Did smallpox cause stillbirths? Maternal smallpox infection, vaccination and stillbirths in Sweden, 1780-1839

Woods (2009) argued that smallpox was an important cause of stillbirths in the past. While there is strong evidence that maternal smallpox infection could lead to fetal loss, it is not clear whether smallpox infections were a demographically important source of stillbirths. In this paper, we use parish-level data from the Swedish Tabellverket dataset from 1780 to 1839 to test the effect of smallpox on stillbirths quantitatively. We use two empirical strategies: dynamic panel regressions that test the instantaneous effect of smallpox epidemics on stillbirths; and a continuous treatment difference-in-difference strategy to test whether the reduction in smallpox prevalence following vaccination led to a larger decrease in the stillbirth rate in parishes where smallpox was more prevalent before vaccination. We find very little evidence that smallpox infection was a major cause of stillbirths in history. Our coefficients are largely insignificant and close to zero. This is because the vast majority of women contracted smallpox as children and therefore were no longer susceptible during pregnancy. We do find a small, statistically significant effect of smallpox on stillbirths from 1820-39 when waning immunity from vaccination put a greater share of pregnant women at risk of contracting smallpox. However, the reduced prevalence of smallpox limited the demographic impact. Thus, smallpox was not an important driver in historical stillbirth trends and did not contribute to in utero scarring effects for cohorts born when smallpox prevalence was high

A Database for the Future

The Demographic Data Base (DDB) at the Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR) at Umeå University has since the 1970s been building longitudinal population databases and disseminating data for research. The databases were built to serve as national research infrastructures, useful for addressing an indefinite number of research questions within a broad range of scientific fields, and open to all academic researchers who wanted to use the data. A countless number of customised datasets have been prepared and distributed to researchers in Sweden and abroad and to date, the research has resulted in more than a thousand published scientific reports, books, and articles within a broad range of academic fields. While there has long been a clear predominance of research within the humanities and social sciences, it has always been used for research in other fields as well, for example medicine. In this article, we first give a brief presentation of the DDB and its history, characteristics, and development from the 1970s to the present. It includes an overview of the research based on the DDB databases, with a focus on the databases POPUM and POPLINK with individual-level data. A number of major traits of the research from 1973 to now have been outlined, showing the breadth of the research and highlighting some major contributions, with a focus on work that would have been very difficult to perform without data from the DDB

Intergenerational Transfers of Infant Mortality in 19th-Century Northern Sweden

This contribution is part of an international comparative initiative with the aim to assess the analytical power of the Intermediate Data Structure (IDS) in a study of possible intergenerational transmissions of death in infancy. An evaluation of the data in applied research will be useful for further development of the IDS structure and for its future use in comparative research. An additional methodological aim for this part of the study is to evaluate and compare different models for statistical analysis of intergenerational transfers. The analysis is based on a cohort of mothers born 1826-1854, whose experiences of infant mortality are compared to the ones of the previous generation, the grandmothers. Data are collected from Swedish parish records, available in the database POPUM at the Demographic Data Base in Umeå. The analysis shows a clear association between infant mortality among mothers and grandmothers. The probability of an infant death for a woman is increased if her mother also had experienced an infant death. Having tested for different approaches of analysis, we found that simple models with few restrictive assumptions gave similar results as more complicated models. Since it is easy to feel confident in the models with the weakest assumptions, we argue that such models are preferred for this type of analysis

Introduction: Major Databases with Historical Longitudinal Population Data: Development, Impact and Results

Over the last 60 years several major historical databases with reconstructed life courses of large populations have been launched. The development of these databases is indicative of considerable investments that have greatly expanded the possibilities for new research within the fields of history, demography, sociology, as well as other disciplines. In this volume spanning seven articles, eight databases are included that had a wide impact on research in various disciplines. Each database had its own unique genesis that is well described in the articles assembled in this volume. They inform readers about how these databases have changed the course of research in historical demography and related disciplines, how settled findings were challenged or confirmed, and how innovative investigations were launched and implemented. In the end we explore how research with this kind of databases will develop in future

The Demographic Database — History of Technical and Methodological Achievements

The Demographic Data Base (DDB) at the Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR) at Umeå University has since the 1970s been building longitudinal population databases and disseminating data for research. The databases were built to serve as national research infrastructures, useful for addressing an indefinite number of research questions within a broad range of scientific fields, and open to all academic researchers who wanted to use the data. A countless number of customized datasets have been prepared and distributed to researchers in Sweden and abroad and to date, the research has resulted in more than a thousand published scientific reports, books, and articles within a broad range of academic fields. This article will focus on the development of techniques and methods used to store and structure the data at DDB from the beginning in 1973 until today. This includes digitization methods, database design and methods for linkage. The different systems developed for implementing these methods are also described and to some extent, the hardware used

