that interpersonal trust and social capital will have its greatest impact on economic performance when court institutions are relatively weak. The conventional wisdom from macro studies, however, is that social capital is unconditionally good for growth. On the basis of the micro evidence, we outline an investment game between a producer and a lender in an incomplete-contracts setting. A key insight is that social capital will have the greatest e¤ect on the total surplus from the game at lower levels of institutional strength and that the effect of social capital vanishes when institutions are very strong. When we bring this prediction to an empirical cross-country growth regression, it is shown that the marginal e¤ect of social capital (in the form of inter- personal trust) decreases with institutional strength. Our results imply that a one standard deviation rise in social capital in weakly institutionalized Nigeria should increase economic growth by 1.8 percentage points, whereas the same increase in social capital only increases growth by 0.3 percentage points in strongly institutionalized Canada.
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4. |
- Ahlerup, Pelle, 1977, et al.
(author)
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Sustainable Economic Growth: A Critical Assessment of SDG 8.1
- 2023
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this report, we focus on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 8.1, stipulating that countries should pursue real GDP per capita growth rates that are in accordance with their national circumstances and that total GDP should grow by more than seven percent a year in the least developed countries. We start by briefly discussing the background of this target and then review some of the existing research on economic growth across the world, starting with growth theory and its predictions concerning the convergence of growth rates and income levels in the short and long term. We also review the extensive empirical work on cross-country income and growth regressions that have accumulated during the last three decades, focusing on recent (pre-covid) and historical patterns regarding the fulfillment of the SDG 8.1 targets. We show that a growth rate in total GDP of seven percent per year has only been observed in about 10 percent of all available country-year observations over history. Growth rates exceeding seven percent were relatively frequent among poor countries during 2000-2009 but not during 2009-2019. Since 2000, the relatively high average growth rates among poor countries have implied that their income levels have steadily converged towards those of richer countries, although at a slow pace. This pattern is manifested in longer periods of sustained growth episodes in poor countries and can probably be explained by successful policy reforms. We also show that about a third of all countries managed to have positive economic growth during 2010-19 while at the same time decreasing their emissions of CO2 from production (decoupling). For poor and rich countries alike, the growth prospects post-covid and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are uncertain.
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5. |
- Ahlerup, Pelle, 1977, et al.
(author)
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The Roots of Ethnic Diversity
- 2007
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The level of ethnic diversity is believed to have significant consequences for economic and political development within countries. In this article, we provide a theoretical and empirical analysis of the determinants of ethnic diversity in the world. We introduce a model of cultural and genetic drift where new ethnic groups endogenously emerge among peripheral populations as a response to an insufficient supply of public goods. In line with our model, we find that the duration of human settlements has a strong positive association with ethnic diversity. Ethnic diversity decreases with the length of modern state experience and with distance from the equator. Both "primordial" and "constructivist" hypotheses of ethnic fractionalization thus receive some support by our analysis.
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6. |
- Ahlerup, Pelle, 1977, et al.
(author)
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The Roots of Ethnic Diversity
- 2012
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In: Journal of Economic Growth. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1381-4338 .- 1573-7020. ; 17:2, s. 71-102
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The level of ethnic diversity is believed to have significant consequences for economic and political development within countries. In this article, we provide a theoretical and empirical analysis of the determinants of ethnolinguistic diversity in the world. We introduce a model of cultural and genetic drift where new groups endogenously emerge among peripheral populations in response to an insufficient supply of collective goods. In line with our model, we find that the duration of human settlements since prehistoric times has a strong positive association with current levels of ethnolinguistic diversity. Diversity is further negatively correlated with the length of modern state experience and with distance from the equator. Our results are thus consistent with both “evolutionary” and “constructivist” hypotheses of ethnolinguistic fractionalization.
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9. |
- Epstein, Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
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A population-based cohort study on sun habits and endometrial cancer.
- 2009
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In: British Journal of Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1532-1827 .- 0007-0920. ; 101, s. 537-540
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background:No large cohort study has examined the risk of endometrial cancer in relation to sun exposure.Methods:A population-based cohort study of 29 508 women who answered a questionnaire in 1990-92, of whom 24 098 responded to a follow-up enquiry in 2000-02. They were followed for an average of 15.5 years.Results:Among the 17 822 postmenopausal women included, 166 cases of endometrial cancer were diagnosed. We used a multivariate Cox regression analysis adjusting for age and other selected demographic variables to determine the risk of endometrial cancer. Women using sun beds >3 times per year reduced their hazard risk (HR) by 40% (0.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.4-0.9) or by 50% when adjusting for body mass index or physical activity (HR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.9), and those women who were sunbathing during summer reduced their risk by 20% (HR 0.8 95% CI 0.5-1.5) compared with women who did not expose themselves to the sun or to artificial sun (i.e., sun beds).Conclusion:Exposure to artificial sun by the use of sun beds >3 times per year was associated with a 40% reduction in the risk of endometrial cancer, probably by improving the vitamin D levels during winter.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 23 June 2009; doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605149 www.bjcancer.com.
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10. |
- Epstein, Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
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A population-based cohort study on the use of hormone treatment and endometrial cancer in southern Sweden.
- 2009
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 125, s. 421-425
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Our aim was to determine the risk of endometrial cancer associated with long-term use of combined hormone therapy (HT) and low-potency estrogens. In this prospective population-based cohort, 40,000 women aged 25-64 years, without prior cancer or hysterectomy, were included. The women answered 2 questionnaires at a 10-year interval regarding HT use and personal details. Women were followed up for an average of 15.5 years through the National Cancer and Causes of Death Registry, representing 236,611 women years. Among the 17,822 postmenopausal women included, 166 cases of endometrial cancer were diagnosed. Only use of combined HT was related to a decreased risk of endometrial cancer (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.8), the protective effect was found after 2 years, and increased with extended duration of use. "Only use" of low-potency estrogens increased the risk of endometrial cancer almost to the same extent as use of high-potency estrogens (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.6 vs. OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.3-4.8), the increased risk was confined to non-obese women in both groups. The risk was significantly increased for oral but not for local low-potency estrogen users (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-3.6 vs. OR 1.5, 95% CI 0.4-6.2, respectively). In long-term estrogen users the risk was highest during the first 2 years, dropping slightly thereafter. Since low-potency estrogen use increases the risk of endometrial cancer almost as much as high-potency estrogen use, they should only be given if medically indicated. (c) 2009 UICC.
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