| 1. |
- Ohlsson, Lina, et al.
(författare)
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Lymph node CEA and MUC2 mRNA as useful predictors of outcome in colorectal cancer
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 130:8, s. 1833-1843
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim was to explore the utility for staging and prognostic impact of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 20 (CK20), guanylyl cyclase C (GCC), CUB (complement protein subcomponents C1r/C1s, urchin embryonic growth factor, and bone morphogenic protein 1) containing domain protein 1 (CDCP1) and mucin 2 (MUC2) mRNA levels in mesenteric lymph nodes of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Lymph nodes were collected at surgery and bisected; one half was subjected to biomarker mRNA analysis using real-time quantitative RT-PCR and the other half to routine histopathology. Lymph nodes from 174 CRC patients and 24 controls were analyzed. The median follow-up time was 59 (range 17-131) months. Cut-off levels were defined by analyzing quintiles by Cox regression model. CEA mRNA showed the best discriminating power between patients with recurrence in CRC after surgery and patients who were apparently disease-free (p = 0.015). The risk of recurrence for the CEA(+) patients was 4.6 times greater than for the CEA(-) patients (p < 0.0001). The other biomarkers gave lower hazard ratios. Cumulative survival analysis demonstrated that the average survival time was 99 months for CEA(-) patients compared to 39 months for CEA(+) patients, a difference of 60 months (p < 0.0001). Six to nine percent of the Stage I and Stage II patients [H&E(-)] had CEA(+), CK20(+), GCC(+) and/or MUC2(+) lymph nodes. Two of these patients died from recurrent CRC. Low lymph node MUC2/CEA mRNA ratio identified patients with high risk for recurrence (p = 0.011). Thus, quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of CEA mRNA is a sensitive method to identify tumor cells in lymph nodes of CRC patients and, in combination with MUC2 mRNA, allows improved prediction of clinical outcome.
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| 2. |
- Ohlsson, Lina, et al.
(författare)
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Lymph node tissue kallikrein-related peptidase 6 mRNA : a progression marker for colorectal cancer
- 2012
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Ingår i: British Journal of Cancer. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0007-0920 .- 1532-1827. ; 107:1, s. 150-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:A most important characteristic feature for poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC) is the presence of lymph node metastasis. Determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) mRNA levels in lymph nodes has proven powerful for quantification of disseminated tumour cells. Here, we investigate the utility of human tissue kallikrein-related peptidase 6 (KLK6) mRNA as a progression biomarker to complement CEA mRNA, for improved selection of patients in need of adjuvant therapy and intensified follow-up after surgery.Methods:Lymph nodes of pTNM stage I-IV CRC- (166 patients/503 lymph nodes) and control (23/108) patients were collected at surgery and analysed by quantitative RT–PCR.Results:Lymph node KLK6 positivity was an indicator of poor outcome (hazard ratio 3.7). Risk of recurrence and cancer death increased with KLK6 lymph node levels. Patients with KLK6 lymph node levels above the 90th percentile had a hazard ratio of 6.5 and 76 months shorter average survival time compared to patients with KLK6 negative nodes. The KLK6 positivity in lymph nodes with few tumour cells, that is, low CEA mRNA levels, also indicated poor prognosis (hazard ratio 2.8).Conclusion:In CRC patients, lymph node KLK6 positivity indicated presence of aggressive tumour cells associated with poor prognosis and high risk of tumour recurrence.
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| 3. |
- Alex, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Beyond a Dichotomous View of the Concepts of 'Sex' and 'Gender' Focus Group Discussions among Gender Researchers at a Medical Faculty
- 2012
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public library of science. - 1932-6203. ; 7:11, s. e50275-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The concepts of 'sex' and 'gender' are both of vital importance in medicine and health sciences. However, the meaning of these concepts has seldom been discussed in the medical literature. The aim of this study was to explore what the concepts of 'sex' and 'gender' meant for gender researchers based in a medical faculty. Methods: Sixteen researchers took part in focus group discussions. The analysis was performed in several steps. The participating researchers read the text and discussed ideas for analysis in national and international workshops. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The authors performed independent preliminary analyses, which were further developed and intensively discussed between the authors. Results: The analysis of meanings of the concepts of 'sex' and 'gender' for gender researchers based in a medical faculty resulted in three categories; "Sex as more than biology", with the subcategories 'sex' is not simply biological, 'sex' as classification, and 'sex' as fluid and changeable; "Gender as a multiplicity of power-related constructions", with the subcategories: 'gender' as constructions, 'gender' power dimensions, and 'gender' as doing femininities and masculinities; "'Sex and gender as interwoven", with the subcategories: 'sex' and 'gender' as inseparable and embodying 'sex' and 'gender'. Conclusions: Gender researchers within medicine pointed out the importance of looking beyond a dichotomous view of the concepts of 'sex' and 'gender'. The perception of the concepts was that 'sex' and 'gender' were intertwined. Further research is needed to explore how 'sex' and 'gender' interact.
