Search

Objective: This study examines secular changes in diet-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) in younger and older Swedish adults, since the turn of this century.Design: Two cross-sectional health examination surveys were conducted in 2001-2004 (T1) and 2014-2018 (T2). At both times, an eighty-six-item FFQ was embedded in the survey. From the food frequencies and age-standardised portion sizes, GHGE estimates (kg CO2e/year) were calculated. GHGE was modelled as a function of time period and covariates, for five distinct age groups.Setting: The municipality of Gothenburg, in western Sweden.Participants: Women and men aged 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64 and 65-75 years were randomly selected from the population registry and recruited for examinations. After exclusion of participants with incomplete dietary data, the analytic sample consisted of 2569 individuals at T1 and 2119 at T2.Results: Lower dietary GHGE scores were observed at T2 compared with T1, in each age group, adjusting for sex, BMI and education. The largest differences in GHGE were observed in the youngest age group (approximately 30 % reduction). Decreasing trends in GHGE from animal-based foods were observed at all ages and were accompanied by smaller increases from plant-based sources in younger groups only. At all ages, GHGE from discretionary foods decreased, and prevalence of overweight remained stable.Conclusions: Optimal dietary trends should support both human health and planetary health. Our results suggest that Swedish adults have moved in this direction, e.g. through less intake of red meat products and stable weight status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birthweight is an indicator of fetal development and intrauterine conditions and is associated with future health outcomes. Secular birthweight trends prior to the 1970s are mostly unknown. Our aim was to explore secular birthweight trends in Swedish boys from 1950 to 2010. We have collected detailed growth data including birthweight from archived School Health Care records for children born in Gothenburg from 1946 and onwards and established a unique population-based cohort, the Body Mass Index Epidemiology Study (BEST). The birthweight cohort spans six decades (1950–2010) and includes 46,548 boys. The mean birthweight of the complete study cohort was 3580 ± 562 g. Linear regression analysis of the entire period revealed a minimal negative secular trend for birthweight (BETA = −0.4 g/year; p < 0.01). However, three distinct trends appeared during sub-periods: a decrease 1950–80, an increase 1980–2000 and another decrease 2000–2010. We demonstrate that birthweight in boys has undergone periodic decreases and subsequent increases, but the overall trend from the 1950s to the present is stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The question of whether personality traits influence health has long been a focus for research and discussion. Therefore, this study was undertaken to examine possible associations between personality traits and mortality in women. Methods A population-based sample of women aged 38, 46, 50 and 54years at initial examination in 1968-69 was followed over the course of 40years. At baseline, 589 women completed the Cesarec-Marke Personality Schedule (the Swedish version of the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule) and the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Associations between personality traits and mortality were tested using Cox proportional hazards models. Results No linear associations between personality traits or factor indices and mortality were found. When comparing the lowest (Q1) and highest quartile (Q4) against the two middle quartiles (Q2 + Q3), the personality trait Succorance Q1 versus Q2 + Q3 showed hazard ratio (HR) = 1.37 (confidence interval (CI) = 1.08-1.74), and for the factor index Aggressive nonconformance, both the lowest and highest quartiles had a significantly higher risk of death compared to Q2 + Q3: for Q1 HR = 1.32 (CI = 1.03-1.68) and for Q4 HR = 1.36 (CI = 1.06- 1.77). Neither Neuroticism nor Extraversion predicted total mortality. Conclusions Personality traits did not influence long term mortality in this population sample of women followed for 40years from mid- to late life. One explanation may be that personality in women becomes more circumscribed due to the social constraints generated by the role of women in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several European studies have reported sleeping problems in 20–40% of the population. We used data from the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, based on medical examinations of three different representative cohorts of 38- and 50-year-old women in 1968–1969, 1980–1981 and 2004–2005 to study secular trends in sleep-related factors. The average reported sleep duration declined by about 15 min in the 38-year-old women during the 36 years of observation. No corresponding change in sleep duration was observed among 50-year-old women. During the same period, the proportion of women complaining of sleeping problems almost doubled in both age groups: from 17.7% in 1968 to 31.7% in 2004 in 38-year-old women, and from 21.6% to 41.8% in 50-year-old women. The prevalence of insomnia was higher in 50-year olds than in 38-year olds in all investigated cohorts. The use of sleeping medications remained unchanged since 1968. There were significant associations between perceived sleeping problems and reported lower satisfaction concerning economic, social and family situations, as well as with medical retirement and mental stress. There was, however, no association between alcohol consumption and sleeping problems. Regular leisure time physical activity was not, in most cases, associated with less perceived sleeping problems. Our study indicates that the physician should take socio-economic and family situations into consideration when examining female patients complaining of sleeping problems. Improvements on society level rather than on the individual level could be expected to be more efficient in improving women’s sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]