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Summary: Studies on the effect of insomnia on atrial fibrillation risk in the general population are limited, therefore we investigated the association between insomnia and the risk of atrial fibrillation in a large‐scale population‐based study with valid atrial fibrillation measure. A total of 33,983 participants (55% women) reported their insomnia symptoms in the third wave of the HUNT study (between 2006 and 2008) in Norway, and they were followed for their first atrial fibrillation diagnosis until 2020 using hospital registers. Atrial fibrillation diagnoses were validated by physicians based on medical records and electrocardiograms. Insomnia symptoms were assessed by four questions, and analysed both individually and as cumulative symptoms. Cox regression, adjusted for age, sex, social and marital status, working in shiftwork, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and symptoms of anxiety and depression, was conducted. Overall, 1592 atrial fibrillation cases were identified during the follow‐up and 31.6% of individuals reported at least one insomnia symptom. In our analysis, we did not detect meaningful associations between insomnia symptoms and the risk of atrial fibrillation. In conclusion, in this population there was no evidence for an association between insomnia symptoms and the risk of subsequent atrial fibrillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used design principles of target trial methodology to emulate the effect of sustained adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet on the 22-year risk of heart failure. Women and men aged 45–83 years without previous heart failure, who answered questionnaires in 1997 from the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men, were eligible. Follow-up questionnaires were sent in 2008–2009. Incidence of heart failure was ascertained using the Swedish Patient Register, updated until December 31, 2019. The parametric g-formula was used to estimate the 22-year risk of heart failure under sustained adherence to a population-adapted DASH diet compared with no intervention. Intakes before 1997 for before-baseline adjustment was available only for women. In total, 31,238 women and 34,939 men were eligible. The 22-year risk of heart failure was 14.5% with long-term adherence to the DASH diet compared with 15.2% with no intervention (risk difference = −0.7%, 95% confidence interval: 1.6, 0.0%) in women and correspondingly in men 15.3% vs. 16.2% (risk difference = −0.9%, 95% confidence interval: −1.6, −0.2%). Our hypothetical intervention suggests that sustained adherence to the population-adapted DASH diet may reduce risk of heart failure in middle-aged and elderly Swedish women and men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the study was to examine whether changes in alcohol consumption over time differ according to beverage types, and to what extent socioeconomic, lifestyle and health-related factors predict beverage-specific trajectories in Sweden. Study design: We included participants from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort who were surveyed repeatedly in 2002, 2010 and 2014. Alcohol consumption trajectories were constructed for 13,152 individuals with valid information on amount and frequency of drinking. Preferred beverage types (i.e., beer, wine or spirits) were defined based on the most consumed beverages. Multinomial logistic regression was used to quantify individual predictors of different trajectories, overall and by beverage type. Results: Overall 56.9% of respondents were women, the mean age was 49.2 years, SD (13.1). Wine was cited as the preferred beverage for 72.4% of participants, and stable moderate drinking was the most common trajectory regardless of beverage type (68.2%, 54.9% and 54.2% in individuals with wine, beer and spirits as preferred beverages, respectively). Associations between drinking trajectories and baseline lifestyle factors did not differ by beverage type. Lower socioeconomic position (SEP) was associated with unstable moderate wine drinking (for unskilled manual SEP: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23, 1.93), unstable heavy beer drinking (for skilled manual SEP: aOR 1.99, 95% CI 1.14, 3.52; and unskilled manual SEP: aOR 1.72, 95% CI 1.05, 2.82), and former beer drinking trajectory (for skilled manual SEP: aOR 1.81; 95% CI 1.21, 2.72; and unskilled manual SEP: aOR 1.66; 95% CI 1.17, 2.37). Conclusion: Lower SEP was associated with unstable heavy drinking of beer, former beer drinking, and unstable moderate wine drinking trajectories indicating that targeted alcohol prevention programmes need to focus on these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Changes in Swedish national insurance policies over time and/or migration-related health inequalities may influence the risk for labour market marginalization (LMM) in refugees as compared to the Swedish-born host population. This study aimed to investigate potential period effects in the association between refugee status and the risk of LMM and explore any differences by country of birth, age and duration of residence. Methods Using national registers, three cohorts including all Swedish residents during 1999, 2004 and 2009 were followed for 4 years (cohort 2000, 2005 and 2010). Cox regression models were used to examine associations between refugee status and LMM defined as long-term unemployment (>180 days annually) and disability pension. The analyses were adjusted for socio-demographic factors, morbidities and labour market-related factors. Stratified analyses were run for age, country of birth and duration of residence. Results Across the cohorts, hazard ratios (HRs) were higher for long-term unemployment [2000: HR = 1.98; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.96–2.01; 2005: HR = 2.30; 95% CI: 2.27–2.33; 2010: HR = 2.78; 95% CI: 2.75–2.81] for refugees compared to Swedish-born but not for disability pension. HRs for long-term unemployment were highest among refugees aged 25–34 and 35–44 years, from Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq and refugees with a shorter duration of residence. Conclusions The risk of long-term unemployment appears to have increased for refugees over time. Particularly some refugee subgroups experienced more difficulties. These findings highlight ongoing disparities for refugees and implicate on a broader scale that changes in policies such as stricter regulations in the insurance or healthcare system might adversely affect them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Az egészségi állapotban jelen lévő egyenlőtlenségek csökkentésének egyik hatékony eszköze az egészségügyi szolgáltatásokhoz való hozzáférés feltételeinek és a hozzáférés esélyegyenlőségének biztosítása. Az egészségügyi ellátáshoz való hozzáférés vizsgálatában a közfinanszírozott szürkehályogműtétek 2008. évi adatait vizsgáltuk. A kutatás során arra voltunk kíváncsiak, hogyan oszlanak meg az ellátási kapacitások és az ellátási típusok a szolgáltatást végző intézmények között, illetve milyen domináns útvonalak különíthetők el az igénybevételhez kapcsolódó betegmobilitásban. Regionális és kistérségi esettanulmányunkban külön elemeztük, hogy egyrészt az egészségügyi intézmények elérhetősége milyen mértékben van hatással az igénybevételre, másrészt mekkora különbség tapasztalható az utazási távolságban, időtartamban és költségekben akkor, amikor a beteg nem a lakóhelyéhez legközelebbi intézményben vette igénybe a műtéti szolgáltatást. A lakóhelytől függően nagy egyenlőtlenséget tapasztaltunk az intézmények elérhetőségében. A műtétek során a betegek nagy része nem a lakóhelyéhez legközelebbi intézményt kereste fel, ezzel vállalva az utazási és kiadási többletet. Közülük sokan a területi ellátási kötelezettség alapján, tehát a szabályokat követve utaztak a távolabbi ellátó intézménybe. A lakosság egészségügyi ellátással való elégedettségének növelésében a jövőben azt is vizsgálni kell, hogy milyen további tényezők befolyásolják a betegek orvos- és intézményválasztását. A tanulmány javaslatokat fogalmaz meg a térségi egészségügyi ellátórendszerek kialakításához, valamint kísérletet tesz egy olyan módszertan kidolgozására, amely segítségül szolgálhat a szakpolitikai döntéshozatalhoz.