Article
Psychology, Clinical
Edmond D. Shenassa, Michelle L. Rogers, Stephen L. Buka
Summary: The study found an independent association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and the risk of depression. By considering non-shared factors and mediating factors in sibling studies, accurate conclusions can be drawn.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Parnian Kheirkhah Rahimabad, Syed Hasan Arshad, John W. Holloway, Nandini Mukherjee, Anna Hedman, Olena Gruzieva, Ellika Andolf, Juha Kere, Goran Pershagen, Catarina Almqvist, Yu Jiang, Su Chen, Wilfried Karmaus
Summary: This study identified an association between maternal DNA methylation during pregnancy and offspring birthweight, with 8 candidate CpGs being significantly correlated. Replication studies found 3 CpGs to be marginally significant in association with 4 genes related to birthweight. Biological pathway analyses suggested potential cellular and metabolic processes that may influence birthweight outcomes.
REPRODUCTIVE SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Cecilia Hvitfeldt Fuglsang, Istvan Bakos, Kristina Laugesen, Frederikke Schonfeldt Troelsen, Erzsebet Horvath-Puho, Henrik Toft Sorensen
Summary: This population-based cohort study in Denmark investigated the association between smoking during pregnancy and the risk of appendicitis in offspring. The results showed a slightly higher hazard rate for children of smoking mothers compared to nonsmokers. The association may be mediated by later-life exposures.
Article
Pediatrics
Elma Izze da Silva Magalhaes, Natalia Peixoto Lima, Ana Maria Baptista Menezes, Helen Goncalves, Fernando C. Wehrmeister, Maria Cecilia Formoso Assuncao, Bernardo Lessa Horta
Summary: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of grandmother's smoking during pregnancy on the birthweight of grandchildren, as well as whether maternal smoking during pregnancy modified this association. The study found that although grandmother's smoking was not associated with grandchild's birthweight, it had an effect when the mother also smoked during pregnancy.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Paul Madley-Dowd, Amy E. Kalkbrenner, Hein Heuvelman, Jon Heron, Stanley Zammit, Dheeraj Rai, Diana Schendel
Summary: This study found an association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring intellectual disability, but the association is not causal and may be due to unmeasured genetic or environmental characteristics.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Allergy
Masayoshi Zaitsu, Kenta Kono, Yoshihiko Hosokawa, Manabu Miyamoto, Keiko Nanishi, Sumiyo Okawa, Shinji Niki, Kyo Takahashi, Shigemi Yoshihara, Gen Kobashi, Takahiro Tabuchi
Summary: This study suggests that maternal use of heated tobacco products (HTPs) during pregnancy is associated with allergy in their offspring, and there is a dose-response relationship.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ondine S. von Ehrenstein, Xin Cui, Qi Yan, Hilary Aralis, Beate Ritz
Summary: The study found that offspring of mothers who smoked 20 cigarettes or more per day during pregnancy had an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), while associations with lighter smoking were weaker.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Paul Madley-Dowd, Michael Lundberg, Jon Heron, Stanley Zammit, Viktor H. Ahlqvist, Cecilia Magnusson, Dheeraj Rai
Summary: The study found an association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring intellectual disability, as well as being born small for gestational age (SGA). Maternal smoking was shown to increase the risk of SGA, but not the risk of ID. Comparisons were also made between smoking and the use of smokeless tobacco, with similar effects observed for ID and inconclusive evidence for SGA.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bilgay Izci Balserak, Renata Hermann, Teri L. Hernandez, Catalin Buhimschi, Chung Park
Summary: This study found that evening blue-light exposure is associated with maternal fasting glucose and infant birthweight. Reducing the use of electronic devices before bedtime is a modifiable behavior.
ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Rama J. Wahab, Vincent W. V. Jaddoe, Ellis Voerman, George J. G. Ruijter, Janine F. Felix, Linda Marchioro, Olaf Uhl, Engy Shokry, Berthold Koletzko, Romy Gaillard
Summary: Maternal prepregnancy BMI is associated with altered maternal early-pregnancy amino acids, nonesterified fatty acids, phospholipids, and carnitines concentrations. A metabolite profile identified in this study improved the prediction of birthweight in women with a higher prepregnancy BMI compared to glucose and lipid concentrations.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Mona Bekkhus, Yunsung Lee, Ragnhild Eek Brandlistuen, Sven Ove Samuelsen, Per Magnus
Summary: The study found a negative association between maternal anxiety score during pregnancy and newborn's birthweight and gestational age, with the association remaining significant for gestational age but not for birthweight after further adjustment for shared-family confounding. This suggests a timing effect for maternal anxiety in the third trimester.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Lotfi Khemiri, Ralf Kuja-Halkola, Henrik Larsson, Agnieszka Butwicka, Magnus Tideman, Brian M. DOnofrio, Antti Latvala, Paul Lichtenstein
Summary: This study found that both paternal and maternal substance use disorders are associated with an increased risk of intellectual disability in offspring, with the highest risk observed when alcohol use disorder is diagnosed during pregnancy. These findings have clinical implications for the development of prevention, diagnostics, and treatment programs for children with intellectual disability.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jian Zhao, Isobel D. Stewart, Denis Baird, Dan Mason, John Wright, Jie Zheng, Tom R. Gaunt, David M. Evans, Rachel M. Freathy, Claudia Langenberg, Nicole M. Warrington, Deborah A. Lawlor, Maria Carolina Borges
Summary: This study used two-sample Mendelian randomisation to explore the effect of maternal circulating amino acids on fetal growth. The results indicate that increased levels of maternal glutamine and serine are associated with higher birthweight, while increased levels of leucine and phenylalanine are associated with lower birthweight.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Tina Nham, Stephanie H. Read, Vasily Giannakeas, Howard Berger, Denice S. Feig, Karen Fleming, Joel G. Ray, Laura Rosella, Baiju R. Shah, Lorraine L. Lipscombe
Summary: The study found a positive association between newborn birthweight and the onset of maternal diabetes, suggesting that higher birthweight may indicate an increased risk of diabetes in mothers.
Article
Oncology
Richard Xu, Xiumei Hong, Boyang Zhang, Wanyu Huang, Wenpin Hou, Guoying Wang, Xiaobin Wang, Tak Igusa, Liming Liang, Hongkai Ji
Summary: This study in a predominantly urban, low-income multi-ethnic birth cohort in the US found that maternal smoking significantly affects newborn birthweight, and fetal DNA methylation may play an important mediating role in the impact of maternal smoking on newborn birthweight.
CLINICAL EPIGENETICS
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Maria Wemrell, Cecilia Lenander, Kristofer Hansson, Raquel Vicente Perez, Katarina Hedin, Juan Merlo
Summary: This study analyzed the dispensation of antibiotics across different socio-economic and demographic groups in Sweden from 2016-2017 using an intersectional approach. While women and high-income earners had the highest antibiotic dispensation prevalence, no large differences were identified between socio-economic groups. Public health interventions should target the entire Swedish population rather than specific groups, and interventions aimed at improving antibiotic prescription patterns among medical practitioners do not need to focus on socio-economic or demographic factors.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Hanna Ljungman, Maria Wemrell, Kani Khalaf, Raquel Perez-Vicente, George Leckie, Juan Merlo
Summary: The study highlighted the diverse distribution of antidepressant use in the Swedish population, showing that age and psychiatric diagnosis play significant roles in determining the likelihood of antidepressant use. The analysis also emphasized the importance of considering socioeconomic factors across an individual's life course when studying antidepressant use.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Maria Wemrell, Raquel Perez Vicente, Juan Merlo
Summary: This study aims to provide a detailed mapping of HPV non-vaccination among girls in different sociodemographic groups and geographical areas in Sweden during 2013-2020, using a multi-categorical approach and intersectionality theory. The results showed that HPV non-vaccination was more common in groups with low income, low education, and an immigration background. There were also geographical differences between municipalities. However, the discriminatory accuracy of the sociodemographic and geographical groups was weak.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Lovisa Ericsson, Maria Wemrell, Martin Lindstrom, Raquel Perez-Vicente, Juan Merlo
Summary: Using AIHDA and drawing on intersectionality, this study provides an improved mapping of the socio-economic distribution of sedentary leisure time in Sweden, with the poor discriminatory accuracy suggesting the need for universal rather than targeted physical activity interventions.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Helena Honkaniemi, Sol Pia Juarez, Mikael Rostila
Summary: This study examines the impact of integration on mental health and care-seeking behaviors by studying native-immigrant marital composition in Sweden. The results suggest that intermarriage may be protective for the mental health of immigrants, especially for immigrant men. The similarities in regions of origin can increase the risks of mental health issues for intermarried immigrants, particularly among men.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Merida Rodriguez-Lopez, George Leckie, Jay S. Kaufman, Juan Merlo
Summary: This study explores the multilevel modelling approach to studying complex interactions. By analyzing data from 652,603 women, the study finds that the risk of preeclampsia varies across different strata and some of the variations are attributed to the interaction effects.
