To Örebro University

Background: The aim was to investigate trends in the prevalence of obesity by age and level of education in the general population in mid-Sweden from year 2000 to 2012.

Methods: A postal questionnaire was sent to a random population sample aged 25-74 years in years 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. The overall response rates were 67%, 65%, 60% and 53%, respectively, and the study included 29 017, 27 385, 25 910 and 24 152 respondents, respectively. Obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) was based on self-reported weight and height.

Results: The age-standardized prevalence of obesity increased from 13% to 17% in women and from 12% to 17% in men between 2000 and 2012. Obesity increased in all age groups from 2000 to 2008 and continued to increase among the middle aged (45-64 years) between 2008 and 2012. The socioeconomic gradient in obesity changed during the study period since the absolute increase in obesity was steepest at the middle educational level. In 2012, the prevalence of obesity was almost twice as high at both middle and low educational levels compared with high educational level. The 'true' prevalence of adult obesity, corrected for self-reported weight and height, was around 20% in 2012 for both men and women.

Conclusion: In the majority, among the middle-aged and those with secondary education, the prevalence of obesity continued to increase even between 2008 and 2012.

Aim: To analyse whether there are differences in mental health among adolescents with and without various kinds of impairments, taking into account the number of impairments and gender.

Methods: Data from the study Life & Health - Young People conducted in a Swedish county in 2011 was used. The survey included all students in grades 7 (13-14 years) and 9 (15-16 years) in compulsory school and grade 2 (17-18 years) in upper secondary school; there were 7793 respondents (81.0%). The students answered a questionnaire anonymously during school hours. Various measures of mental health were assessed in the groups: hard of hearing, visual impairment, motor impairment, difficulties in reading/writing/dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactive disorder/attention deficit disorder, other impairment, no impairment.

Results: Of the studied impairments, difficulties in reading/writing/dyslexia are the most common (6.3%), followed by hard of hearing (5.4%). To have at least one impairment is more common among boys (18.2%) than girls (15.4%). In the impairment group, 21.5% have multiple impairments. Adolescents with impairments have worse mental health than those without, and those with multiple impairments have particularly higher odds ratio to have worse mental health. There are also differences in mental health between number and various kinds of impairments and between girls and boys.

Conclusion: Adolescents with impairments, particularly girls and those with multiple impairments, have considerably worse mental health than others. These inequalities in health are an immense challenge, not only for those directly involved with the impaired: they affect everyone involved with the goal health equity for the whole population.

The aim of this study was to analyze if the same protective factors are significant for both self-rated health and oral health. It was hypothesized that these factors should be the same.

The material is based on a population sample of 17 113 women and men aged 18-84years in one county in central Sweden.The response rate was 61%.The data were collected through a postal questionnaire "Life and Health" in 2008.The questionnaire comprised of 149 questions and was divided into a number of areas, e.g. socioeconomic conditions, quality of life, social relations, lifestyle, and health. To analyze the strength of the protective factors whilst taking into account the relationships between the various independent variables, multivariate analyses were conducted using binary multiple logistic regression. The outcome measures with the strongest association to general health is belonging to the age group 18-34 years, positive faith in the future, good sleeping pattern and to be employed/ self-employed/retired.

The outcomes with the strongest association to oral health are good finances, belonging to the age group 18-34years, to be born in Sweden and positive faith in the future.

Conclusions.This study shows that, in.general, the same protective factors are significant for both self-rated health and self-rated oral health, making it possible to use the same approach to strengthen both general health and oral health. One important outcome, not often considered, is having positive faith in the future. It is a task for the health care system to strengthen people's faith in the future, partly through a very high quality care when needed, but also through active health promotion that increases the chances of a healthy life, both from a public health perspective as from an oral health perspective.

