Co-morbid cardiovascular disease and depression: sequence of disease onset is linked to mental but not physical self-rated health. Results from a cross-sectional, population-based study

Abstract Objective To analyse alcohol consumption and its association with self-rated health among a representative sample of older people in mid-Sweden. Background Over the past decades, alcohol consumption has increased in the older population in Sweden, but few studies have investigated the association between alcohol consumption and self-rated health in this group. The aim was therefore to investigate alcohol consumption and self-rated health among older Swedes. Methods The study is based on a cross-sectional study of 11,716 men and women, 65 years and over, answering a survey questionnaire sent to a random population sample in mid-Sweden in 2012. We assessed alcohol consumption with AUDIT-C and its association with self-rated health using logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, economic situation, educational level, BMI, physical activity, social support and medication use. Results Men (83%) were more prone to drink alcohol compared to women (71%). The prevalence of risk drinking was about 2% for both genders. Alcohol consumption declined with age. Moderate consumption of alcohol was associated with lower probability of poor self-rated health compared to non-drinking with an adjusted odds ratio 0.64 (95% confidence interval: 0.54-0.76) for men and 0.68 (0.59-0.79) for women. Conclusion Since the study was cross-sectional the direction of the association could not be determined, and the results should not be interpreted as an argument for promoting alcohol consumption among older people.

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Self-rated health and social capital in Iraqi immigrants to Sweden: The MEDIM population-based study

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494817730997 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 194-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Louise Bennet ◽

Martin Lindström

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Social Capital ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Female Gender ◽

Population Based ◽

Health Examination ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

Iraqi Women

Objectives: Poor self-rated health is an estimator of quality of life and a predictor of mortality seldom studied in immigrant populations. This work aimed to study self-rated health in relation to social capital, socioeconomic status, lifestyle and comorbidity in immigrants from Iraq – one of the largest non-European immigrant group in Sweden today – and to compare it with the self-rated health of native Swedes. Design: The study was a cross-sectional population-based study conducted from 2010 to 2012 among citizens of Malmö, Sweden, aged 30–65 years and born in Iraq or Sweden. All participants underwent a health examination and answered questionnaires on self-rated health, social capital, comorbidity, lifestyle and socioeconomic status. Results: In total, 1348 Iraqis and 677 Swedes participated. Poor self-rated health was identified in 43.9% of Iraqis and 21.9% of native Swedes ( p<0.001), with the highest prevalence (55.5%) among Iraqi women. Low social capital was highly prevalent in the immigrants. Female gender showed higher odds of poor self-rated health in Iraqis than in Swedes (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.5, pinteraction=0.024), independent of other risk factors connected to social capital, socioeconomic status, lifestyle or comorbidity. Conclusions: Although public health initiatives promoting social capital, socioeconomic status and comorbidity in immigrants are crucial, the excess risk of poor self-rated health in Iraqi women is not fully attributed to known risk factors for self-rated health, but remains to be further explored.

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