Smoking and labour market participation: a 5-year prospective cohort study of transitions between work, unemployment and sickness absence.

AIM: To examine whether smokers are at higher risk of unemployment and sickness absence and have a lower chance of getting employed compared to never smokers. METHODS: The study sample in this prospective register-based cohort study consisted of 87,830 men and women between 18 and 60 years of age from the Danish National Health Survey 2010. Assessment of smoking status was obtained at baseline and the participants were followed in the Danish register-based evaluation of marginalisation database from 2010 to 2015. Data were analysed by Cox proportional hazards. RESULTS: The median age was 44.5 years and 47.3% were men. At baseline, 88.8% were categorised as working, 7.7% as unemployed and 3.5% as being on sickness absence. At the 5-year follow-up, hazard ratios for transitions from work to unemployment were 1.31 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22-1.40; P<0.001) for current smokers (<15/day) and 1.52 (95% CI 1.43-1.62; P<0.001) for current heavy smokers (⩾15/day), compared to never smokers. Hazard ratios for transitions from work to sickness absence were 1.31 (95% CI 1.24-1.38; P<0.001) for current smokers (<15/day) and 1.64 (95% CI 1.56-1.71; P<0.001) for current heavy smokers (⩾15/day). Current heavy smokers (⩾15/day) also had a lower chance of becoming re-employed with a hazard ratio of 0.81 (95% CI 0.75-0.88; P<0.001) compared to never smokers.Smoking was associated with a higher risk of unemployment and sickness absence, and a lower chance of becoming employed. More focus on smoking prevention and smoking cessation could therefore be implemented in relation to job seeking and sickness absence.

35 Years of health surveys in Denmark: a backbone of public health practice and research.

Denmark has a 35-year history of monitoring health status in the general population through health surveys. In this commentary, we outline the development of health surveys in Denmark from the beginning in 1987 to the present time. We describe how the current systematic framework for the Danish National Health Survey (DNHS) developed. We discuss the methodological basis for the DNHS and describe its application in public health practice and research. Over the years, the DNHS has become an important part of the Danish public health environment. Challenges for the DNHS in the future are to adapt to new trends in public health and at the same time to be able to monitor important changes consistently over time.

Prevalence and Trends in Problem Gambling in Denmark with Special Focus on Country of Origin: Results from the Danish Health and Morbidity Surveys.

Belonging to an ethnic minority has been described as a possible risk factor for problem gambling, but the literature is inconclusive whether this association is true or just a proxy for other underlying risk factors. Hence, the aims were to investigate: (1) past year prevalence of problem gambling in the adult Danish population and trends since 2005, (2) past year prevalence of problem gambling in 2017 and trends since 2010 by country of origin, and (3) whether a marginalisation by country of origin or problem gambling, respectively, is seen in various health-related indicators. Data were derived from the Danish Health and Morbidity Surveys in 2005, 2010, 2013, and 2017. The Lie/Bet Questionnaire was used to define problem gamblers. The overall prevalence of past year problem gambling has increased slightly from 2005 (1.0%) to 2017 (1.5%), but a more alarming increase was observed among men with non-western origin (3.1% in 2010 and 7.0% in 2017). A lower prevalence of good self-rated health and a higher prevalence of poor mental health was observed among individuals with a non-western origin compared to those with a Danish origin, although the differences became smaller between 2010 and 2017. The findings indicate a slightly increase in the prevalence of past year problem gambling and that particular attention should be paid to individuals with a non-western origin. The study also highlights the need for better differentiation of risk factors that may variously predispose different ethnic groups to develop gambling problems.

Association between alcohol, socioeconomic position and labour market participation: A prospective cohort study of transitions between work and unemployment.

