Rationale for a Swedish cohort consortium

We herein outline the rationale for a Swedish cohort consortium, aiming to facilitate greater use of Swedish cohorts for world-class research. Coordination of all Swedish prospective population-based cohorts in a common infrastructure would enable more precise research findings and facilitate research on rare exposures and outcomes, leading to better utilization of study participants' data, better return of funders' investments, and higher benefit to patients and populations. We motivate the proposed infrastructure partly by lessons learned from a pilot study encompassing data from 21 cohorts. We envisage a standing Swedish cohort consortium that would drive development of epidemiological research methods and strengthen the Swedish as well as international epidemiological competence, community, and competitiveness.Peer reviewe

Body mass index and risk of over 100 cancer forms and subtypes in 4.1 million individuals in Sweden : the Obesity and Disease Development Sweden (ODDS) pooled cohort study

Background: Obesity, assessed by body mass index (BMI), is an established risk factor for 13 cancers. We aimed to identify further potential obesity-related cancers and to quantify their association with BMI relative to that of established obesity-related cancers. Methods: Using Cox regression models on 4,142,349 individuals in Sweden (mean age 27.1 years at weight measurement), we calculated hazard ratios (HRs) for the association between BMI and the risk of 122 cancers and cancer subtypes, grouped by topography and morphology. Cancers with a positive association (i.e., HR >1) at an α-level of 0.05 for obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) vs. normal weight (BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2) or per 5 kg/m2 higher BMI, for which obesity is not an established risk factor, were considered potentially obesity related. Findings: After 100.2 million person-years of follow-up, 332,501 incident cancer cases were recorded. We identified 15 cancers in men and 16 in women as potentially obesity related. These were cancers of the head and neck, gastrointestinal tract, malignant melanoma, genital organs, endocrine organs, connective tissue, and haematological malignancies. Among these, there was evidence of differential associations with BMI between subtypes of gastric cancer, small intestine cancer, cervical cancer, and lymphoid neoplasms (P values for heterogeneity in HRs <0.05). The HR (95% confidence interval) per 5 kg/m2 higher BMI was 1.17 (1.15–1.20) in men and 1.13 (1.11–1.15) in women for potential obesity-related cancers (51,690 cases), and 1.24 (1.22–1.26) in men and 1.12 (1.11–1.13) in women for established obesity-related cancers (84,384 cases). Interpretation: This study suggests a large number of potential obesity-related cancers could be added to already established ones. Importantly, the magnitudes of the associations were largely comparable to those of the already established obesity-related cancers. We also provide evidence of specific cancer subtypes driving some associations with BMI. Studies accounting for cancer-specific confounders are needed to confirm these findings.Peer reviewe

Hur ser ungas attityder till eget och kamraters snatteri ut? : en kvantitativ undersökning bland elever i dagens niondeklasser i en av Stockolms läns kommuner

Snatteri är det brott som förekommer mest bland ungdomar i tonåren och kan i tidig ålder bli en inkörsport till grövre brottslighet. Detta finns dokumenterat i officiell brottsstatistik. I vux-envärlden stöter man ofta på obekräftade uppfattningar, att ungdomar idag tenderar till att tillägna sig en accepterande attityd till eget och kamraters snatteri. Är det en verklig sanning att ungdomar i dag tolererar och bagatelliserar snatteri? Syftet med denna uppsats, som omfattar ungdomar i klass nio, är att ta reda på hur det kan se ut med tan-ke på dessa frågor. Inte minst för att öka kunskaperna inför planering av brottsförebyggande arbete. Jämförande undersökningar i fler kommuner med varierande socioekonomiska bak-grunder skulle vara av intresse för en grundligare kartläggning. Någonstans måste man dock börja. En kvantitativ undersökning med hjälp av enkäter genomfördes därför bland 110 elever i årskurs nio i en kommun i Stockholms län. Resultat från den här undersökningen bekräftar inte att en tillåtande attityd till snatteri är rå-dande bland de tillfrågade ungdomarna, snarare motsatsen. Två tredjedelar av respondenterna svarar att snatteri i affär inte är okej och nästan alla fördömer snatteri ur en kompis ficka. En del respondenter har själva snattat. Av pojkarna är det närmare hälften och av flickorna en fjärdedel som avslöjar det. Av dessa uppger närmare hälften att de endast snattat några få gånger