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| 4. |
- Aléx, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Reflections of men and women in advanced old age on being the other sex
- 2010
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Ingår i: Ageing & Society. - 0144-686X .- 1469-1779. ; 30:2, s. 193-206
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study reported in this paper is part of the Umeå 85+ project in Sweden. The aim was to investigate gender perspectives among ‘the oldest old’, by asking men and women in advanced old age living in a sparsely populated area of northern Sweden to reflect on how life might have been if they had been born the other sex. Thematic narratives from nine men and seven women were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The content of these narratives was resolved into eight categories in two domains, respectively men's and women's reflections about being born the opposite sex. The narratives of both the men and women indicated that they were satisfied with their actual birth sex. The men were aware that if they had been born female, they would probably have experienced more hard work and had a more restricted life, and they were conscious of both women's relative powerlessness and their greater ability to manage and organise work within the home. The women's narratives described a femininity characterised by longing for a state of being unconcerned when young, and their narratives also displayed awareness of women's physical strength and that men's lives had also been hard.
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| 5. |
- Annandale, E, et al.
(författare)
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Constructing the "gender-specific body" : a critical discourse analysis of publications in the field of gender-specific medicine
- 2011
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Ingår i: Health. - London : Sage publicationd ltd. ; 15:6, s. 571-587
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gender-specific medicine, a new and increasingly influential ethos within medical research and practice, has received little critical attention to date. The objective of this article is to critically examine the attributes of gender-specific medicine as imparted by its advocates. Through a critical discourse analysis of its two leading academic journals, we identify five interrelated discourses: of male/female difference; of hegemonic biology; of men's disadvantages; of biological and social reductionism; and of the fragmented body. Together these comprise a master discourse of the 'gender-specific body'. The discourse of the 'gender-specific body' is discussed in relation to the current neoliberal political agenda which frames healthcare as a market good and locates health and illness in individual bodies rather than in the wider social arrangements of society. We argue that the 'gender-specific body' threatens not only to turn back the clock to a vision of the biological body as fixed and determinate, but to extend this ever deeper into the social imagination. Lost in the process is any meaningful sense of the human body as a relatively open system which develops in interaction with its social world. We propose that, as it gains momentum, the 'gender-specific body' is likely progressively to circumscribe our thinking about the health of women and men in potentially problematic ways.
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| 6. |
- Bohlin, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Perceived gender inequality in the couple relationship and musculoskeletal pain in middle-aged women and men
- 2013
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 41:8, s. 825-831
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: Musculoskeletal pain is a major health problem, especially in women, and is partially determined by psychosocial factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether gender inequality in the couple relationship was related to musculoskeletal pain. Methods: Participants (n=721; 364 women and 357 men) were all individuals living in a couple relationship in the Northern Swedish Cohort, a 26-year Swedish cohort study. Self-administered questionnaire data at age 42 years comprised perceived gender inequality in the couple relationship and musculoskeletal pain (in three locations, summarised into one score and median-split), concurrent demographic factors, psychological distress, and previous musculoskeletal pain at age 30 years. Associations were examined using logistic regression. Results: Gender inequality was positively associated with symptoms of musculoskeletal pain in the total sample, remaining significant after addition of possible confounders and of previous musculoskeletal pain. Separate adjustment for concurrent psychological distress attenuated the association but not below significance. The association was present and of comparable strength in both women and men. Conclusions: Gender inequality in the couple relationship might contribute to the experience of musculoskeletal pain in both women and men. The results highlight the potential adverse bodily consequences of living in unequal relationships.