Aims: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that heavy alcohol consumption and problem drinking is associated with a higher risk of becoming unemployed and a lower chance of entering the job market across socioeconomic positions. Methods: A sample of 84,474 men and women aged 18-60 years from the Danish National Health Survey 2010 participated in the study. Information on alcohol consumption and problem drinking was obtained by questionnaire. The primary outcomes were becoming unemployed and entering the job market. The follow-up period was five years. Information on labour market transitions and socioeconomic position (educational level) was obtained through nationwide registers. Multiplicative analyses were performed. Results: Heavy alcohol consumption and problem drinking were associated with a higher risk of unemployment among low-educated (hazard ratio (HR)=1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-1.9) and medium-educated (HR=1.3; 95% CI 1.1-1.5) individuals in comparison to individuals with a similar educational level drinking one to seven drinks per week. Excessive alcohol consumption and problem drinking were associated with a lower chance of entering the job market for individuals with a medium or high level of education: medium-educated individuals drinking >28 drinks per week had a HR of 0.82 (95% CI 0.69-0.98) when compared to medium-educated individuals drinking one to seven drinks per week. The corresponding HR among high-educated individuals was 0.71 (95% CI 0.49-1.0). Conclusions: Heavy alcohol consumption and problem drinking are associated with a higher risk of unemployment in some social strata, whereas excessive alcohol consumption and problem drinking are associated with a lower chance of entering the job market in other social strata.

The effect of multiple reminders on response patterns in a Danish health survey.

BACKGROUND: Reminders are routinely applied in surveys to increase response rates and reduce the possibility of bias. This study examines the effect of multiple reminders on the response rate, non-response bias, prevalence estimates and exposure-outcome relations in a national self-administered health survey. METHODS: Data derive from the Danish National Health Survey 2010, in which 298,550 individuals (16 years of age or older) were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey using a mixed-mode approach (paper and web questionnaires). At least two reminders were sent to non-respondents, and 177,639 individuals completed the questionnaire (59.5%). Response patterns were compared between four groups of individuals (first mailing respondents, second mailing respondents, third mailing respondents and non-respondents). RESULTS: Multiple reminders led to an increase in response rate from 36.7 to 59.5%; however, the inclusion of second and third mailing respondents did not change the overall characteristics of respondents compared with non-respondents. Furthermore, only small changes in prevalence estimates and exposure-outcome relationships were observed when including second and third mailing respondents compared with only first mailing respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple reminders were an effective way to increase the response rate in a national Danish health survey. However, when differences do exist between respondents and non-respondents, the results suggest that second and third mailings are unlikely to eliminate these differences. Overall, multiple reminders seemed to have only minor effect on response patterns and study conclusions in the present study.

Alcohol and risk of non-traumatic bleeding events requiring hospital care in the general population: A prospective cohort study.

Alcohol has a direct effect on blood coagulation and fibrinolysis. We studied how alcohol is related to common bleeding events (e.g., nose bleeding), as well as life-threatening bleeding events (e.g., hemorrhagic stroke) that required hospital care in the general population. We used data from The Copenhagen City Heart Study, 1991 to 1994 and 2001 to 2003. Baseline information on alcohol consumption and potential confounders was obtained by questionnaires, and participants were followed for incident bleeding events with nationwide registers until 2013. Among the 10,259 included participants, we observed 366 nose or other respiratory organ bleeding events, 149 hemorrhagic stroke events, 470 gastrointestinal bleeding events, 266 unspecified bleeding events, and 1088 any-bleeding events (composite endpoint) during follow-up. Compared to drinkers of 1-6 drinks per week, those drinking ≥35 drinks per week had a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke [hazard ratio, 2.27 (1.14-4.55)] and non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding [hazard ratio 2.04 (1.37-3.05)], whereas non-drinkers and drinkers of 7-13, 14-20, 21-27, and 28-34 drinks per week had not. Alcohol consumption was not associated with risk of nose or other respiratory organ bleeding or unspecified bleeding. For non-drinkers and drinkers of 7-13, 14-20, 21-27, 28-34, and 35 or more drinks per week, hazard ratios for the composite endpoint of any bleeding were 1.17 (95% CI: 0.99-1.37), 0.97 (95% CI: 0.81-1.15), 1.00 (95% CI: 0.80-1.26), 0.93 (95% CI: 0.69-1.25), 1.39 (95% CI: 1.00-1.94), and 1.83 (95% CI: 1.39-2.41) compared to drinkers of 1-6 drinks per week. In conclusion, drinking 35 or more drinks per week may be associated with a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke and non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding in the general population.