PAEDIATRIC AND PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Sol P. Juarez, Agneta Cederstroem, Siddartha Aradhya, Mikael Rostila
Summary: This study evaluates whether immigrants residing in Sweden before the COVID-19 outbreak were more likely to be hospitalized for conditions associated with severe COVID-19 disease. The results suggest that most immigrant groups had a decreased risk of hospitalization for certain chronic conditions, but an increased risk for tuberculosis, HIV, and some other conditions.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Sol Pia Juarez, Helena Honkaniemi, Siddartha Aradhya, Enrico Debiasi, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Agneta F. Cederstroem, Eleonora Mussino, Mikael Rostila
Summary: Using a social determinants of health perspective, this project aims to study the association between disproportionate COVID-19 mortality among immigrants in Sweden and social factors such as differential exposure to the virus and differential effects of infection due to pre-existing health conditions, healthcare seeking behavior, and inequitable healthcare provision. The study will utilize health and sociodemographic information from Swedish national registers. Statistical modeling techniques including mediation analyses, multilevel models, Poisson regression, and event history analyses will be employed.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Sten Axelsson Fisk, Jesper Alex-Petersen, Mikael Rostila, Can Liu, Sol Pia Juarez
Summary: This study investigates the social inequalities in the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) and adopts an intersectional approach that considers different social categories. The findings show that sociodemographic factors have a low accuracy in determining the risk of SGA at the individual level, cautioning against interventions targeted at specific social groups.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lars B. Dahlin, Raquel Perez, Erika Nyman, Malin Zimmerman, Juan Merlo
Summary: This study investigated the risk of overuse of psychoactive analgesics in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or ulnar nerve entrapment (UNE). The findings showed that these patients have a high risk of overusing these drugs before, after, and both before and after surgery.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Juan Merlo, Johan Oeberg, Kani Khalaf, Raquel Perez-Vicente, George Leckie
Summary: The study found that the prescription rate of statins after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Sweden did not meet the target of 90%. The regional differences were small, while the sociodemographic differences were more significant. Among the sociodemographic groups, older women with immigrant backgrounds had the lowest proportion of statin prescriptions after AMI.
Article
Demography
Aranzazu Hernandez-Yumar, Maria Wemrell, Ignacio Abasolo-Alesson, Beatriz Gonzalez Lopez-Valcarcel, Juan Merlo
Summary: The Great Recession in Spain worsened living conditions and increased health issues, such as obesity. This study analyzes the impact of the economic crisis on BMI disparities in Spain from socioeconomic and territorial perspectives. The findings show increased overall average BMI and socioeconomic disparities during the hardest years of the crisis, but these differences decreased as the economic situation improved. Regional policies can play an important role in countering obesity during times of crisis.
POPULATION RESEARCH AND POLICY REVIEW
(2023)
Review
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Merida Rodriguez-Lopez, Maria Fernanda Escobar, Juan Merlo, Jay S. Kaufman
Summary: This manuscript discusses the potential bias factors that could explain the protective effect of smoking on preeclampsia risk. It provides examples to show how confounding variables and incorrect adjustments can create bias. Potential approaches to manage this controversial effect are also outlined.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN HYPERTENSION
(2023)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Amy Heshmati, Helena Honkaniemi, Sol P. Juarez
Summary: Mental health disorders during the post-partum period are common, but parental leave may help alleviate symptoms by reducing stress. This systematic review analysed studies on the effects of different types of parental leave on mental health outcomes. The review found that more generous parental leave policies, including longer duration and paid leave, were generally associated with improved mental health among mothers.
LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Criminology & Penology
Matilda Karlsson, Maria Wemrell, Juan Merlo, Anna-Karin Ivert
Summary: Intimate partner violence against women poses severe threats to women's health and rights. This study finds that individual perceptions of the severity of such violence are influenced by country context and gender equality. Men, young people, those with low education, low self-assessed social position, and those who perceive intimate partner violence as uncommon are more likely to perceive it as less severe. Additionally, countries with lower gender equality tend to have higher likelihoods of perceiving intimate partner violence as less severe.
WOMEN & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
(2022)