Background: The objective of this study was to assess different smoking patterns during and after pregnancy and relate these patterns to socioeconomic conditions and different health issues such as symptoms, drug consumption and health care use. Methods: The study group included 337 pregnant women from a district in south Sweden. A questionnaire was filled in during the first part of pregnancy and an interview was conducted after the baby was born. The women were categorised according to their smoking habits. Results: The categories defined were continuers, relapsers, decreasers, quitters and non-smokers. Among relapsers three symptoms, difficulty in relaxing (OR 4.48), restlessness (OR 9.59) and dysphoria (OR 3.98), were more common than among non-smokers. All three musculoskeletal symptoms were most common among continuers. Among quitters the OR for backache was 2.05, for numbness In the arms and legs 2.76 and for tearfulness 2.92. Educational level was relatively high among quitters and few had a smoking partner. Among smokers (decreasers, relapsers and continuers) 24% used drugs regularly, compared to 5% among non-smokers. Conclusions: To prevent smoking during pregnancy awareness of the relations between different smoking categories and symptoms could make it easier for hearth personnel to individualise support. A possible starting point is to discuss how to cope with different symptoms occurring during smoking cessation. Women with predictors for continued smoking during pregnancy, such as low education, unemployment, a smoking partner and multiparous, should be focused on more intensively and preventive strategies suitable for their special needs should be developed.

BACKGROUND: Mortality in a population is regarded as an accurate and valid measure of the population's health. There are a few international studies, predominantly cross-sectional, of mortality among all foreign-born compared with an indigenous population, and the results have varied. No Swedish longitudinal study describing and analysing mortality data was found in a literature review.

METHODS: This study describes and analyses the differences in mortality between foreign-born persons and native Swedes during the period 1970-1999, based on data from Statistics Sweden and the National Board of Health and Welfare. The database consisted of 723,948 persons, 361 974 foreign-born living in Sweden in 1970, aged > or = 16 years, and 361 974 Swedish controls matched for age, sex, occupation and type of employment, living in the same county in 1970.

RESULTS: The results showed increased mortality for foreign-born persons compared with the Swedish controls [odds ratio (OR) 1.08; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.08]. Persons who had migrated 'late' (1941-1970) to Sweden were 2.5 years younger at time of death than controls. In relation to country of birth, the highest risk odds were for men born in Finland (OR 1.21), Denmark (OR 1.11) and Norway/Iceland (OR 1.074). Age cohorts of foreign-born persons born between 1901 and 1920 had higher mortality at age 55-69 years than cohorts born between 1921 and 1944.

CONCLUSIONS: Migrants had higher mortality than the native population, and migration may be a risk factor for health; therefore, this seems to be an important factor to consider when studying mortality and health.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in health and healthcare use in old age have been on the rise during the past two decades. So far, it is unknown whether these inequalities have permeated the nursing home setting. This study aimed to assess whether the socioeconomic position of newly admitted nursing home residents had an influence on their risk of unplanned hospitalization. Methods: We identified older persons (similar to 75 years) who were newly admitted to a nursing home between March 2013 and December 2014 using a set of linked routinely collected administrative and healthcare data in Sweden. The number of unplanned hospitalizations for any cause and the cumulative length of stay were defined as primary outcomes. Unplanned hospitalizations for potentially avoidable causes (i.e. fall-related injuries, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and decubitus ulcers) were considered as our secondary outcome. Results: Among 40 545 newly admitted nursing home residents (mean age 86.8 years), the incidence rate of unplanned hospitalization ranged from 53.9 per 100 person-years among residents with tertiary education up to 55.1 among those with primary education. After adjusting for relevant confounders, we observed no meaningful difference in the risk of unplanned hospitalization according to the education level of nursing home residents (IRR for tertiary vs. primary education: 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-1.00) or to their level of income (IRR for highest vs. lowest quartile of income: 0.98, 0.95-1.02). There were also no differences in the cumulative length of hospital stays or in the risk of experiencing unplanned hospitalizations for potentially avoidable causes. Conclusions: In sum, in this large cohort of newly admitted nursing home residents, we found no evidence of socioeconomic inequalities in the risk of unplanned hospitalization.

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated an association between social support and health, almost regardless of how social support and health have been conceptualised or measured. Even so, the issue of causality has not yet been sufficiently addressed. This issue is particularly challenging for mental health problems such as depressive symptoms. The aim of the present study is to longitudinally assess structural and functional aspects of social support in relation to depressive symptoms in men and women, through a series of competing causal models that, in contrast to many other statistical methods, allow for bi-directional effects. Methods: Questionnaire data from the Northern Swedish Cohort (n = 1001) were utilised for the years 1995 (age 30) and 2007 (age 42). Associations were analysed by means of gender-specific structural equation modelling, with structural and functional support modelled separately. Results: Both structural and functional support were associated with depressive symptoms at ages 30 and 42, for men and women alike. A higher level of support, particularly functional support, was associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms over time among men. Among women, there were bi-directional effects of social support and depressive symptoms over time. Conclusion: Concerning social support and health, the social causation hypothesis seems relevant for men whereas, for women, the associations appear to be more complex. We conclude that preventive and health promoting work may need to consider that the presence of depressive symptoms in itself impedes on women’s capability to increase their levels of social support.

Background: In childhood, relations with siblings and friends lie at the core of social interaction. Lacking either type of relationship may reflect lower levels of social support. While social support is known to be negatively associated with premature death, there are still no long-term follow-ups of mortality risks among children without siblings (‘only-children’) and children without friends (‘lonely-children’). The aim of the present study was therefore to examine and compare all-cause mortality in these two groups.