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| 7. |
- Brännlund, Annica, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Education and health-lifestyle among men and women in Sweden : a 27-year prospective cohort study
- 2013
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 41:3, s. 284-292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Previous research has found a positive association between health-behaviour and health. Only a few longitudinalstudies have been performed, and as far as we found, none have followed a cohort for 27 years. Methods: This study used acohort study, the “Northern Swedish Cohort”, which consisted of all graduates, n = 1080, from a compulsory school in aSwedish town. Data were collected with a comprehensive questionnaire; response rate 96.4%. Health-behaviour was analysedwith binary logistic regression, with health-behaviour at age 21, 30 and 43 years as dependent variable. Besides baselinehealth-behaviour, gender, somatic and psychological health and socioeconomic background, the analyses were adjustedfor work situation and social network. Results: The main findings were that education reduces the probability of unhealthybehaviour over the life course, which held after controlling for early life health-behaviour and possible confounders. Thegeneral education effect on health-behaviour was stronger among men than among women. Conclusions: Higher educationreduces the probability of unhealthy behavior. Thus, investments in higher education should be an important public goal.
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| 8. |
- Brännlund, Annica, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Higher education and psychological distress : a 27-year prospective cohort study in Sweden
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 42:2, s. 155-162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: Research identifies a positive link between education and a reduction of psychological distress, but few studies have analysed the long-term impact of education on psychological distress. This study followed the same cohort for 27 years, investigating the association between education and adult psychological distress. Further, it discuss whether the link can be understood through the mediating mechanisms of social and labour-market resources, furthermore, if the mechanisms operate differently for men and women. Method: A 27-year prospective cohort study was performed at ages 16, 18, 21, 30 and 43. The cohort consisted of all students (n = 1083, of which 1001 are included in this study) in their final year of compulsory school in Sweden. Data were collected through comprehensive questionnaires (response rate 96.4%), and analysed with OLS regression, with psychological distress at age 21, 30 and 43 as dependent variable. Baseline psychological distress, measures of social and labour-market resources, and possible educational selection factors were used as independent variables. To compare the overall magnitude of educational differences, a kappa index was calculated. Results: A positive relation between higher education and less psychological distress was found. When becoming older this relation weakens and a link between social and labour-market resources and psychological distress is observed, indicating that education in a long-term perspective operates through the suggested mechanisms. Additionally, the mechanisms work somewhat differently for men than for women: labour-market resources were significant for men and social resources were important for women. Conclusions: Main findings: higher education is positively linked to less psychological distress, and the link can somewhat be understood through the mechanisms of social and labour-market resources.
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| 9. |
- Christianson, Monica, et al.
(författare)
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Sex and gender traps and springboards : a focus group study among gender researchers in medicine and health sciences
- 2012
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Ingår i: Health Care for Women International. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 0739-9332 .- 1096-4665. ; 33:8, s. 739-755
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We explored the difficulties that gender researchers encounter in their research and the strategies they use for solving these problems. Sixteen Swedish researchers, all women, took part in focus group discussions; the data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The problems reported fell into four main categories: the ambiguity of the concepts of sex and gender; traps associated with dichotomization; difficulties with communication; and issues around publication. Categories of suggested problem-solving strategies were adaptation, pragmatism, addressing the complexities, and definition of terms. Here the specific views of gender researchers in medicine and health sciences-"medical insiders"-bring new challenges into focus.
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| 10. |
- Delfabbro, Paul H., et al.
(författare)
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Body image and psychological well-being in adolescents : the relationship between gender and school type
- 2011
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Ingår i: The Journal of Genetic Psychology. - : Routledge. - 0022-1325 .- 1940-0896. ; 172:1, s. 67-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Adolescents (N = 1,281; M age = 15.2 years, SD = 0.51 years) from a state-wide sample of schools provided information about their psychological well-being, family functioning, extraversion, and perceived physical attractiveness and weight, using a questionnaire completed at school. Consistent with previous research, girls were significantly more likely than boys to be dissatisfied with their weight and physical appearance, and these factors explained significantly more variation in self-esteem than in life satisfaction or other measures of psychological well-being. The strong relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem for adolescent girls was not moderated by school type (single sex or educational). However, girls who were dissatisfied but psychologically well adjusted tended to be more extraverted, have more close friends and receive greater family support.
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