BMI and Labor Market Participation: A Cohort Study of Transitions Between Work, Unemployment, and Sickness Absence.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to test the hypotheses that individuals with obesity are at higher risk of unemployment and sickness absence and have a lower chance of getting employed compared with individuals with normal weight. METHODS: Data on weight and height were collected at baseline from 87,796 participants in the Danish National Health Survey 2010. Participants were then followed in national registers for 5 years. Outcome measures were transitions from employment to unemployment and sickness absence and the transitions from unemployment or sickness absence to employment. Data were analyzed by Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: Hazard ratios for unemployment were 1.18 (95% CI: 1.10-1.26) for individuals with obesity and 1.27 (95% CI: 1.14-1.41) for individuals with severe obesity compared with individuals with normal weight. Participants with obesity also had a higher risk of sickness absence. Additionally, participants with obesity who were unemployed at baseline had a lower chance of becoming employed compared with participants with normal weight. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity was associated with a higher risk of unemployment and sickness absence compared with individuals with normal weight. Additionally, obesity was associated with a lower chance of employment.

Alcohol Intake and Risk of Ischemic and Haemorrhagic Stroke: Results from a Mendelian Randomisation Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To test whether alcohol intake, both observational and estimated by genetic instruments, is associated with risk of ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke. METHODS: We used data from the Copenhagen City Heart Study 1991 to 1994 and 2001 to 2003, and the Copenhagen General Population Study 2003 to 2012 (n=78,546). As measure of alcohol exposure, self-reported consumption and genetic variation in alcohol metabolizing genes (alcohol dehydrogenase ADH1B and ADH1C) as instrumental variables were used. Stroke diagnoses were obtained from a validated hospital register. RESULTS: During follow-up 2,535 cases of ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke occurred. Low and moderate alcohol intake (1 to 20 drinks/week) was associated with reduced risk of stroke. The hazard ratios associated with drinking 1 to 6, 7 to 13, and 14 to 20 drinks/week were 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 0.92), 0.83 (95% CI, 0.73 to 0.94), and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.73 to 0.97), respectively, compared with drinking <1 drink/day. ADH1B and ADH1C genotypes were not associated with risk of stroke. Further analysis to test the included measures revealed that increasing alcohol intake (per 1 drink/day) was positively associated with risk of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, but not associated with risk of stroke, and that increasing blood pressure (per systolic 10 mm Hg) was not associated with risk of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, but positively associated with risk of stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Low and moderate self-reported alcohol intake was associated with reduced risk of stroke. The result was not supported by the result from the causal genetic analysis.

Trends in smoking and smokeless tobacco use among Danish Adolescents, 1997-2014.

INTRODUCTION: High rates of smoking among adolescents remain a public health concern. This study investigates smoking behavior and use of smokeless tobacco among Danish high-school students and assesses how smoking and use of smokeless tobacco cluster in schools and school classes. We estimate the trend in cigarette smoking from 1997 to 2014. METHODS: We used data on 70 243 students, from 3 214 school classes in 119 high schools, who participated in the Danish National Youth Study from 2014. We had information on 87% of all Danish high schools and 85% of eligible students. We also used data from 1997 on 26 644 high-school students from a similar data set to assess the chronological trend in smoking. We calculated prevalences and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) to estimate between-school and between-school class clustering in smoking and use of smokeless tobacco. RESULTS: In all, 14% of boys and 11% of girls were daily smokers. A large fraction of the variation in smoking and the use of smokeless tobacco was attributable to the school and school-class level (ICC of 0.19, 0.12, 0.16 and 0.27, for daily smoking, waterpipe smoking, use of electronic cigarettes and snuff/chewing tobacco, respectively). Daily smoking decreased from 15% in 1997 to 12% in 2014, while more students were occasional smokers in 2014 than in 1997 (30% vs 18%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of smoking was high among Danish high-school students and had changed little since 1997. The school and class environment accounted for a large part of the variation in smoking behavior.