Methods: Cox regression analysis was based on a Stockholm cohort born in 1953 (n = 15,117). Individuals were identified as only-children if there were no records of siblings before age 18. Derived from sociometric data collected at age 13, lonely-children were defined as not being nominated by classmates as one of three best friends. The follow-up of all-cause mortality covered ages 20-56.

Results: Both only-children and lonely-children had increased risks of premature mortality. When adjusted for a wide range of family-related and individual factors, the risk ratio for only-children increased in strength whereas the risk ratio for lonely-children was reduced. The former finding may be explained by suppressor effects: for example, both only-children and those whose parents had alcohol problems had higher mortality risks but only-children were less likely to have parents with alcohol problems. The latter finding was primarily due to adjustment for scholastic ability.

Conclusions: It is concluded that while only-children and lonely-children have similar risks of all-cause mortality, the processes leading up to premature death appear to be rather different. Yet, interventions targeted at improving social learning experiences may be beneficial for both groups.

Key messages:

• Only-children have higher risks of premature mortality but the mechanisms remain unclear.

• Lonely-children are at risk of premature mortality primarily due to poorer scholastic ability.

Background

Adversity in the family of origin tends to translate into poor health development. Yet, the fact that this is not the always the case has been seen an indicator of resilience. The current study highlights factors outside the context of the family with the potential to counteract the long-term negative influences of social and material adversity in adolescence on general health status.

Methods

The study was based on the Northern Swedish Cohort born in 1965 (n = 1,001). Measures of social and material adversity, health, and protective factors related to school, peers, and spare time, were derived from questionnaires distributed to the cohort members and their teachers at age 16. Self-rated health was measured at age 43. The main associations were examined by means of ordinal regression analysis, with the role of the protective factors being assessed through interaction analysis.

Results

Social and material adversity in youth was associated with poorer self-rated health in midlife among males and females alike, net of health status at baseline. However, having an advantaged situation with regard to school, peers, or spare time – particularly in terms of being seen as having good educational and work prospects, as well as a high-quality spare time – appeared to protect against the detrimental influences of disadvantaged circumstances in the family context on subsequent health.

Conclusions

There are several factors outside the context of the family that seemingly have the potential to buffer against the negative health consequences stemming from having experienced a disadvantaged upbringing. Initiatives targeted at increasing academic motivation and commitment as well as social capital and relationships in youth, may here be of particular relevance.

Key messages:

• While the experience of disadvantageous living conditions in adolescence tends to translate into poor health development across the life course, this is not always the case.

• Advantages related to school, peers, and spare time have the potential of counteracting the negative health impact of an adverse family context.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated an association between social support and health, almost regardless of how social support and health have been conceptualised or measured. Even so, the issue of causality has not yet been sufficiently addressed. This issue is particularly challenging for mental health problems such as depressive symptoms. The aim of the present study is to longitudinally assess structural and functional aspects of social support in relation to depressive symptoms in men and women, through a series of competing causal models that, in contrast to many other statistical methods, allow for bi-directional effects.

METHODS: Questionnaire data from the Northern Swedish Cohort (n = 1001) were utilised for the years 1995 (age 30) and 2007 (age 42). Associations were analysed by means of gender-specific structural equation modelling, with structural and functional support modelled separately.

RESULTS: Both structural and functional support were associated with depressive symptoms at ages 30 and 42, for men and women alike. A higher level of support, particularly functional support, was associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms over time among men. Among women, there were bi-directional effects of social support and depressive symptoms over time.

CONCLUSION: Concerning social support and health, the social causation hypothesis seems relevant for men whereas, for women, the associations appear to be more complex. We conclude that preventive and health promoting work may need to consider that the presence of depressive symptoms in itself impedes on women's capability to increase their levels of social support.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated an association between social support and health, almost regardless of how social support and health have been conceptualised or measured. Even so, the issue of causality has not yet been sufficiently addressed. This issue is particularly challenging for mental health problems such as depressive symptoms. The aim of the present study is to longitudinally assess structural and functional aspects of social support in relation to depressive symptoms in men and women, through a series of competing causal models that, in contrast to many other statistical methods, allow for bi-directional effects.

METHODS: Questionnaire data from the Northern Swedish Cohort (n = 1001) were utilised for the years 1995 (age 30) and 2007 (age 42). Associations were analysed by means of gender-specific structural equation modelling, with structural and functional support modelled separately.

RESULTS: Both structural and functional support were associated with depressive symptoms at ages 30 and 42, for men and women alike. A higher level of support, particularly functional support, was associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms over time among men. Among women, there were bi-directional effects of social support and depressive symptoms over time.

CONCLUSION: Concerning social support and health, the social causation hypothesis seems relevant for men whereas, for women, the associations appear to be more complex. We conclude that preventive and health promoting work may need to consider that the presence of depressive symptoms in itself impedes on women's capability to increase their levels of social support.

Background: Adversity in the family of origin tends to translate into poor health development. Yet, the fact that this is not the always the case has been seen an indicator of resilience. The current study highlights factors outside the context of the family with the potential to counteract the long-term negative influences of social and material adversity in adolescence on general health status.

Methods: The study was based on the Northern Swedish Cohort born in 1965 (n = 1,001). Measures of social and material adversity, health, and protective factors related to school, peers, and spare time, were derived from questionnaires distributed to the cohort members and their teachers at age 16. Self-rated health was measured at age 43. The main associations were examined by means of ordinal regression analysis, with the role of the protective factors being assessed through interaction analysis.

