Hospitalisation with otitis media in early childhood and cognitive function in young adult life:a prevalence study among Danish conscripts

BACKGROUND: Otitis media (OM) is a very common condition in children and occurs during years that are critical to the development of learning, literacy, and math skills. Therefore, among a large cohort of Danish conscripts, we aimed to examine the association between hospitalisation with OM in early childhood and cognitive function and educational level in early adulthood. METHODS: We conducted a population-based prevalence study using linked data from healthcare databases and conscription records of Danish men born between 1977 and 1983. We identified all hospitalisations with OM before 8 years of age. Cognitive function was measured by the Boerge Prien validated group intelligence test (Danish Børge Prien Prøve, BPP). We adjusted for potential confounders with and without stratification by hearing impairment. Furthermore, we examined the association between hospitalisation with OM and the prevalence of having achieved a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), stratified by quartiles of BPP scores. RESULTS: Of the 18 412 eligible conscripts aged 18–25 years, 1000 (5.5%) had been hospitalised with OM before age 8. Compared with conscripts without such a record, the adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) for a BPP score in the bottom quartile was 1.20 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09–1.33). There was no major difference in the proportion of men with a GCSE and those without among those hospitalised with OM in early childhood. For men in the bottom and upper quartiles of BPP scores, the PRs for early childhood hospitalisation with OM were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.59–1.33) and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.88–1.05), respectively. Among men with severe hearing impairment, the proportion with a BPP score in the bottom quartile did not differ between those with and without an OM hospitalisation [PR = 1.01 (95% CI: 0.78–1.34)]. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we found that hospitalisation with OM in early childhood was associated with a slightly lower cognitive function in early adulthood. Hospitalisation for OM did not seem to influence the prevalence of GSCE when level of BPP was taken into account

Health promotion in primary and secondary schools in Denmark:time trends and associations with schools' and students' characteristics

BACKGROUND: Schools are important arenas for interventions among children as health promoting initiatives in childhood is expected to have substantial influence on health and well-being in adulthood. In countries with compulsory school attention, all children could potentially benefit from health promotion at the school level regardless of socioeconomic status or other background factors. The first aim was to elucidate time trends in the number and types of school health promoting activities by describing the number and type of health promoting activities in primary and secondary schools in Denmark. The second aim was to investigate which characteristics of schools and students that are associated with participation in many (≥3) versus few (0–2) health promoting activities during the preceding 2–3 years. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the 2006- and 2010-survey of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. The headmasters answered questions about the school’s participation in health promoting activities and about school size, proportion of ethnic minorities, school facilities available for health promoting activities, competing problems and resources at the school and in the neighborhood. Students provided information about their health-related behavior and exposure to bullying which was aggregated to the school level. A total of 74 schools were available for analyses in 2006 and 69 in 2010. We used chi-square test, t-test, and binary logistic regression to analyze time trends and differences between schools engaging in many versus few health promoting activities. RESULTS: The percentage of schools participating in ≥3 health promoting activities was 63% in 2006 and 61% in 2010. Also the mean number of health promoting activities was similar (3.14 vs. 3.07). The activities most frequently targeted physical activity (73% and 85%) and bullying (78% and 67%). Schools’ participation in anti-smoking activities was significantly higher in 2006 compared with 2010 (46% vs. 29%). None of the investigated variables were associated with schools’ participation in health promoting activities. CONCLUSION: In a Danish context, schools’ participation in health promotion was rather stable from 2006 to 2010 and unrelated to the measured characteristics of the schools and their students

Associations of Personality with Body Mass Index and Obesity in a Large Late Midlife Community Sample

Objective: The study examined cross-sectional associations of personality with BMI and obesity among men and women in a large late midlife community sample. Methods: The sample comprised 5,286 Danish individuals aged 49-63 years from the Copenhagen Ageing and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) with complete information on measured BMI, personality assessed by the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO FFI), and sociodemographic factors including sex, age and educational length. Analysis of variance and logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between personality and BMI as well as obesity. Personality traits were analyzed separately and combined in the same model. Results: All personality traits except for neuroticism were significantly associated with BMI, with extraversion (p value ranged from Conclusion: Personality was significantly associated with BMI and to a lesser extent with obesity, and these associations differed between men and women. Also, it was suggested that the interrelations of the five personality traits should be considered in future research of personality and health outcomes

Associations between follow-up screening after gestational diabetes and early detection of diabetes:a register based study

