Search

Background: Previous research has shown that the Swedish speaking minority in Finland has slightly but significantly better health compared with the Finnish speaking majority. However, a clear explanation for this is lacking. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore differences of perceived health comparing three groups: Swedish speakers with reported dominance of Swedish also in the preceding generation; contemporary Finnish speakers with reported dominance of Finnish in the preceding generation and a group with a reported mixed-language structure of Finnish and Swedish between generations. Individuals and methods: Health and Social Support is an on-going population-based survey initiated in 1998 (N = 64,797), aimed at working-age adults. The present study is based on the 2012 follow-up survey, which included a question on the dominating language (Swedish or Finnish) of the respondents and their parents. The outcome was perceived health, which in this study was dichotomized to very good/good and intermediate/poor/very poor. The statistical analysis was carried with logistic regression, using SAS software. Age, gender and occupational training were included as covariates in the multivariable analysis. Results: This study found that the Swedish-speaking group in Finland report better perceived health compared with the Finnish-speaking group (odds ratio 1.28, 95% confidence interval 1.04–1.57, p < 0.001). The health of the mixed language-speaking group fell between the other two groups. Conclusions: The results gave some support to a culturally mediated mechanism for the health advantage of Swedish speakers. Cultural features of Swedishspeaking groups in Finland may also support health promotion of the Finnish-speaking majority., CC-BY 4.0Correspondence: S Suominen, University of Skövde, School of Health SciencesEmail: sakari.suominen@his.seErratum: Aktuell affiliering för Stark Ekman är egentligen Högskolan i Skövde/University of Skövde.The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland (grant numbers 104896 and 149948).

Background: Previous follow-up studies have demonstrated the association between good health behavior and good sexual functioning for men, but the longitudinal relationship between multiple health behaviors and satisfaction with sex life remains understudied. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore whether good health behavior associates with improved satisfaction with sex life for men and women in a follow-up of 9 years. Methods: This cohort study utilized survey data from the population-based Health and Social Support study. It includes responses from 10 671 working-aged Finns. Using linear regression models, we examined a composite sum score representing 4 health behaviors (range, 0-4) in 2003 as a predictor of satisfaction with sex life in 2012. The analyses adjusted for various covariates in 2003, including satisfaction with sex life, living status, age, gender, education, number of diseases, and importance of sex life in 2012. Outcomes: The outcome in the study was satisfaction with sex life in the year 2012. Results: Participants who exhibited better health behavior at baseline demonstrated improved satisfaction with sex life when compared with those with poorer health behavior (beta = -0.046, P = .009), even when controlling for the aforementioned covariates. The positive effect of reporting all beneficial health behaviors vs none of them was greater than having none vs 3 chronic conditions. Furthermore, this was almost half the effect of how satisfaction with sex life in 2003 predicted its level in 2012. These findings were supported by an analysis of the congruence of health behavior in the observation period from 2003 to 2012 predicting changes in satisfaction with sex life. Clinical Implications: The results could serve as a motivator for a healthy lifestyle. Strengths and Limitations: The current study used a longitudinal large sample and a consistent survey procedure, and it explored the personal experience of satisfaction instead of sexual function., CC BY-NC 4.0 DeedPublished: 05 March 2024Corresponding author: School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada. Email: sade.stenlund@utu.fiThis work was supported by a personal grant for S. Stenlund from the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation (grant 5723). The other authors have salary support from their respective universities.