Results: Social and material adversity in youth was associated with poorer self-rated health in midlife among males and females alike, net of health status at baseline. However, having an advantaged situation with regard to school, peers, or spare time – particularly in terms of being seen as having good educational and work prospects, as well as a high-quality spare time – appeared to protect against the detrimental influences of disadvantaged circumstances in the family context on subsequent health.

Conclusions: There are several factors outside the context of the family that seemingly have the potential to buffer against the negative health consequences stemming from having experienced a disadvantaged upbringing. Initiatives targeted at increasing academic motivation and commitment as well as social capital and relationships in youth, may here be of particular relevance.

Key messages:

• While the experience of disadvantageous living conditions in adolescence tends to translate into poor health development across the life course, this is not always the case.
• Advantages related to school, peers, and spare time have the potential of counteracting the negative health impact of an adverse family context.

Background: Adversity in the family of origin tends to translate into poor health development. Yet, the fact that this is not the always the case has been seen an indicator of resilience. The current study highlights factors outside the context of the family with the potential to counteract the long-term negative influences of social and material adversity in adolescence on general health status.

Methods: The study was based on the Northern Swedish Cohort born in 1965 (n = 1,001). Measures of social and material adversity, health, and protective factors related to school, peers, and spare time, were derived from questionnaires distributed to the cohort members and their teachers at age 16. Self-rated health was measured at age 43. The main associations were examined by means of ordinal regression analysis, with the role of the protective factors being assessed through interaction analysis.

Results: Social and material adversity in youth was associated with poorer self-rated health in midlife among males and females alike, net of health status at baseline. However, having an advantaged situation with regard to school, peers, or spare time – particularly in terms of being seen as having good educational and work prospects, as well as a high-quality spare time – appeared to protect against the detrimental influences of disadvantaged circumstances in the family context on subsequent health.

Conclusions: There are several factors outside the context of the family that seemingly have the potential to buffer against the negative health consequences stemming from having experienced a disadvantaged upbringing. Initiatives targeted at increasing academic motivation and commitment as well as social capital and relationships in youth, may here be of particular relevance.

Key messages:

• While the experience of disadvantageous living conditions in adolescence tends to translate into poor health development across the life course, this is not always the case.
• Advantages related to school, peers, and spare time have the potential of counteracting the negative health impact of an adverse family context.

Background Similar to having a less advantaged socioeconomic position, children in lower peer status positions typically experience a situation characterized by less power, influence and command over resources, followed by worse health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine whether peer status position is further associated with increased risks for premature all-cause mortality. Methods Data were drawn from a 1953 cohort born in Stockholm, Sweden. Peer status positions were established through survey data on peer nominations within the school class at age 13, whereas national registers were used to identify all-cause mortality across ages 14-67. Differences in hazard rates and median survival time, according to peer status position, were estimated with Cox regression and Laplace regression, respectively. Results Although differences in hazard rates were not large, they were consistent and clear, also after taking childhood socioeconomic status into account. Regarding median survival time, the number of years lost increased gradually as peer status decreased, with a difference of almost 6 years when comparing individuals in the lowest and highest positions. Conclusions Children's positions in the peer status hierarchy play a role for their chances of health and survival, pointing to the relevance of addressing opportunities for positive peer interaction and mitigating any adverse consequences that may stem from negative experiences within the peer context.

Social relations are known to influence morbidity and mortality but few have studied this association from a life-course perspective specifically targeting the importance of social relations in childhood for adult health. In childhood, a key aspect of children’s relationships is the number of friendships a child has in the school class, i.e. friendship quantity. The overall aim of this study was to examine the association between childhood friendships and adult self-rated health. Data from a longitudinal study of children born in Aberdeen, Scotland, between 1950 and 1956 was used. Information on friendship quantity (1964) was derived from sociometric nominations among classmates and defined as mutual choices. The health outcome was based on self-ratings derived from a questionnaire in 2001-2003. The study included various childhood and adult circumstances as possible explanatory factors. The analysis was based on ordinal logistic regression, producing odds ratios (n=5,814). The results demonstrated a gradient in women’s self-rated health according to the number of friendships in the school class. A number of circumstances in childhood and adulthood were partial explanations. For men, only those without friends reported poorer self-rated health in adulthood. This finding was explained by adult socioeconomic status. It is concluded that childhood friendships are linked to health disparities in middle age, underlining the importance of such relationships and the need for a life-course perspective on health that integrates a variety of mechanisms as they interact across life.

Background: Psychosocial workplace factors may be associated with alcohol-related morbidity, but previous studies have had limited opportunities to take non-occupational explanatory factors into account. The aim of this study is to investigate associations between job control, job demands and their combination (job strain) and diagnosed alcohol-related morbidity while accounting for several potentially confounding factors measured across the life-course, including education. Methods: Job control, job demands and job strain were measured using the Swedish job exposure matrix measuring psychosocial workload on the occupational level linked to over 3 million individuals based on their occupational titles in 2005 and followed up until 2016. Cox regression models were built to estimate associations with alcohol-related diagnoses recorded in patient registers. Results: Low job control was associated with an increased risk of alcohol-related morbidity, while high job demands tended to be associated with a decreased risk. Passive and high-strain jobs among men and passive jobs among women were also associated with an increased risk of alcohol diagnoses. However, all associations were found to be weakened in models adjusted for other factors measured prospectively over the life-course, especially in models that included level of education. Conclusion: The associations between low job control and high job demands, and the risk of alcohol-related morbidity reflect underlying socioeconomic differences to some extent. Lower job control, however, remained associated with a higher risk of alcohol-related morbidity.

