Biomedical subjects

Pernille Due

Publications and source records attributed to Pernille Due.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Income inequality and ischaemic heart disease in Danish men and women.

BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesized that areas with an unequal income distribution are less likely to invest in health and more likely to have a social environment that influences the development of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) METHODS: We used pooled data from two cohort studies conducted in Copenhagen to analyse the association between area income inequality and first admission to hospital or death from IHD in women and men while controlling for individual income and other IHD risk factors. A total of 11 685 women and 10 036 men, with initial health examinations between 1964 and 1992, were followed for a median of 13.8 years. Information on median income share at parish and municipality levels was obtained from population registers. RESULTS: During follow-up 1700 men and 1204 women experienced an IHD event. At parish level income share was inversely associated with an increased risk of IHD in men (hazard ratio [HR](most versus least equal quartile) = 0.85 (95% CI: 0.73-0.98). Among women there was no relation between parish income inequality and IHD. Subject's household income was inversely related to IHD, and when this variable was controlled for, the association between income inequality at parish level and IHD in men attenuated slightly. When behavioural and biological risk factors were entered into the Cox model this relation attenuated further. However, some of these risk factors might mediate rather than confound the effect of income inequality. The association between income inequality at municipality level and IHD was insignificant for men, while in women the relation had a curved shape with those living in the least equal areas having the lowest risk. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides no clear evidence for an association between income inequality measured at parish or municipality level and IHD in Danish adults. The associations were weak and varied between different strata and geographical levels.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

International survey of self-reported medicine use among adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine gender, age, and country variations in adolescents' self-reported medicine use. DESIGN: Cross-sectional school surveys of representative samples of 11- to 15-year-old girls and boys were used. The 1997/1998 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study was referenced. A standardized questionnaire was completed during school hours. SETTING: Canada, US, Greenland, Israel, and 24 European countries. PARTICIPANTS: 123 227 participants equally distributed by gender and by 3 age groups (mean 11.7, 13.6, 15.6 y). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported medicine use for headache, stomachache, difficulties in getting to sleep, and nervousness during the past month. RESULTS: The magnitude of the adolescents' medicine use for headache, stomachache, difficulties in getting to sleep, and nervousness varied substantially across countries. In each of the 28 countries, more girls than boys used medicine for pain. Use of medicine for headache increased by age; use of medicine for stomachache increased by age among girls, but decreased among boys; and use of medicine for difficulties in getting to sleep and nervousness decreased from the age of 11 to 15 years. There was an increase in the crude girl versus boy ratios for medicine use by age for all 4 symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression analyses, adjusting for age group and country, revealed the following odds ratios (95% CI) for girls' versus boys' medicine use: headache 1.56 (1.53 to 1.60), stomachache 2.16 (2.10 to 2.22), difficulties in getting to sleep 0.96 (0.91 to 1.00), and nervousness 1.04 (0.99 to 1.08). CONCLUSIONS: Substantial proportions of adolescents used medicine for common health problems. The prevalence of use differed between type of symptom for which the medicine was used, between countries, and between gender and age groups. We suggest that young people's medicine use should be addressed in public health policy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Income inequality, individual income, and mortality in Danish adults: analysis of pooled data from two cohort studies.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the association between area income inequality and mortality after adjustment for individual income and other established risk factors. DESIGN: Analysis of pooled data from two cohort studies. The relation between income inequality in small areas of residence (parishes) and individual mortality was examined with Cox proportional hazard analyses. SETTING: Two population studies conducted in Copenhagen, Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: 13 710 women and 12 018 men followed for a mean of 12.8 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All cause mortality. RESULTS: Age standardised mortality was highest in the parishes with the least equal income distribution. After adjustment for individual risk factors, parish income inequality was not associated with mortality, whereas individual household income was. Thus, individuals in the highest income quarter had lower mortality than those in the lowest quarter (adjusted hazard ratio for men 0.51 (95% confidence interval 0.45 to 0.59) and for women 0.60 (0.54 to 0.68)). CONCLUSION: Area income inequality is not in itself associated with all cause mortality in this Danish population. Adjustment for individual risk factors makes the apparent effect disappear. This may be the result of Denmark's welfare system, based on a Nordic model.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Cohabitation and marital status as predictors of mortality--an eight year follow-up study.

