Scandinavian Journal of Public Health最新文献

Aims: Several studies suggest that ethnic minorities are at higher risk of experiencing long COVID compared to majority populations. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the experiences of accessing care, diagnosis and rehabilitation among patients with long COVID in a multiethnic population in Denmark.

Methods: We carried out 18 semi-structured interviews with individuals of Danish, Turkish and Moroccan background who were diagnosed with long COVID. Informants were sampled purposively to secure variation in sex, age, country of origin and immigration status. Our interview guide was developed using the theoretical framework of candidacy. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, member checked and subsequently analyzed using thematic framework analysis and NVivo software.

Results: Our findings show that accessing care and rehabilitation for long COVID was difficult regardless of ethnic background. Following the novelty of COVID-19 and thus uncertainty of long COVID, informants had to self-advocate and navigate established and alternative healthcare services by themselves. Additionally, patients with Moroccan and Turkish minority background had to contend with experiences of differential treatment and of having their motives for seeking help questioned, while also finding it harder to benefit from the rehabilitation measures offered.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates how the emergence of a new viral disease with unknown long-term sequelae resulted in a group of patients who largely carried the burden of getting better by themselves. Yet patients with an ethnic minority background experienced additional, worrying barriers. More research into relevant diagnosis, care and support for all long COVID patients is needed, especially among ethnic minorities.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with dog-related injuries by analysing data collected from 5908 patients seeking treatment at healthcare facilities in Skaraborg district, Sweden, over the years 2001-2016.

Methods: To describe factors associated with dog-related injuries, we analysed variables from four categories: people, that is, characteristics (gender and ages) of the patients who were injured; the circumstances in which the injuries occurred; the causes and types of injuries caused by dogs (injury mechanisms); and whether the injuries resulted in hospitalisation.

Results: Most injuries occurred in residential settings (58%). Half of the reported injuries (n=2954) were due to dog bites, with the same number of patients who were injured in non-bite-related events, comprising a second group. Injury mechanisms for dog-related injuries other than bites varied, as did locations where the various injuries occurred. However, slightly more than half of all non-bite-related injuries were caused by falls, especially falls on the same level involving slips and trips (n= 831, 55.3% of all fall-related injuries). Dog bites were the primary injury cause for younger groups, while non-bite injuries were the leading injury cause for adults aged 45 years and older.

Conclusions: The study showed that men and younger age groups were more likely to be injured via dog bites, while older women were more likely to be injured by tripping or falling over dogs. These findings imply that separate injury prevention strategies are required to address the different factors associated with both injury types.

Aims: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the following lockdown enforced substantial lifestyle changes in people's everyday lives. This study aimed to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 restrictions on the ageing women's mental, social and physical well-being.

Methods: Data were collected through two postal questionnaires. Baseline data were obtained in May-June 2019, prior to the pandemic. A follow-up survey was mailed to 760 eligible participants in August-September 2020; 571 women (75.1%) responded, forming the final cohort. The cohort comprised community-dwelling women born between 1932 and 1941 (mean age 82.5 years). Both surveys assessed health, lifestyle, mood, sleep, and technology use, with the follow-up including pandemic-related items.

Results: Dietary habits improved with increased consumption of fruits, vegetables and fish, and decreased intake of sweets, pastries, alcohol and meat. Sleep quality and perceived sufficiency remained stable, although nighttime awakenings declined (p=0.023). Social interactions decreased for 43.6% of respondents, yet 20.2% reported receiving more support. Functional capacity deteriorated significantly, with reduced ability to climb several floors, run 100 m and cycle (all p<0.001).

Conclusions: Early lockdown was associated with both positive and negative outcomes. Favourable changes included healthier diets and stable sleep quality. Despite reduced face-to-face contact, perceived social support improved for some participants. However, physical functioning declined, underscoring the need to maintain mobility during prolonged restrictions.

Aims: Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is known to be hereditary for two generations, but its transmission beyond that is less studied. This study examined LTPA aggregation in three-generation families.

Methods: Data on self-reported LTPA were extracted from the Young Finns Study in 2018-2020, including three generational groups: offspring (G2; aged 7-38 years, n = 2499), parents (G1; aged 43-58 years, n = 1960) and grandparents (G0; aged 58-94 years, n = 2190). In the analysis, G2 was categorized into two age groups: youth offspring (aged 7-18 years) and adult offspring (aged 19-38 years). Correlations, chi-square test and binary logistic regressions were used to compare the differences in LTPA levels (low vs. high) between G1-G2, G0-G2 and G0-G1, stratified by gender and age.

Results: In the youth offspring group, high-active G1 fathers were more likely to have highly active G2 sons, while high-active G1 mothers were more likely to have highly active G2 daughters when compared with their low-active counterparts. High-active G0 maternal grandmothers had a higher probability of having highly active G2 granddaughters than low-active maternal grandmothers. In the adult offspring group, high-active G0 maternal grandfathers were more likely to have highly active G2 grandsons compared with low-active maternal grandfathers.