Dödlighet och familjebildning under 1600- och 1700-talet

Under några decennier har den historie-demografiska forskningen varit livaktig såväl i Sverige som i andra länder. För en tid var forskningsinriktningen representerad vid de flesta svenska lärosäten. Under senare år har emellertid mycket av forskningen koncentrerats till några få ställen i Sverige, framför allt Lund och Umeå. Det är därför glädjande att det nu kommit en avhandling från Göteborg med denna inriktning, nämligen Daniel Larssons Den dolda transitionen. Han tillhör en grupp som inriktar sig på befolkningshistoriska studier vid Göteborgs historiska institution. Det är också glädjande att Larssons avhandling handlar om äldre demografisk historia. Visst har en hel del gjorts, bland annat av Eli F. Heckscher och Nils Friberg, men det som karakteriserat den senare svenska historie-demografiska forskningen har med några undantag varit koncentrationen på tidsperioden efter 1750. En förklaring torde vara att källäget för den perioden har varit så pass mycket bättre. Tabellverket och kyrkobokföringen gör det svenska befolkningshistoriska källmaterialet världsunikt, och informationen i kyrkböckerna har varit lämplig att överföra till databaser. Svensk forskning har, helt naturligt, skördat frukterna där vinsterna varit mest givande. Nackdelen är att man varit alltför ängslig att gå till äldre material som krävt betydligt mer arbete och lösningar av många metodologiska problem. Svenska forskare har inte i tillräcklig utsträckning utnyttjat de källor för äldre tider som ändå finns. Vi har också endast i begränsad omfattning utvecklat metoder för att analysera dessa data. I andra länder har man av nödtvång drivits till att utveckla sina analysmetoder för att över huvud taget kunna säga något om befolkningen i äldre tid.Artikeln är en opponentrecension av Daniel Larssons avhandling ”Den dolda transitionen. Om ett demografiskt brytningsskede i det tidiga 1700-talets Sverige” som ingår i serien Avhandlingar från Historiska institutionen, Göteborgs universitet, nr 45, Göteborg 2006. 260 s. (Summary: The hidden transition:a demographic long-term change in early 18th century Sweden)</p

Reumatiker och kroniskt sjuka – en anomali i sjukvården? : recension av avhandlingen Vården av de arbetsoförmögna : reumatikervårdens framväxt i den tidiga välfärdsstaten, av Henrik Karlsson, Örebro

This article reviews the following work:Henrik Karlsson, Vården av de arbetsoförmögna: reumatikervårdens framväxt i den tidiga välfärdsstaten, Örebro studies in history 12 (Örebro: Örebro universitet 2012). 208 s. (Summary in English: The care of those unable to work: the development of care for rheumatics in the early welfare state.)</p

Urban health and social class

Folkhälsa och samhällsförändrin

The unhealthy town : social inequality regarding mortality in 19th century Sundsvall

This study deals with the topic of social class and mortality. In particular, the analyses are concentrated on the question of how social differences developed in an era which was characterised by industrialisation, urbanisation and sanitary improvements. This work also discusses how the problems of social class and health were dealt with in the nineteenth Century. The development of medicai care and public health are especially studied. The development of mortality in different social classes is analysed on micro level in the town of Sundsvall during the 19th century, for which the parish registers for the period 1803-1894 have been transferred on to data. This town became the centre of an expansive saw mill area from the middle of the Century. In contrast to the view of contemporary witnesses, inequality seems to have been fairly small in some age groups, but the pattems diverged between them. Mortality among adults was largely dependent on cultural variables such as life style and attitudes, and social differences played a minor role. Men had much higher mortality than women. The development does not seem to have been primarily affected by industrialisation, urbanisation or sanitary improvements. For children 1-14 years old, on the other hand, conditions created by industrialisation and urbanisation seem to have been of the utmost importance. Child mortality increased from 1860, affecting first of all working class children. Overcrowding increased the spread of infectious diseases. Sanitary improvements may have had an effect on the mortality level from around 1880, but more definitely in the 1890's. The same is also the case regarding infant mortality. They may have had some impact on the initial decline in infant mortality, but the connection appears to be stronger in the 1890's. The social inequality in infant mortality was insignificant until late 19th centuiy, but increased at that time. Among infants, feeding practises were also of importance.digitalisering@um