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OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the outcome after 1, 2, 3 and 10 years of rehabilitation conducted by the Swedish Social Insurance Office, in relation to socioeconomic, psychosocial and gender aspects. STUDY DESIGN: A retro and prospective study of 372 individuals rehabilitated by the National Swedish Insurance Office 1993-1994. Diagnosis, socio demographic data, Sense of Coherence and Perceived Health were compared with register data in terms of sickness benefit and disability pension up to 10 years. RESULTS: At the 10 year follow up 52% of the men and 57% of the women were granted any kind of DP. 82% of the men with low PH and women with a PM or a low PH had any kind of benefit 10 year after rehabilitation started. High age and low PH increases the risk of a full DP after 3 as well as 10 years for both men and women. At the 3 year follow up however, low education was also important for a full DP for men and having a Psychosocial Marker for women. The factors civil status and kind of profession did not significantly relate to a full DP after 10 year. CONCLUSIONS: In different ways factors as age, education, psychosocial stress, Sense of Coherence and Perceived Health mediate the rehabilitation process in significant ways by affecting the manifestation of the disease itself and/or via the context in which the rehabilitation takes place, in combination with individual factors that acts over a long time. Age and Perceived Health seems to be the most important factors of them all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a multilevel approach, this study explores how job demands and control are dependent on the organizational context in which work is performed. The data set consisted of 3,485 employees at 51 establishments divided into 141 sub-units and belonging to 10 parent organizations. Data were collected by means of a survey answered by the employees and structured interviews conducted with operative managers at participating establishments. The results showed that a significant proportion of the variance in job demands and control was attributed to the organization, and that the three organizational levels varied in terms of their impact on the two psychosocial dimensions. More specifically, job demands were mostly affected by the establishment level, while the sub-unit level seemed to be the most important for job control. It is concluded that in studies of working conditions, the organizational context should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present analysis was to study health and well-being in mothers compared to women without children, and to analyze potential interactions with age and socioeconomic conditions. The study comprised 5,368 Swedish women born in 1960-1979 who were inter-viewed in any of the population-based Surveys of Living Conditions during the period 1996-2003. Having children at home was related to self-reported health symptoms and long-standing illness in multiple logistic regression models. The impact of age, cohabitation status, full-time or part-time work, and income level were analyzed.While mothers were less burdened by long-standing illness, partly due to selection mechanisms (a 'healthy mother effect'), they experienced worse self-rated health and more fatigue than women without children, and the odds of poor self-rated health and fatigue increased by number of children. Conditions that strengthened the association between motherhood and impaired health were young maternal age, full-time employment, high income, and being alone.The study indicates a need for improved negotiations between parents regarding a fair share of work and family duties and extended support for lone mothers to prevent adverse health effects in women combining children and work. The results may be useful to policy-makers and employers in developing new policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to investigate the relevance of the demand-control model and social support in predicting long-term sickness absence (LTSA). Identifying gender- and sector- (private vs. public) specific patterns was in focus. The study uses a cross-sectional design with a case and a control group. The cases are a sample of 2 327 long-term sick listed (>60 days) and the controls are a Swedish population-based sample of 2 063. Data on sickness absence were retrieved from the Swedish national social insurance registers. Data on health, working and living conditions were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire. The results show that employed women have a notably higher risk for LTSA than employed men. High-strain jobs increase the odds for LTSA among both women and men. Active jobs were also associated with LTSA among women. The study confirms the demand-control model (job strain hypothesis) and social support and their associations with LTSA. However, the job strain hypothesis is more evident in the private sector. Active jobs with high psychological demands and high decision latitude seem to be problematic for many women, especially in the private sector. Thus, the active learning hypothesis receives no support for women in the Swedish working population in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RATIONALE: Increased oxidative stress is involved in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, plasma and bronchial lining fluid contains the antioxidant extracellular superoxide dismutase. Approximately 2% of white individuals carry the R213G polymorphism in the gene encoding extracellular superoxide dismutase, which increases plasma extracellular superoxide dismutase 10-fold and presumably also renders bronchial lining fluid high in extracellular superoxide dismutase. OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that R213G reduces the risk of COPD. METHODS: We studied cross-sectionally and prospectively (during 24 yr) 9,258 individuals from the Danish general population genotyped for R213G. MEASUREMENTS: We determined plasma extracellular superoxide dismutase concentration, pulmonary function and COPD diagnosed by means of spirometry or through national hospitalization and death registers. MAIN RESULTS: In the general population, 97.5% were noncarriers, 2.4% were heterozygotes, and 0.02% were homozygotes. Among R213G noncarriers, extracellular superoxide dismutase plasma concentration was 148+/-52 and 142+/-43 ng/ml (mean+/-SD) in individuals with and without COPD (Student's t test, p=0.02). Among heterozygotes, corresponding concentrations were 1,665+/-498 ng/ml and 1,256+/-379 (p<0.001). The adjusted odds ratio for spirometrically diagnosed COPD in heterozygotes versus noncarriers was 0.5 (95% confidence interval: 0.3-0.9). After stratification, the equivalent adjusted odds ratio was 1.5 (0.3-6.6) among nonsmokers and 0.4 (0.2-0.8) among smokers (p value for interaction=0.10). The adjusted hazard ratio for COPD hospitalization or death during follow-up in heterozygotes versus noncarriers was 0.3 (0.1-0.8). CONCLUSIONS: Extracellular superoxide dismutase R213G heterozygosity protects against development of COPD in the Danish general population. This was observed in smokers, but not in nonsmokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]