Background: In previous public health surveys large differences in health have been shown between citizens living in different neighbourhoods in the Orebro municipality, which has about 125000 inhabitants. The aim of this study was to investigate the determinants of health with an emphasis on the importance of neighbourhood characteristics such as the influence of neighbourhood social cohesion and social capital. The point of departure in this study was a conceptual model inspired by the work of Carpiano, where different factors related to the neighbourhood have been used to find associations to individual self-rated health. Methods: We used data from the survey 'Life & Health 2004' sent to inhabitants aged 18-84 years in Orebro municipality, Sweden. The respondents (n = 2346) answered a postal questionnaire about living conditions, housing conditions, health risk factors and individual health. The outcome variable was self-rated health. In the analysis we applied logistic regression modelling in various model steps following a conceptual model. Results: The results show that poor self-rated health was associated with social capital, such as lack of personal support and no experience of being made proud even after controlling for strong factors related to health, such as age, disability pension, ethnicity and economic stress. Also the neighbourhood factors, housing area and residential stability were associated with self-rated health. Poor self-rated health was more common among people living in areas with predominately large blocks of flats or areas outside the city centre. Moreover, people who had lived in the same area 1-5 years reported poor health more frequently than those who had lived there longer. Conclusions: The importance of the neighbourhood and social capital for individual health is confirmed in this study. The neighbourhoods could be emphasized as settings for health promotion. They can be constructed to promote social interaction which in turn supports the development of social networks, social support and social capital - all important determinants of health.

I linje med FN:s barnkonvention och Konventionen om rättigheter förpersoner med funktionshinder ska ungdomars röst göras hörd. Den härrapporten bygger helt på ungdomars uppgifter om sin verklighet.Studierna Liv & hälsa ung 2005 och 2007 visar att i den reguljära skolanupplever drygt fem procent av eleverna att de har ett funktionshinder närdet gäller hörseln och de rapporterar ofta en utsatt situation. Det finns även hörselskadade ungdomar på specialskolan/riksgymnasiet för döva och hörselskadade. De hörselskadade ungdomarna är en grupp som rapporterar en mängd hälsorelaterade problem, många känner sig mobbade av kamrater eller kränkta av vuxna i skolan. Det är också en grupp som förhållandevis ofta rapporterar bruk av alkohol, tobak och narkotika. De kan även ha andra funktionsnedsättningar eller tinnitus. De hörselskadade ungdomarna är en högriskgrupp som behöver uppmärksammas och få ett bättre anpassat stöd. Det behövs fördjupade studier hur stödet kan utformas på ett relevant sätt, speciellt gäller det dem med flera funktionshinder. För att göra detta är det viktigt att ungdomarna själva involveras i arbetet. Fördjupade studier behövs också om hur hörselskadade ungdomars delaktighet i den reguljära skolan kan förbättras samt om vad som skapar exempelvis stress, trötthet och olyckor. Det behövs åtgärder för att minska den mobbning som sker och inte minst minska det ungdomar rapporterar om kränkning från vuxna. Det behövs riktade insatser för att öka de hörselskadade ungdomarnas simkunnighet och fysiska aktivitet. Det är också av stor betydelse för de hörselskadade och döva ungdomarna att det finns kompetent tvåspråkig (svenska och teckenspråk) personal på ungdomsmottagningar och barnahus.

In two previous studies based on the survey, Life & Health Young 2005 in Örebro county 15-16 years old Hard-of-hearing (HH) students with some other disability (HHDIS) and HH with tinnitus (HHTINN) reported considerably higher scores for mental symptoms and substance use than adolescents ‘just‘ HH or hearing adolescents.

In order to replicate these findings we analysed the 2007 survey and included adolescents in grade 7, 9 and 2 in secondary school concerning substance use and depression. We also used reference data from the corresponding adult survey Life & Health 2008. In grade 9 HHDIS (2.0%) and HHTINN (2.0 %) both reported strongly increased rates of risky alcohol consumption (55/51% versus 13%), daily tobacco use (57/54% versus 10%) and depression (43/43% versus 14%) than hearing or ´just´ HH adolescents. Similar but less pronounced changes were present in grade 7 and grade 2. In HHDIS increased risk drinking was found until age 35, increased daily tobacco use until age 50 and increased depression until age 65. In HHTINN only rate of depression was increased in adult life.

HHDIS and HHTINN thus are important targets for preventive measures. In addition tinnitus in young people can be a marker like disability of vulnerability.

