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Biomedical subjects

E Widström

Publications and source records attributed to E Widström.

60 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Comparison of use of dental services by finnish immigrants and Swedes using national health statistics.

Dental statistics and treatment information collected by the National Social Insurance Board (NSIB) since the Dental Insurance Scheme was introduced in Sweden in 1974, give a unique opportunity to study the use of dental services by the adult population. Earlier studies showed that adult Finnish immigrants utilized dental services less, and had a greater need of dental care, than the Swedish population. The possible confounding effects of age and social class were not, however, controlled. The aim of this study was to compare use of dental services and dental treatment performed in matched groups of Finnish immigrants and Swedes using central statistics. All Finnish citizens between 17 and 64 yr old born on the 20th of any month and living in the county of Stockholm in 1975, altogether 1378 persons, were selected from the population register. For each Finn a Swedish "social twin" was selected with respect to age, sex and occupation. Information about use of dental services and treatment performed during 1975 was collected from the patient register at the NSIB. The study showed that Finnish immigrants in 1975 visited a dentist less often than the corresponding Swedish group. Those Finnish immigrants who received treatment had had more comprehensive and more expensive care than the Swedish comparison group. The study shows that there were significant differences in use of dental services by and treatment performed on Finnish immigrants and Swedes even when differences in demographic and socioeconomic distribution were controlled.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Dental health of Finnish immigrants in Sweden.

Though foreign citizens today constitute 5% of the population of Sweden, very few attempts have been made to assess the types and amount of dental disease and treatment needed by different immigrant populations. A survey, including a clinical and radiographic examination for dental health, was carried out on an age-stratified probability sample of 170 Finnish citizens, 20-80 years old, living in the community of Huddinge, a suburb of Stockholm. The study showed that in the age group 20-29 years 90% and in the older age groups 60% of the dentate subjects had caries. All of them had gingivitis. 20% of subjects aged 20 to 39 years and 54% of those aged 40 and over had the diagnosis parodontitis gravis, indicating a time-consuming need for periodontal treatment. Periapical lesions were frequent and more than half of the root fillings present were poor. This study indicates poorer dental health and a greater need for dental treatment in this group of Finnish immigrants than in Swedish populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Finnish immigrants and dental care in Stockholm county.

In recent decades Sweden has become an immigrant country. The proportion of persons of foreign origin in the population has risen from 0.5% in the 1940s to slightly more than 10% in the early 1980s. Migration to Sweden is a part of the extensive international migration of labour that has occurred in Europe since the Second World War. Almost half of the immigrants in Sweden come from Finland. The common Nordic Labour market since 1954 allows free migration of nordic citizens. No comprehensive dental health studies have been performed on immigrants in Sweden. The aim of this study was to assess and analyse the dental situation and utilization of dental services by Finnish immigrants to Stockholm county. Three different methods were used to gather dental epidemiological data. A clinical examination of an age-stratified random sample consisting of 170 adult Finnish citizens living at Huddinge, a suburb of Stockholm, provided data on the oral health during 1977. A questionnaire survey of a random sample of 1332, 20-59 yr old Finnish citizens in the same community in 1981 provided information on utilization of dental services, dental visiting behaviour and factors which determined this and also on perceived treatment needs in this population group. Finally, a comparison of use of dental services by and treatment provided to all Finnish citizens aged between 17-64 yr, born on the 20th of any month and living in the County of Stockholm, and to a matched comparison group of Swedes, was based on data from 1975. National health statistics, available since the introduction of the Dental Insurance scheme in Sweden, were used. A longitudinal follow-up survey of utilization of dental services and secular changes in dental attendance in 1976-1980 by 1152 settled Finnish immigrants, selected in the afore mentioned way, and a Swedish comparison group was also done using the same information source. The results of the investigations can be summarized as follows: The clinical and questionnaire studies revealed poorer oral health i.e., number of teeth and more untreated caries in the group studied than has been shown in epidemiological surveys on Swedish populations. The questionnaire study showed that about 23% of the respondents had not visited a dentist in Sweden. These were often recently immigrated and had poor knowledge of Swedish. About 23% of the respondents had sometimes used the Finnish dental services and 5.5% did so regularly while living in Sweden.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Social background and dental care habits and attitudes of Finnish immigrants in Sweden.

Foreign citizens today constitute 5% of the Swedish population. While several epidemiological investigations have dealt with dental care habits in the Swedish population, very little is known about the dental care habits of immigrants. This constitutes a factor of uncertainty in the planning of dental care. A random sample of 170 Finnish immigrants, 20-80 years old, in the community of Huddinge was selected. They were summoned to the Faculty Clinics for interview and clinical and radiographic examination. 143 persons appeared for examination. The interview showed that 46.6% of the subjects had never visited a dentist in Sweden though 80% of them intended to remain in Sweden. 19.8% still made more or less regular use of dental services in Finland. The low frequency of utilization of dental services is mainly due to the difficulty in obtaining dental care, lack of knowledge of Swedish, lack of interest and fear of pain. According to the present study Finns in Sweden utilize dental services to a smaller extent than Swedes. The decision of principle adopted by the Swedish parliament in 1968 that immigrants shall be able to live under the same conditions as the Swedes seems not to be fully achieved with regard to the dental care of Finnish immigrants.

Adult↗