Background We aimed to investigate time period effects in the risk of work disability, defined as long-term sickness absence (LTSA) and disability pension (DP) due to common mental disorders (CMDs), among young employees according to employment sector (private/public) and occupational class (non-manual/manual).

Methods Three cohorts, including all employed individuals with complete information on employment sector and occupational class, aged 19-29 years and resident in Sweden on 31 December 2004, 2009 and 2014 (n = 573 516, 665 138 and 600 889, respectively) were followed for 4 years. Multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to examine the risk of LTSA and DP due to CMDs using Cox regression analyses.

Results In all cohorts, public sector employees had higher aHRs for LTSA due to CMDs than private sector employees, irrespective of occupational class, e.g. aHR, 95% CI: 1.24, 1.16-1.33 and 1.15, 1.08-1.23 among non-manual and manual workers in cohort 2004. The rates of DP due to CMDs were much lower in cohorts 2009 and 2014 than 2004 leading to uncertain risk estimates in the later cohorts. Still, public sector manual workers had a higher risk for DP due to CMDs than manual workers in the private sector in cohort 2014 than in 2004 (aHR, 95% CI: 1.54, 1.34-1.76 and 3.64, 2.14-6.18, respectively).

Conclusions Manual workers in the public sector seem to have a higher risk of work disability due to CMDs than their counterparts in the private sector calling for the need for early intervention strategies to prevent long-term work disability.

Background

We aimed to investigate time period effects in the risk of work disability, defined as long-term sickness absence (LTSA) and disability pension (DP) due to common mental disorders (CMDs), among young employees according to employment sector (private/public) and occupational class (non-manual/manual).

Methods

Three cohorts, including all employed individuals with complete information on employment sector and occupational class, aged 19–29 years and resident in Sweden on 31 December 2004, 2009 and 2014 (n = 573 516, 665 138 and 600 889, respectively) were followed for 4 years. Multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to examine the risk of LTSA and DP due to CMDs using Cox regression analyses.

Results

In all cohorts, public sector employees had higher aHRs for LTSA due to CMDs than private sector employees, irrespective of occupational class, e.g. aHR, 95% CI: 1.24, 1.16–1.33 and 1.15, 1.08–1.23 among non-manual and manual workers in cohort 2004. The rates of DP due to CMDs were much lower in cohorts 2009 and 2014 than 2004 leading to uncertain risk estimates in the later cohorts. Still, public sector manual workers had a higher risk for DP due to CMDs than manual workers in the private sector in cohort 2014 than in 2004 (aHR, 95% CI: 1.54, 1.34–1.76 and 3.64, 2.14–6.18, respectively).

Conclusions

Manual workers in the public sector seem to have a higher risk of work disability due to CMDs than their counterparts in the private sector calling for the need for early intervention strategies to prevent long-term work disability.

Background

Mental illness is an increasing health problem globally. However, many individuals do not seek health care although evidence-based care is available. Research has shown that self efficacy is associated with various health outcomes and it is of importance to investigate if it also is associated mental illness. Early detection promotes recovery and decreases suicide risk.

Aim

The aim of this study is to investigate whether low levels of self efficacy is associated with a higher degree of mental illness and whether level of self-efficacy influence health seeking behaviour.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study based on data from the Health Assets study, with data collected in 2008 in West Sweden. The study population is a randomly selected population sample of 4027 individuals, aged 18–65 years. Data collection was done by a postal questionnaire and the response rate was 50.4%. Bi-and multivariate analyses were employed to investigate associations and results were stratified on sex, age, civil status, education and social support.

Results

A total number of 1361 (36%) out of 3811 individuals answered ‘Yes’ on the question ‘Have you ever felt so mentally ill that you had (felt a need) to seek care’. A total of 33% of the women answering yes were found in the lowest quartile of the general self efficacy scale, 20% in the highest quartile. Corresponding figures for men were 30 and 23% respectively. The most common reason stated for not seeking health care was a belief that the mental health problem would disappear by itself. Others reasons mentioned were beliefs that health care would not help, they did not know were to go or they felt ashamed for showing others they suffered from mental illness.

Conclusion

Mental illness is a serious health problem and access to care needs to be improved. Health promotion should also include individual traits/characteristics such as self efficacy and health-seeking behaviour.

Background: Fundamental to supporting hazardous alcohol users are the rationales for reducing alcohol intake highlighted by the users themselves. This study analyses the relative importance of beliefs about pros and cons of drinking in relation to having an intention to reduce intake among both hazardous and moderate alcohol users. Methods: Intention to change was assessed in a representative sample of Stockholm's population (n = 4278, response rate 56.5%). Alcohol use was assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test measure. A decisional balance inventory was used to examine various beliefs about the pros and cons of drinking, which covered affect changes, social gains and losses, and possible adverse effects. Independent correlations were determined by logistic regression using a backward exclusion procedure (P > 0.05). Results: Higher ratings of importance were generally related to intent, whether or not the contrast was with having no intent or already having made a reduction. This was especially true for hazardous users. Only two beliefs were independently correlated with change among hazardous users: 'Drinking could get me addicted' and 'Drinking makes me more relaxed/less tense' (pseudo-R2 < 0.1). Among moderate users, there was no uniform pattern in the relationships. Conclusions: Unexpectedly, hazardous users with an intent to change rated pro arguments as more important than those with no intent to change. Of the investigated pros and cons, only a few were independently related to intention to change drinking behaviour. These arguments provide interesting topics in consultations. Little support was found for any rational decision making behind the intention to reduce alcohol intake.