Kulturvärden i påbyggnadsprocesser: en studie i projektet Timber on top

Vertical extensions and heritage values The construction sector entails a significant environmental and climate impact, with large raw material consumption and waste production and huge emissions of greenhouse gases. More sustainable ways of meeting our need for buildings can include prolonging the life span of buildings. This requires buildings to be flexible and adaptable to changing needs. The Timber on top project investigates how vertical extensions to existing buildings can achieved in a way that is sustainable socially, ecologically, and economically. The broader aim of this study is to support sustainability in the building and construction sector. The goal is to map and compile practical knowledge on how heritage values are best considered in vertical extension processes. Methods used are literature studies, a workshop, and interviews. The results show that obvious parts of a good practice are to involve competence on building conservation in the process, to follow up and control heritage values in the construction process, to ensure that there are control points in the control plan and that these are followed up. Specifically, different advice can be given for different stages in the construction process. Best practice in the idea stage Examine the conditions of the object already in the idea stage. Contact an antiquarian early for informal advice. Examine whether the object is sensitive or not and whether it is a house that is suitable to extend vertically or not. In connection with pre-study work, carry out an investigation on the object’s heritage values. Let the antiquarian take part in various investigations that are made. For extension projects, it is especially important to also have a structural engineer involved early in the process. Superstructures can lead to several types of measures that affect heritage values: reinforcement of load-bearing parts, measures for fire protection and measures for noise protection. At an early stage, different design alternatives can be explored, and technical requirements and cultural values can be weighed against each other. Hire an antiquarian who gets an integrated role of sounding board in early investigations and who can support an architect. Best practice in the planning stage and implementation stage Initially, when the consulting group is put together, make a presentation of the building and its heritage values. Take a tour of the site with everyone involved. Strive for continuity in the consulting group to avoid recurrence in the dialogue. Bring all important skills with you early. Include an antiquarian in the implementation phase. Checkpoints must be followed up. Contribute to the expert antiquarian coming out on the construction site to follow up the control plan. Strive for a good dialogue, where all interests come together.Rev utgåva 220420  pga skrivfel, varav två i första stycket i abstract.</p

Att mäta demonterbarhet och återbrukbarhet hos träbyggnader baserat på fallstudier och ISO 20887:2020

Measuring deconstructability and reusability of timber buildings. Timber construction must - like all construction - develop towards better resource management. One way to reduce raw material consumption and waste production may be to reuse buildings and building components to a greater extent, and to facilitate this, buildings would need to be designed with that aspect in mind. A European project, InFutUReWood, has investigated how design adapted for reuse can be facilitated and has identified a need for a tool for assessing the deconstructability and reusability of timber buildings. A basic first sketch for an assessment tool was produced, and this study takes the work with the tool further. The overall purpose is to support a development where reuse is considered already in the design phase. More specifically, the project develops a tool to assess how well deconstruction and reuse have been considered in the design of a timber building. The tool is based on the international standard ISO 20887: 2020 and on case studies. The project seeks to answer the questions: What makes deconstruction and reuse easy and what makes it difficult - according to case studies? How can these experiences be considered in the design of the assessment tool? What development needs are there for the sketch of at tool? The work has three thematic parts: 1) Analysis of dismantling and reuse processes in case studies. 2) Analysis of an existing draft of a tool. 3) Assessment of how the tool could be further developed. The general methods of the work are result analysis, interviews, photo documentation and studies of drawings and construction documents. The case studies show several practical ways to achieve dismantling and reusability and illustrate how ISO 20887:2020 can be practically applied. To make the tool suitable for use by an independent party, it needs to be simplified and the assessment criteria processed to be more objective. Clues to how the indicators can be developed are obtained. Continued work includes the involvement of industry to develop criteria that will make them have confidence in the tool. A reformulation and new formulation of indicators in the tool and validation of these is also needed