In a follow-up study of 1265 women and men aged 50, 60 and 70 years, we analysed how mortality was associated with cohabitation status (living alone/not living alone), living with/without a partner, and marital status respectively. Data originate from a longitudinal questionnaire study of a random sample of people born in 1920, 1930 and 1940 with baseline in 1990. Survival time for all individuals were established during the next 8 years until May 1998. Multivariate Cox analysis stratified by age and gender showed that individuals living alone experienced a significantly increased mortality compared to individuals living with somebody HR = 1.42(1.04-1.95) adjusted for functional ability, self-rated health, having children, smoking, diet and physical activity. Similar analyses were performed for the variable living with/without a partner HR = 1.38(1.01-1.88) and marital status HR = 1.25(0.93-1.69), adjusted for the same covariates. Inclusion of the health behaviour variables--smoking, diet and physical activity--one by one to a model with functional ability, self-rated health and one of the three determinants (cohabitation status, living with/without partner, marital status) showed no effect on the association with mortality. Hereby, we found no evidence of an indirect effect of health behaviours on the association between living arrangements and mortality. In contrast to many previous studies, we found no significant gender and age differences in the association between living arrangement and mortality. We suggest that in future studies of social relations and mortality, cohabitation status is considered to replace marital status as this variable may account for more of the variation in mortality.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Boys and girls smoking within the Danish elementary school classes: a group-level analysis.

AIMS: To quantify the correlation between male and female smoking prevalence in elementary school classes by group-level analysis. METHODS: This study was the Danish contribution to the cross-national study Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) 1998. Ninety school classes at grade nine (1,515 students) from a random sample of schools in Denmark took part. The proportion of male and female "at all" smokers and daily smokers in the school class was calculated. RESULTS: The mean "at all" smoking proportion in the school classes is 39% for girls and 32% for boys. The proportion of male and female smokers within school classes does not correlate. There is high variation in male and female smoking behaviour between school classes. CONCLUSIONS: The influence of social classroom environment on the processes causing smoking behaviour may be different for boys and girls. This paper illustrates that group-level analysis provides valuable new knowledge.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Changes in social relations in old age. Are they influenced by functional ability?

The aims of this article were to describe changes in social relations from ages 75 to 80, and analyze whether changes in social relations are influenced by functional ability at age 75. The study includes data from the NORA follow-up study of 75-80 year-old men and women in Jyväskylä (Finland), Göteborg (Sweden) and Glostrup (Denmark). The present analyses include the 743 persons who participated in both studies and who answered the questions about social relations. The structure of social relations was measured by: 1) frequency of contacts with children, grand/greatgrandchildren, relatives, close friends, acquaintances, and neighbors; 2) diversity of social relations (number of types of social contacts); 3) telephone contacts; and 4) social participation. The function of social relations was measured by instrumental social support. Functional ability was measured by tiredness and need for help in Physical Activities of Daily Living (PADL). Depressive symptoms, living alone and locality were included as covariates in the multivariate analyses. There were large changes in social relations in old age, but the changes included widely varying patterns of losses and gains among the participants. Women who felt tired in their daily activities had more sustained little contact with children [OR=4.2 (1.4-12.1)] and more sustained little diversity in social relations [OR=2.2 (0.95-5.3)]. Both men and women in need of help had more sustained little diversity in social relations compared to the well-functioning persons [men: OR=4.4 (1.3-15.0); women: OR=3.0 (0.93-9.6)].

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Changes in household composition as determinant of changes in functional ability among old men and women.