Conclusions: The study highlights the role of familial modelling in shaping LTPA behaviours, especially in younger generations. The findings support targeted, family-based interventions to promote LTPA early in life, considering gender- and age-specific dynamics.

Aim: Loneliness is an important public health concern, especially among young people experiencing multiple social transitions. Although research on loneliness and mental health is growing, few studies have focused on emerging adulthood, and most rely on cross-sectional designs. This study examines the association between loneliness and subsequent depression and anxiety, both as clinical diagnoses and as self-reported symptoms, among emerging adults.

Methods: Data were obtained from Futura01, a Swedish national cohort study that tracks individuals born in 2001 and includes both survey data and linked register information. The study population included 3828 participants for the analysis of depression and anxiety diagnoses (based on International Classification of Diseases-10 codes in the Swedish National Patient Register), and 2747 participants for the analysis of self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms (based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-4). Logistic regression models were employed to analyse the associations.

Results: Loneliness at age 18 was linked to both depression and anxiety diagnoses at ages 19-20 and self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms at age 21, even after the adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and prior depression and anxiety diagnoses.

Conclusions: Loneliness is linked to subsequent depression and anxiety in emerging adulthood. These findings indicate that loneliness may contribute to later mental health challenges in emerging adults, highlighting the importance of addressing loneliness during this developmental period.

Aims: The potential health hazards associated with snus use are less studied compared with the health risks related to smoking. However, during the past decade there is growing evidence on increased risk for mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer following snus use. The aim of the present study was to examine the possible association between snus use at the age of 40 and 50 years, and the development of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, hypertension, or heart failure later in life in men with no history of smoking.

Methods: Data from a population-based cohort with data from health examinations at 40 or 50 years of age, performed between 1990 and 1999 was used to identify non-smoking men that used snus or not. Crude and adjusted associations of snus use and first diagnosis of CHD, stroke, hypertension or heart failure and all-cause mortality were analysed for the age groups separately, using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Results: A total of 4222 non-smoking men were included, of which 458 (10.8%) used snus. The adjusted hazard ratios for a first diagnosis of hypertension were 1.64 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.36-1.98), and 1.75 (95% CI 1.17-2.62) for heart failure, for 50-year-old, snus using men.

Conclusions: Snus use among non-smoking 50-year-old men was associated with an increased risk for hypertension and heart failure later in life, after adjustment for known risk factors for CVD. However, the associations were insignificant for CHD, stroke and all-cause mortality.

Background: Smoking is closely linked to socioeconomic status and risk of death. We examined the extent to which educational disparities in mortality can be explained by smoking.

Methods: We analysed data from 513,552 men and women aged 25-69 years, excluding individuals with a history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes or cancer. The educational level was lower (less than 10 years), upper (10-12 years) and higher (13 or more years). We employed the direct method to estimate age-adjusted mortality rates and used the Cox proportional hazards model to calculate hazard ratios, using a higher educational level as the reference level. We ran models among non-smokers with interaction terms, educational level and another variable. Based on Akaike information criterion, we performed stratified analyses by marital status among non-smokers.

Results: The hazard ratio for lower educational level in men was 1.38 (1.31-1.45) in non-smokers and 1.57 (1.49-1.66) in smokers. The figures for women were almost identical. Among non-smoking men, the hazard ratio for lower educational level was 1.28 (1.21-1.35) for the ever married and 2.20 (1.93-2.52) for the unmarried men. In women the figures were the same. For non-smoking men and women combined, the population attributable risk ascribed to upper or lower educational level was 17% for the ever married and 35% for the unmarried.

Conclusions: An educational gradient in mortality persists in the absence of smoking and is more pronounced among the unmarried. Marital status appears to modify the relationship between education and mortality, underscoring the need to consider social and relational factors in health inequality research.

Aims: Using a longitudinal approach, the aim of this study was to examine whether baseline engagement in arts and culture was associated with a decline from 'Good' to 'Poor' health at follow-up.

Methods: Self-rated health (SRH) and engagement in six cultural activities among randomly selected Danish adults (⩾15 years) were assessed using data from the Danish Health and Wellbeing Survey in 2019. One year later, all individuals were invited to complete a follow-up survey questionnaire. SRH was dichotomised into 'Good' (very good/good) and 'Poor' (fair/bad/very bad). The cultural participation index (CPI) was used to measure engagement in arts and culture activities. Each activity was scored from 0 (never) to 4 (at least once a week). The total score across all activities could reach a maximum of 24. Adjusted logistic regression models assessed associations between cultural participation and poor health at 1-year follow-up.

Results: The present study included 3286 individuals who perceived their health as good at baseline who completed both survey waves; 11.2% reported poor health at follow-up. Individuals who attended concerts and musical events at least once every 3 months were less likely to report poor health at follow-up (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 0.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.35-0.71) than individuals who never attend concerts and musical events. Furthermore, a 1-point-higher CPI score was associated with a 0.96 (95% CI: 0.93-0.99) lower (adjusted) OR of reporting poor health at follow-up.Conclusions:This follow-up study extends our understanding of the positive health outcomes from engagement in arts and culture activities.