BACKGROUND: Women whose pregnancy was complicated by gestational diabetes have a 7-fold higher risk of developing diabetes, primarily type 2. Early detection can prevent or delay the onset of late complications, for which follow-up screening is important. This study investigated the extent of participation in follow-up screening and the possible consequences of nonattendance in the Region of North Jutland, Denmark. METHOD: In Danish national registers covering the years 1994–2011 we identified 2171 birthing women whose pregnancy was complicated by first-time gestational diabetes. Control visits to general practitioners and biochemical departments after giving birth were charted. Following national guidelines we defined four intervals for assessment of participation in follow-up screening. Diagnosis of diabetes or treatment with glucose-lowering agents after giving birth were also identified. Participation in follow-up screening and risk of diabetes was calculated. Time to obtaining diagnosis of diabetes or initiating treatment was analysed by Cox regression models. All models were adjusted for age, ethnicity and income. RESULTS: High attendance was found during the first control interval, after which attendance decreased with time after giving birth for both controls at general practitioners and biochemical departments. All differences in proportions were statistically significant. Women attending controls at general practitioners had a significantly higher risk of diabetes diagnosis and treatment after gestational diabetes than women not attending. The results for women attending testing at biochemical departments also showed an increased risk of initiation of treatment. Women attending at least one general practitioners control had a significantly higher risk of early diabetes diagnosis or treatment. Time to initiation of treatment was significantly higher for testing at biochemical departments. Women with high incomes had a significantly lower risk of diabetes diagnosis or initiation of treatment compared to low-income women. CONCLUSION: Participation in follow-up screening after gestational diabetes is low in the North Denmark Region. Follow-up screening ensures early detection of diabetes and initiation of treatment. Our results emphasize the importance of development of interventions to improve early detection and prevention of diabetes after gestational diabetes

Carbon monoxide poisoning in Denmark with focus on mortality and factors contributing to mortality

IntroductionCarbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is frequent worldwide but knowledge regarding the epidemiology is insufficient. The aim of this study was to clarify the extent of this intoxication, its mortality and factors associated with mortality.Materials and methodsNational databases from Statistics Denmark were used to identify individuals who suffered from CO-poisoning during 1995-2015, as well as information regarding co-morbidities, mortality and manner of death.ResultsDuring the period from 1995 to 2015, 22,930 patients suffered from CO-poisoning in Denmark, and 21,138 of these patients (92%) were hospitalized. A total of 2,102 patients died within the first 30 days after poisoning (9.2%). Among these, 1,792 (85% of 2,102) were declared dead at the scene and 310 (15% of 2,102) died during hospitalization. Deaths due to CO-poisoning from smoke were intentional in 6.3% of cases, whereas deaths due to CO containing gases were intentional in 98.0% of cases. Among patients who survived >30 days, there was no significant difference in survival when comparing hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) treatment with no HBO treatment after adjustment for age and co-morbidities such as drug abuse, psychiatric disease, stroke, alcohol abuse, arterial embolism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebrovascular disease and atrial fibrillation. Several co-morbidities predicted poorer outcomes for patients who survived the initial 30 days.ConclusionsPoisoning from smoke and/or CO is a frequent incident in Denmark accounting for numerous contacts with hospitals and deaths. Both intoxication and mortality are highly associated with co-morbidities interfering with cognitive and physical function. Treatment with HBO was not seen to have an effect on survival

Do psychosocial factors modify the negative association between disability and life satisfaction in old age?

CONTEXT: Many assume that having poor physical health in old age lowers life satisfaction, but in fact there are large differences in life satisfaction among older people who experience disability. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether psychosocial factors modify the negative association between disability and life satisfaction in older people and whether these differ across the life course. DESIGN: Cross sectional study. SETTING: 66,561 community-dwelling Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) participants aged 50-106 with a mean age of 67.8 ± 9.9 (SD) years from 17 European countries and Israel. METHODS: Psychosocial factors included depression (EURO-D scale), perceived loneliness, having a spouse, having children, contact with children, and participation in social activities. Disability was assessed by limitations in (Instrumental) Activities of Daily Living ((I)ADL) and life satisfaction by Cantril's ladder. We also ran the analyses with the Control Autonomy Self-realization Pleasure (CASP-12) Index, a normative measure of quality of life. We used multiple linear regressions to estimate associations and proportion of variance explained. RESULTS: The variance in life satisfaction that could be attributed uniquely to ADL and IADL disability was 0.17% and 0.33% respectively (both p < 0.001). The impact of (I)ADL disabilities on life satisfaction was strongest at age 50 and gradually decreased with increasing age (p trend < 0.001). Mental health explained more variance; 5.75% for depressive symptoms and 2.50% for loneliness and for social resources this ranged from 0.09% to 0.47% (all p < 0.001). While disability has a negative effect on life satisfaction, the effect was not stronger in older persons who were depressed, neither in those who felt lonely nor in those without social resources. Similar outcomes were found when using CASP-12 as the explained variable. CONCLUSION: The impact of (I)ADL disabilities on life satisfaction in community-dwelling older people decreases with age. These associations are not affected by psychosocial factors and these patterns cannot be explained by people changing their norms and values