Background: The prevalence of mental disorders is increased among people of low socioeconomic status or educational level, but it remains unclear whether their access to treatment matches their increased need. Aims: Our objective was to examine whether educational level as an indicator of socioeconomic status is associated with use of mental health services, psychotropic medication and psychotherapy in Finland. Method: Cross-sectional data from a follow-up survey of a longitudinal, population-based cohort study were used to form a sample of 3,053 men and women aged 24 to 68 with a current or previous physician diagnosed mental disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders, mental health service use and educational level were assessed with self-report questionnaire. Educational level was determined by the highest educational attainment and grouped into three levels: high, intermediate and low. The associations between educational level and mental health service -related outcomes were assessed with binary logistic regression. Covariates in the fully adjusted model were age, gender and number of somatic diseases. Results: Compared to high educational level, low educational level was associated with higher odds of using antidepressants (OR 1.35, 95% CI [1.09, 1.66]), hypnotics (OR 1.33, 95% CI [1.07, 1.66]) and sedatives (OR 2.17, 95% CI [1.69, 2.78]), and lower odds of using mental health services (OR 0.80, 95% CI [0.65, 0.98]). No associations were found between educational level and use of psychotherapy. Conclusions: The results do not suggest a general socioeconomic status related mismatch. A pharmacological emphasis was observed in the treatment of low educational background participants, whereas overall mental health service use was emphasized among high educational background participants., CC BY 4.0© The Author(s) 2022.First Published July 12, 2022The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Previous research suggests that the characteristics of both patients and physicians can contribute to the overuse of antibiotics. Until now, patients’ psychosocial characteristics have not been widely explored as a potential contributor to the overuse of antibiotics. In this study, the relationship between a patient’s psychosocial characteristics (self-reported in postal surveys in 2003) and the number of antibiotics they were prescribed (recorded in Finnish national registry data between 2004–2006) were analyzed for 19,300 working-aged Finns. Psychosocial characteristics included life satisfaction, a sense of coherence, perceived stress, hostility, and optimism. In a structural equation model, patients’ adverse psychosocial characteristics were not related to increased antibiotic prescriptions in the subsequent three years. However, these characteristics were strongly associated with poor general health status, which in turn was associated with an increased number of subsequent antibiotic prescriptions. Furthermore, mediation analysis showed that individuals who used healthcare services more frequently also received more antibiotic prescriptions. The current study does not support the view that patients’ adverse psychosocial characteristics are related to an increased number of antibiotic prescriptions. This could encourage physicians to actively discuss treatment options with their patients., CC BY 4.0This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Prescribing and Antimicrobial Use in Healthcare SettingsCorrespondence: sade.stenlund@utu.fiThis research was funded by a personal grant for S.S. (Säde Stenlund) from the Signea nd Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, grant number 5723. K.C.A. is funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Development Grant, grant number 890-2019-0015, and a University of British Columbia Grant for Catalyzing Research Clusters, grant number n/a. L.C.M. received salary support from the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. D.S. is funded through a personal grant from the Magnus Ehrnrooth Foundation, grant number 182282, and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, grant number n/a.

BACKGROUND: Migraine has been associated with several diseases. This population-based prospective Finnish postal survey Health and Social Support Study explored whether self-reported migraine predicted incident hypertension independently in a working-age population by utilizing two data sources: the baseline survey from the year 1998 in combination with the follow-up survey data from the years 2003 and 2012 with linkage to the national Social Insurance Institution registry data of the special reimbursement medication for hypertension from 1999 to 2013. The survey follow-up reached until the second follow-up in the year 2012. The register follow-up also included the year 2013. METHODS: The present population-based prospective cohort study, utilizing two different data sources, included 8593 respondents (22.7% response rate) who participated in 1998, 2003, and 2012 but who did not report hypertension at the baseline in 1998, and whose responses could be linked with the Social Insurance Institution registry data from the beginning of 1999 to the end of 2013. The multivariable logistic regression analysis was based on the combined two data sets. RESULTS: A significant association of self-reported migraine and incident hypertension (odds ratio 1.37; 95% confidence interval 1.20-1.57) prevailed in the multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for central socio-demographic and health behaviour variables. CONCLUSION: Extra attention should be paid to prevention and control of hypertension in working-age migraine patients., CC BY 4.0© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.Correspondence: Anitta H. Entonen, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Finland, Joukahaisenkatu 3 -5, 20014 University of Turku, Finland, Tel: +358 407497987, Fax: +358 029 450 5040, e-mail: anitta.entonen@utu.fiFunding: The HeSSup Study questionnaires in 1998, 2003, and 2012 were supported by the Finnish Academy [projects: 41290, 77560 and 105195].