Background: Sweden stands out as an interesting example of potential cross-cultural tensions in reproductive healthcare. On the one hand, most people agree that gender equality between men and women should apply to everyone. On the other hand, people in Sweden report a high level of respect for cultural diversity, emphasising people’s ‘right to be different’. The aim of this study was to explore how midwives communicate gender equality perspectives in encounters with non-Western patients, many of whom have migrated from countries expressing less support for gender equality. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews as well as focus group interviews were conducted in Denmark and Sweden between 2013 and 2016. Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the Problem Represented to be’ approach guided the analysis. Findings: We found that it is difficult for health care providers who are ideologically motivated to promote gender equality in clinical encounters, to simultaneously value and tolerate traditions that are considered to uphold gender-unequal structures. The gender equality standard is thus one example of a liberal, egalitarian value that health care providers appeared to give priority to at the expense of others. Conclusions: That the gender equality ideology is given priority is not necessarily undesirable but nevertheless appears to generate unintended consequences. We argue that a high level of ideological persuasion upon female patients may negatively influence their experience of the encounter, and negatively influence women’s possibilities to obtain adequate support in relation to their individual needs. Main messages: Healthcare providers are also part of cultural systems of norms — such as pertinence to gender equality — although these are seldom problematized ‘Reflexivity’ as a working tool can assist healthcare providers to reflect upon how gender equality norms influence clinical encounters.

Background:

Sweden has one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world, granting women extensive rights to make autonomous reproductive decisions. At the same time, Swedish policy-makers are keen to protect society’s religious diversity. This ambition is reflected in decisions to grant religious leaders the possibility to provide ‘spiritual care’ in public hospitals. Through interviews with religious representatives in public healthcare institutions, we asked: In what ways would they counsel a religious woman who is seeking their advice about abortion? And how does this advice correspond with Swedish policies on, and provision of, abortion care?

Methods:

Individual interviews were conducted with religious representatives of the Swedish Church, the Catholic Church, and the Buddhist and Muslim communities. Interviews took place in 2016 and 2017.

Findings:

We found that informants saw it as their obligation to provide religious people with abortion advice according to religious norms, giving them limited opportunities to harmonise the content of their counselling with Swedish healthcare laws or regulations. Most informants argued that it was their responsibility to inform women about the wrongdoing of terminating a pregnancy, and to provide suggestions about how women could mitigate the sin in order to gain God’s forgiveness.

Conclusion:

Informants appeared inclined to deliver religious recommendations on abortion that were more conservative than what is established in the Swedish Abortion Act.

Main messages:

• ‘Spiritual care’ in the question of abortion favours the delivery of religious norms at the possible expense of women’s right to non-judgmental abortion counselling.

• ‘Spiritual care’ is now an integral part of Swedish healthcare institutions. A critical discussion is needed about the extent to which such services should be in compliance with Swedish laws and public health aims on abortion.

Background: Sweden has one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world, granting women extensive rights to make autonomous reproductive decisions. At the same time, Swedish policy-makers are keen to protect society’s religious diversity. This ambition is reflected in decisions to grant religious leaders the possibility to provide ‘spiritual care’ in public hospitals. Through interviews with religious representatives in public healthcare institutions, we asked: In what ways would they counsel a religious woman who is seeking their advice about abortion? And how does this advice correspond with Swedish policies on, and provision of, abortion care? Methods: Individual interviews were conducted with religious representatives of the Swedish Church, the Catholic Church, and the Buddhist and Muslim communities. Interviews took place in 2016 and 2017. Findings: We found that informants saw it as their obligation to provide religious people with abortion advice according to religious norms, giving them limited opportunities to harmonise the content of their counselling with Swedish healthcare laws or regulations. Most informants argued that it was their responsibility to inform women about the wrongdoing of terminating a pregnancy, and to provide suggestions about how women could mitigate the sin in order to gain God’s forgiveness. Conclusion: Informants appeared inclined to deliver religious recommendations on abortion that were more conservative than what is established in the Swedish Abortion Act. Main messages: ‘Spiritual care’ in the question of abortion favours the delivery of religious norms at the possible expense of women’s right to non-judgmental abortion counselling. ‘Spiritual care’ is now an integral part of Swedish healthcare institutions. A critical discussion is needed about the extent to which such services should be in compliance with Swedish laws and public health aims on abortion.

Background: ‘Low socioeconomic status’ and ‘religious barriers’ have been presented as nearly universal explanatory reasons for why minority women are less likely than majority women in Scandinavian countries to use contraception. Recent studies have warned against giving such statistically ‘objective’ theories undue importance in the formulation of clinical recommendations. Drawing on this recent critique, the aim of this study was to qualitatively explore how ‘low socioeconomic status’ and ‘religiousness’ intersect with Muslim minority women’s contraceptive decisions. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Denmark and Sweden between 2013 and 2016. Data analysis was inspired by naturalistic inquiry. Findings: We found that a low level of education and low income were not necessarily obstacles for women’s use of contraception, but strong imperatives for women to wait having children until their life circumstances were more stable. Arguments grounded in Islamic dictates on contraception became powerful reasons for women to decide it was religiously correct to postpone having children, in case the financial and emotional resources were not yet at hand. Conclusions: We have shown that the dominant theory about that ‘low socioeconomic status’ and ‘religiousness’ are paramount barriers to minority women’s use of contraception must be challenged. When formulating suggestions for how to provide contraceptive counselling to minority women in Denmark and Sweden, one must also take into account factors such as low financial security as well as religious convictions which can be strong imperatives for women to use contraception. Main messages: The use of broad group-categorisations for understanding individuals’ contraceptive behaviours should be challenged The validity of initiating ‘targeted interventions’ towards large heterogeneous minority groups in Scandinavian contraceptive counselling should be critically discussed