The aims of this article were 1) to describe changes in functional ability from ages 75 to 80 among men and women in three Nordic localities, and 2) to analyze whether these changes are determined by changes in household composition from ages 70 to 75. The present analyses include the persons who participated in the NORA follow-up study of 75-80 year-old men and women in Jyväskylä, Finland (N=243), Göteborg, Sweden (N=226), and Glostrup, Denmark (N=274). Functional ability was measured by tiredness and need for help in Physical and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (PADL and IADL). Changes in functional ability are described as 1) sustained good, 2) decreased, 3) improved, and 4) sustained poor, and changes in household composition as 1) sustained living alone, 2) from living with others to living alone, and 3) sustained living with others. Number of chronic diseases and home help were included as covariates in the multivariate analyses. A large proportion of men and women had sustained good functional ability from age 75 to 80, but we observed both improvement and deterioration over time. For example, with regard to need for help in PADL: 64/59% of the mer/women had sustained good function, 19/21% deteriorated, 3/6% improved, and 14/14% had sustained poor function. Among the women in need of help at age 75, those who lived alone/became alone had a higher risk of sustained need for help from age 75 to 80 compared to women who lived with others [adjusted OR=4.0 (1.3-12.2/4.4 (0.7-26.9)]. This was not seen among the poor-functioning men. It is concluded that poor-functioning, single-living women are at higher risk of not regaining functional ability compared to cohabiting women.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Social relations as determinant of onset of disability in aging.

The purpose of the study was to analyze whether social relations are related to onset of disability among old people at 1.5 year follow-up and whether these relations vary by age and gender. The study is based on baseline and 1.5 year follow-up data on 1396 older non-disabled adults. Social relations were measured by questions about diversity in social relations, social participation, satisfaction with social relations and instrumental social support. Onset of disability was described as developing need of help in at least one of six mobility activities. The results showed that a large diversity in social relations and high social participation were important factors for maintaining functional ability among the 75-year-old men and women, while social support was a risk factor for functional decline among the 80-year-old men. The present study suggests that being "embedded" in a strong network of social relations provides protection against disability by reducing risk of developing disability.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption among 11-year-old Belgian-Flemish and Dutch schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors associated with the consumption of fruit and vegetables among 11-year-old schoolchildren in Belgium-Flanders and the Netherlands. DESIGN: In total, 2468 school children from 98 randomly selected schools participated in a cross-sectional survey. VARIABLES MEASURED: Frequency of fruit and vegetable intake and potential personal, social and environmental correlates were measured by means of self-administered, school-based, written questionnaires. ANALYSIS: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess potential correlates of schoolchildren's fruit and vegetable consumption. Separate analyses were conducted for boys and girls. RESULTS: Bringing fruit to school, modeling behavior of parents and friends, parents demanding that their child eat fruit, knowledge about recommended intake levels, liking fruit, and self-efficacy to eat fruit were the strongest correlates of fruit intake. For vegetables, gender, parental demand, parents facilitating the consumption of vegetables by cutting them for their child, modeling behavior of parents and friends, and preferences for vegetables emerged as strongest correlates. No substantial differences in significant correlates were found according to gender. The percentage of explained variance was 33.7% for fruit and 28.4% for vegetable intake. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions need to be focused on personal (taste preferences), social (parental influences), and environmental factors (availability).

Belgium↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cynical hostility, socioeconomic position, health behaviors, and symptom load: a cross-sectional analysis in a Danish population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the cross-sectional association between cynical hostility and high symptom load in a Danish population-based study. Furthermore, the aim was to investigate to what extent health risk behaviors mediated this association. METHODS: Data were based on a postal questionnaire in a Danish random sample of 3426 men and 3699 women aged 40 or 50 years. Cynical hostility was measured by the 8-item Cynical Distrust Scale. High symptom load was assessed by physiological and mental symptoms experienced within the last 4 weeks. Confounders were age and socioeconomic position, while potential mediators were alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and BMI. RESULTS: Higher cynical hostility was associated with self-reported symptom load. Health behaviors did not seem to mediate this effect. Socioeconomic position was a strong confounder for the effect on both health and health behaviors. After adjustment the effects of hostility on health remained with odds ratios of 2.1 (1.7-2.6) for women and 2.3 (1.8-2.8) for men. CONCLUSION: After adjustment for socioeconomic position, cynical hostility has an effect on self-reported high symptom load, and this effect is not mediated by health behaviors.

Adult↗