Resilience to stress and risk of gastrointestinal infections.

Background: Exposure to psychological stress can elicit a physiological response that may influence characteristics of the gastrointestinal mucosa, including increased intestinal permeability, in turn possibly increasing susceptibility to gastrointestinal infections. We investigated whether low stress resilience in adolescence is associated with an 'increased' risk of gastrointestinal infections in subsequent adulthood. Methods: Data were provided by Swedish registers for a cohort of 237 577 men who underwent military conscription assessment in late adolescence (1969-76). As part of the assessment procedure, certified psychologists evaluated stress resilience through semi-structured interviews. The cohort was followed from conscription assessment until 31 December 2009 (up to age 57 years). Cox regression assessed the association of stress resilience with gastrointestinal infections (n = 5532), with adjustment for family background measures in childhood and characteristics in adolescence. Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in adulthood was modelled as a time-dependent covariate. Results: Compared with high stress resilience, lower stress resilience was associated with a 'reduced' risk of gastrointestinal infections after adjustment for family background in childhood, characteristics in adolescence and PUD in adulthood, with hazard ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) of 0.88 (0.81-0.97) and 0.83 (0.77-0.88) for low and moderate stress resilience, respectively. Conclusion: Lower stress resilience in adolescence is associated with reduced risk of gastrointestinal infections in adulthood, rather than the hypothesized increased risk.

Padel an increasing cause of sport-related eye injuries in Sweden.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to determine the current Swedish epidemiology of sport-related eye injuries and to analyse the effect of the increased popularity of the racquet sport padel. METHODS: This was a retrospective, register-based, cohort study of medical records in the county of Jönköping, Sweden. All individuals with a sports-related eye injury needing healthcare between January 2017 and December 2021 were included. For these individuals, data about background, consequences and treatment of the injuries were obtained. RESULTS: During the 5-year study period, 255 patients sought care for sports-related eye injuries at the ophthalmological clinics in Jönköping County. Floorball caused the largest proportion of eye injuries (39%) followed by padel (20%) and football (15%). However, the proportion of injuries caused by padel increased during the study period to be the dominating cause in 2021. Compared to floorball, patients with eye injuries from padel were older and had female gender to a higher extent. The ball caused almost all injuries from padel; the majority occurred in the right eye. Most the eye injuries from padel were mild or moderate but 4% had severe consequences with an imminent risk of long-term complications. CONCLUSIONS: In a short time period, padel has become the leading cause of sports-related eye injuries in Sweden. To reduce the number of eye injuries, protective eyewear could be recommended.