Background: Physicians have a central role as gatekeepers to the social security system, includingsick-listing. Variation in physicians’ sick-listing practices has been demonstrated in several studies. Theobjective of this study was to determine whether local structural factors affect sick-listing practice.Methods: A total of 57 563 consecutive sick-listing certificates, issued during 4 months in 1995 and2 months in 1996, were collected from the local branches of the National Social Insurance Office ineight Swedish counties. County code, local community population size and presence of a hospital in thearea were used as indicators of local structural factors. Length of the sick-listing certificates and of thesick-listing episodes were used as outcome variables. Results: After ajustment for the influence of categoryof issuing physician, patients’ age, sex and diagnosis (‘case mix’), and type of certificate there was alarge variation of the length of the sick-listing certificates and of the sick-listing episodes betweencounties, between communities of various size and between communities with or without a hospitalin the area. All these factors were independently and significantly correlated to the length of thecertificate and of the sick-listing episode. Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that physicians’sick-listing practice is influenced by local structural factors.

Background: Well-established associations exist between the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) and unidimensional sociodemographic factors. We investigated social inequalities in SGA risk and adopted an intersectional approach that simultaneously considers different social categories. By doing so, we could assess heterogeneities in SGA risk within unidimensional sociodemographic categories.

Methods: We included all live 679 694 singleton births in Sweden between 2010 and 2016. The outcome was SGA, and the exposures were age, maternal educational level, dichotomous migration status and civil status. Thirty-six possible combinations of these factors constituted the exposure in an intersectional model. We present odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)—a measurement of discriminatory accuracy (i.e. the ability to discriminate the babies born SGA from those who are not).

Results: Women with low education and women born outside Sweden had ORs of 1.46 (95% CI 1.38–1.54) and 1.50 (95% CI 1.43–1.56) in unidimensional analyses, respectively. Among women aged under 25 with low education who were born outside Sweden and unmarried, the highest OR was 3.06 (2.59–3.63). The discriminatory accuracy was low for both the unidimensional model that included all sociodemographic factors (AUC 0. 563) and the intersectional model (AUC 0.571).

Conclusions: The intersectional approach revealed a complex sociodemographic pattern of SGA risk. Sociodemographic factors have a low accuracy in identifying SGA at the individual level, even when quantifying their multi-dimensional intersections. This cautions against interventions targeted to individuals belonging to socially defined groups to reduce social inequalities in SGA risk.

Study objective: The study objective was to determine, first, the association between men's and women's chest pain and their socio-economic status (occupation, smoking) and, secondly, the association between their socio-economic status and self-rated health, in a primary health care area. Design and setting: A population-based cross-sectional survey was made in a primary health care area of Sweden. Primarily based on occupation according to Swedish standards, 4,238 men and women were divided into two socio-economic groups; blue-collar and white-collar workers. Methods: Odds ratios with 95% Cl were calculated by multivariate logistic regression, controlling for the variable age as confounding factor. Student's t-test was used to compare self-rated health, and the chi (2)-test to determine any difference in smoking habits between the two groups. Main results: Both male and female blue-collar workers showed significantly more chest pain when excited than white-collar workers. In six of eight health indices, they also reported significantly worse self-rated health than the white-collar workers. Conclusions: These findings show that there are socio-economic inequalities in self-reported chest pain. Furthermore, socio-economic status has a major influence on self-rated health, acting across the working life of both sexes.

Background: Health inequalities are an unjust and avoidable problem. Thiss tudy examines subnational geographical inequalities in all-cause years of life lost (YLLs) and the association of socioeconomic factors in pre-coronavirus European Economic Area (EEA) countries.

Methods: In this ecological study complimented with a longitudinal analysis, demographic and socioeconomic data for 1390 small regions and 285 basic regions of 32 EEA countries were extracted from Eurostat. Age-standardised YLL rates per 100,000 population were estimated from 2009 to 2019 based on methods from the Global Burden of Disease Study. Inequalities were assessed using the Gini coefficient (GC) and slope index of inequality (SII). The association between socioeconomic factors by YLLs were assessed using negative binomial mixed models in 2019.

Findings: Over the period 2009-2019, YLLs have decreased in almost all subnational regions. The GC of YLLs across EEA regions was 14% for females (95% CI = 135 to 146%) and 17% for males (CI = 161 to 175%). Greece (GC = 101%, CI = 78 to 25%) and Belgium (GC = 108%, CI = 95 to 120%) had the highest relative inequalities in YLLs for women and men, respectively. Subnational regions with the lowest income (incident rate ratio (IRR) = 139, CI = 123 to 158) and levels of educational attainment (IRRfemales = 119, CI = 113 to 126; IRRmales = 122, CI = 116 to 128), and highest poverty risk (IRR = 118, CI = 112 to 125) were associated with increased YLLs, with stronger associations observed in Central and Eastern Europe.

