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Aims: This study aimed to examine the association between gender composition in the workplace and sickness absence days during a one-year period. Methods: The study population was drawn from the Northern Swedish Cohort (wave 3; 2007) by Statistics Sweden and consisted of all participants belonging to a specific workplace (n =837) as well as all co-workers at the workplace of the participants (n =132,464; 67,839 women and 64,625 men). Exposure was the gender composition of the workplace, and outcome was cumulative sickness absence days (⩾ 90 days or not) during 2007, provided through a link to the Database for Health Insurance and Labour Marked Studies of Statistics Sweden. Covariates were gender, age, educational level and branch of industry from the same data source. We performed descriptive analyses and multivariable regression analyses. Results: Workers in extremely female-dominated workplaces had a significantly higher risk of cumulative sickness absence days (⩾90 days) compared with gender-equal workplaces (fully adjusted odds ratio (OR)=1.27; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09–1.48), whereas those working in extremely and moderately male-dominated workplaces had a significantly lower sickness absence risk (OR=0.62 and 0.66, respectively). Stratified by gender, the higher absence risk at female-dominated workplaces was fully explained by variation in branches of industry. Women working in extremely male-dominated workplaces had a significantly lower absence risk (OR=0.75), as did men working in moderately male-dominated workplaces (OR=0.78). Conclusions: Workplaces dominated by women had a significantly higher risk of days lost to sickness absence compared to gender-equal workplaces. Stratified by gender, this higher risk was explained by branch of industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual risk-taking can lead to serious consequences. This study addressed the question of how sexual risk-taking was influenced by unemployment. A cohort of 1060 adolescents were followed from their last term in compulsory, school and five years ahead until the age of 21. Sexual risk-taking, defined as unprotected intercourse without wishing to conceive, was studied with the help of a questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the period. For men there was a positive correlation between the length of unemployment and increase in risk-taking during the period, but for women there was a (statistically non-significant) negative correlation. In a logistic regression analysis, having children also had a significant effect on increased risk-taking among men. Unemployment thus implies increased sexual risk-taking among adolescent men. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this one-year investigation of school accidents is to obtain more knowledge for preventive work. In the agegroup 7–19 years, 547 injuries were registered, mainly at three hospitals. The incidence rate was 25 per 1000 boys and 20 per 1000 girls per year. Most injuries occurred in intermediate and upper secondary school among boys and in upper school among girls. The relative risk of school injury compared with spare-time injury was 1.8 for boys and 2.6 for girls of compulsory school age. Most injuries occurred in sports area (boys: 34%, girls: 46%). The incidence of sports injuries showed no gender differences. The highest incidence rate was found in senior school girls. Twenty-five percent of all injuries were caused by other pupils, intentional violence being one important mechanism. Head injuries were more common among school injuries compared with spare-time injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]