Background: Poor mental health has large social and economic consequences both for the individual and society. In Sweden, the prevalence of mental health symptoms has increased since the beginning of the 1990s. There is a need for a better understanding of the area for planning preventive activities and health care. Methods: The study is based on a postal survey questionnaire sent to a random sample of men and women aged 18-84 years in 2004. The overall response rate was 64%. The area investigated covers 55 municipalities with about one million inhabitants in central part of Sweden. The study population includes 42,448 respondents. Mental health was measured with self-reported symptoms of anxiety/depression (EQ-5D, 5th question). The association between socio-economic conditions, lifestyle factors and mental health symptoms was investigated using multivariate multinomial logistic regression models. Results: About 40% of women and 30% of men reported that they were moderately or extremely anxious or depressed. Younger subjects reported poorer mental health than older subjects, the best mental health was found at ages 65-74 years. Factors that were strongly and independently related to mental health symptoms were poor social support, experiences of being belittled, employment status (receiving a disability pension and unemployment), economic hardship, critical life events, and functional disability. A strong association was also found between how burdensome domestic work was experienced and anxiety/depression. This was true for both men and women. Educational level was not associated with mental health symptoms. Of lifestyle factors, physical inactivity, underweight and risk consumption of alcohol were independently associated with mental health symptoms. Conclusion: Our results support the notion that a ground for good mental health includes balance in social relations, in domestic work and in employment as well as in personal economy both among men and women. In addition, physical inactivity, underweight and risk consumption of alcohol are associated with mental health symptoms independent of socio-economic factors.

Aims: Parental attitudes and behaviour with regard to young people and alcohol are associated with teenagers' drinking behaviour. This study examined the association between sociodemographic factors among parents and parental attitudes and behaviour with regard to alcohol and adolescents. Methods: Postal questionnaires were sent to parents of children aged 12—16 years in six Swedish municipalities. Seven hundred and ninety-five parents were included in the study. Seven sociodemographic factors and four questions identifying parental attitudes and behaviour were examined. Logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios and confidence intervals. Results: The study showed that fathers were more likely than mothers to report that children had been drinking or tasting alcohol at home. Parents who answered the questionnaire together also stated that their children had been served alcohol at home to a larger extent than mothers. Fathers, single parents and parents with older children were more likely to have non-restrictive attitudes towards adolescents and alcohol than mothers, parents living in a household with more than one adult, and parents with younger children. Factors such as age of the parents, employment status and numbers of children in the household were not associated with either parental attitudes or behaviour. Conclusions: The sex of the responding parent was the only sociodemographic factor that was associated with both parental attitudes and behaviour. Fathers were more likely than mothers to have a non-restrictive attitude. The fathers also reported to a greater extent than mothers that children had been drinking or tasting alcohol at home.

Background: Alcohol consumption among adolescents is a serious public health concern. Research has shown that prevention programs targeting parents can help prevent underage drinking. The problem is that parental participation in these kinds of interventions is generally low. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to examine non-participation in a parental support program aiming to prevent underage alcohol drinking. The Health Belief Model has been used as a tool for the analysis.

Methods: To understand non-participation in a parental program a quasi-experimental mixed-method design was used. The participants in the study were invited to participate in a parental program targeting parents with children in school years 7-9. A questionnaire was sent home to the parents before the program started. Two follow-up surveys were also carried out. The inclusion criteria for the study were that the parents had answered the questionnaire in school year 7 and either of the questionnaires in the two subsequent school years (n = 455). Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine reasons for non-participation. The final follow-up questionnaire included an opened-ended question about reasons for non-participation. A qualitative content analysis was carried out and the two largest categories were included in the third model of the multinomial logistic regression analysis.

Results: Educational level was the most important socio-demographic factor for predicting non-participation. Parents with a lower level of education were less likely to participate than those who were more educated. Factors associated with adolescents and alcohol did not seem to be of significant importance. Instead, program-related factors predicted non-participation, e.g. parents who did not perceive any need for the intervention and who did not attend the information meeting were more likely to be non-participants. Practical issues, like time demands, also seemed to be important.

Conclusion: To design a parental program that attracts parents independently of educational level seems to be an important challenge for the future as well as program marketing. This is something that must be considered when implementing prevention programs.