Interpretation: Differences in YLLs remain within and between EEA countries and are associated with socioeconomic factors. This evidence can assist stakeholders in addressing specific health inequities to improve overall disease burden within the EEA.

Key messages:

• The study highlights the need for public health policies targeted at the subnational level to reduce health inequalities in the EEA.
• The study describes the effect of existing public health policies targeting socioeconomic factors.

Issue

The exploitation of eHealth tools in integrated care practices addressing multimorbidity might be a strong driver for facilitating access to the services provided to people with multiple chronic diseases. This is particularly true in the case of older people living in the community, since eHealth could enhance and reinforce care services at home, improving independent living and security of patients.

Description of the problem

One of the ICARE4EU project aims, was to explore whether and which kind of eHealth tools are implemented in integrated care practices for older people with multimorbidity across Europe. In fact, eHealth tools could differ widely across practices, requiring specific know-how by users and health professionals for using and maintaining technology-based solutions, adequate financial resources, compatible organisational and cultural environment with innovations.

Results

The ICARE4EU project selected 101 integrated care practices in 24 European countries, of which 85 included the provision of at least one eHealth tool. Out of 50 practices addressing needs of older people, 42 included some eHealth solution aimed at: enhancing digital communication (64%); monitoring care processes (58%); providing decision support systems (60%); supporting patients' self-management (32%). Two promising approaches exploiting eHealth are presented in detail: the ‘TeleRehabilitation project: Post ICU patient telerehabilitation services' at the Nicosia General Hospital and the ‘Strategy for chronic care' by the Regional Department of Health in Valencia.

Lessons

The use of eHealth seems to have many benefits in terms of improvement of integration and management of care, as well as quality of care. However, to realize this benefits, it is important to arrange adequate technical support, legislative frameworks and training of users and health professionals.

Background: Ensuring a good quality service and equal access according to need for all young people is a key objective of the Swedish health system. The aim of this study was to explore youths’ perception of youth health centres’ (YHCs’) friendliness and to assess the differences in perception between immigrant and Swedish-Scandinavian youths.

Methods: All YHCs in the four northern counties in Sweden were invited (22 centres), and 20 agreed to participate. Overall, 1089 youths aged 16–25 years answered the youth-friendly health services-Sweden questionnaire between September 2016 and February 2017. Thirteen sub-domains of friendliness were identified and their scores were calculated. Multilevel analysis was used to examine the differences in perception between immigrant and Swedish-Scandinavian youths.

Results: Our sample consisted of 971 Swedish-Scandinavian youths (89.2%) and 118 immigrants (10.8%). Generally, both groups perceived the services to be very friendly. All 13 sub-domains were rated more than three in a four-point scale except for fear of exposure and parental support of psychosocial services. However, immigrant youths perceived YHCs less friendly than their counterparts, particularly regarding the domains of equity, respect, quality and parental support.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that even though youths perceived YHCs as highly friendly, there is a space for improvement regarding access to health care. Our findings highlight the importance of an open and culturally sensitive attitude of the staff and the need to engage parents and community as a key to improve immigrant youths’ accessibility to health care.

Background: Ensuring the youth friendliness of health services can increase the utilization of these services and contribute to improve youth’s health. Few validated instruments to assess youth-friendliness exist worldwide and none in Sweden. To assess the youth-friendliness of Swedish youth clinics (differentiated services for youth that exist since the 70s), an adapted version of YFHS WHO+ questionnaire called (YFHS-Swe) was developed. YFHS-Swe proved to have good internal homogeneity and consistency over time. The aim of our study was to perform a psychometric analysis to assure the quality and reliability of the questionnaire, and to assess the dimensionality of YFHS-Swe to identify possible subdomains that might be of importance for policy making.

Methods: YFHS-Swe was answered by 1,110 youths aged 16 to 25 years visiting 20 youth clinics in Northern Sweden between September 2016 and February 2017. YFHS-Swe was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.

Results: Thirteen factors could be identified; ability to get contact; access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) service; access to psychosocial health services; parental support of SRH services; parental support of psychosocial health services; equity with diverse concerns; equity with legal concerns; fear of exposure; respect; privacy and confidentiality; no judgement; quality of consultation and quality of facility. Except for “quality of facility”, all other twelve factors recorded good α reliability ranging from 0.76 to 0.97, good ρ reliability ranging from 0.77 to 0.97 and acceptable measure of fit (SRMR<0.08).

Conclusions: The YFHS-Swe proved to be credible and suitable for assessing youths-friendliness of the Swedish youth clinics. The identified factors might be of an importance to capture different dimensions of youth friendliness. With some cultural and linguistic adaptations, this instrument can be used in other differentiated youth health services internationally.

Key messages:

• YFHS-Swe is credible and suitable instrument in the Swedish context and it can be used as a basis for validating other instruments to assess youth-friendliness in other contexts.
• The dimensions identified of this novel instrument might be of importance in assessing distinct aspects of friendliness in differentiated health services and might be of importance for policy making.

Background: Organized group activities (e.g. sports or arts clubs) have long been noted as important developmental settings for youth, yet previous studies on the relationships between participation and mental health outcomes have focused on short-term effects among school-aged adolescents. The subsequent period of life, emerging adulthood, has been largely overlooked despite being another important life stage where individuals face new existential challenges and may benefit from group activity participation. The potential for macroeconomic conditions to modify these relationships has also not been considered. Methods: Participants (n = 1654) comprise two cohorts, born in either 1965 (n = 968) or 1973 (n = 686), from the same middle-sized industrial town in Northern Sweden. Both cohorts completed detailed questionnaires at age 21 (macroeconomic boom for Cohort 65, recession for Cohort 73) and approximately 20 years follow-up (age 43 for Cohort 65, age 39 for Cohort 73). General linear models were used to assess concurrent and prospective associations between regular group activity participation and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential interaction with boom/recession. Results: After controlling for sociodemographic factors, regular group activity participation at age 21 was associated with lower depressive symptoms, both concurrently and at follow-up. Those exposed to recession at age 21 reported higher depressive symptoms at the time but there was no interaction between cohort (boom/recession) and group activity participation. Conclusions: Regular group activity participation during emerging adulthood is associated with lower depressive symptoms uniformly in times of boom and recession. Beneficial effects of such participation may contribute to better mental health over 20 years.

Background: Organized group activities (e.g. sports or arts clubs) have long been noted as important developmental settings for youth, yet previous studies on the relationships between participation and mental health outcomes have focused on short-term effects among school-aged adolescents. The subsequent period of life, emerging adulthood, has been largely overlooked despite being another important life stage where individuals face new existential challenges and may benefit from group activity participation. The potential for macroeconomic conditions to modify these relationships has also not been considered.

Methods: Participants (n = 1654) comprise two cohorts, born in either 1965 (n = 968) or 1973 (n = 686), from the same middle-sized industrial town in Northern Sweden. Both cohorts completed detailed questionnaires at age 21 (macroeconomic boom for Cohort 65, recession for Cohort 73) and approximately 20 years follow-up (age 43 for Cohort 65, age 39 for Cohort 73). General linear models were used to assess concurrent and prospective associations between regular group activity participation and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential interaction with boom/recession.

Results: After controlling for sociodemographic factors, regular group activity participation at age 21 was associated with lower depressive symptoms, both concurrently and at follow-up. Those exposed to recession at age 21 reported higher depressive symptoms at the time but there was no interaction between cohort (boom/recession) and group activity participation.

Conclusions: Regular group activity participation during emerging adulthood is associated with lower depressive symptoms uniformly in times of boom and recession. Beneficial effects of such participation may contribute to better mental health over 20 years.

Background: Social and policy changes in the last several decades have increased women's options for combining paid work with family care. We explored whether specific combinations of work and family care over the lifecourse are associated with variations in women's later life health.

Methods: We used sequence analysis to group women in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing according to their work histories and fertility. Using logistic regression, we tested for group differences in later life disability, depressive symptomology and mortality, while controlling for childhood health and socioeconomic position and a range of adult socio-economic circumstances and health behaviours.

Results: Women who transitioned from family care to either part-time work after a short break from the labour force, or to full-time work, reported lower odds of having a disability compared with the reference group of women with children who were mostly employed full-time throughout. Women who shifted from family care to part-time work after a long career break had lower odds of mortality than the reference group. Depressive symptoms were not associated with women's work and family care histories.

Conclusion: Women's work histories are predictive of their later life disability and mortality. This relationship may be useful in targeting interventions aimed at improving later life health. Further research is necessary to explore the mechanisms linking certain work histories to poorer later life health and to design interventions for those affected.

Background

Unemployment and alcohol use have often been found to correlate and to act as risk factors for each other. However, only few studies have examined these associations at longitudinal settings extending over several life phases. Moreover, previous studies have mostly used total consumption or medical diagnoses as the indicator, whereas subclinical measures of harmful alcohol use, such as heavy episodic drinking (HED), have been used rarely. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between HED and unemployment from adolescence to midlife in two Nordic countries.

Methods

Participants of separate cohort studies from Sweden and Finland were recruited at age 16 in 1981/1983 and followed up at ages 21/22, 30/32 and 43/42, (n = 1080/2194), respectively. Cross-lagged autoregressive models were used to determine associations between HED and unemployment.

Results

In the Swedish cohort, HED at ages 16 and 30 in men and HED at age 21 in women were associated with subsequent unemployment. In the Finnish cohort, we found corresponding associations at age 16 in women and at age 22 in men. However, the gender differences were not statistically significant. The associations from unemployment to HED were non-significant in both genders, in both cohorts and at all ages.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that heavy drinkers are more likely to experience unemployment in subsequent years. The associations from HED to unemployment seem to exist through the life course from adolescence to midlife. More emphasis should be put on reducing alcohol related harms in order to improve labour-market outcomes.

Background Somatic symptoms among adolescents are common, yet little is known about long-term trajectories of somatic symptoms and the factors in adolescence that shape them. We examined individual, family and school-based factors at age 16 as predictors of trajectories of somatic symptoms over 27 years. Methods Participants from the Northern Swedish Cohort (n = 1001) responded to questions about individual factors (e.g. health behaviours), family factors (e.g. contact with parents, social and material adversity) and school satisfaction at age 16; as well as 10 somatic symptoms at ages 16, 18, 21, 30 and 43. Teacher assessments at age 16 included overall ability at school and peer relations. Age 16 predictors of somatic symptom trajectory group membership were analysed using multinomial logistic regression. Results Poor contact with mother and poor school satisfaction were significant predictors of adverse symptom trajectories among both men and women. Low birth weight and low parental academic involvement were contributing factors for women, while smoking and social adversity were more relevant factors for men. Conclusions Our findings emphasize the importance of a holistic approach that considers the unique contributions of individual, family and school-based factors in the development of trajectories of somatic symptoms from adolescence to middle age.