Objective: To estimate the associations between measures of religiousness and depression and to determine if these associations have changed over the period 1952 to 1992. Methods: Data were drawn from 2,398 individuals from the 1952 and 1992 cross sectional surveys of the Stirling County Study as a means of studying time trends. For this thesis, questions about frequency of religious worship attendance, frequency of saying grace, religious importance were employed to develop a scale of secularism. The individual questions and the scale were analyzed in terms of the prevalence of depression at each time point. Logistic regression was used to determine associations of depression with religion variables, adjusted for demographic and other covariates. Results: Individuals who attended religious services weekly were over two times less likely to meet criteria for depression than infrequent attenders and this relationship did not change over time. Associations between religious attendance and depression were stronger among women and the medically healthy compared to men and those with a medical condition. Being more secular was associated with higher odds of depression among females. Conclusions: Religious attendance has consistently been associated with lower depression over a forty year period, irrespective of marked declines in population-level religious behaviors. Associations between religiousness and depression may be stronger in females than in males.

No description available.

In the 1950s the otter started to decline in numbers and distribution in Sweden and other parts of Europe. In 1972 a game law came into force, listing otter as a species that if found dead should be reported and sent to the authorities. The numbers of dead otters reported from different areas indicate population status and distribution. Between 1970 and 2012, 832 otters were sent to the authorities, the majority (66%) during the last ten years. Most were killed in traffic accidents or drowned in fishing gear. However, the main cause of the decline is believed to be environmental contaminants. Experimental data show that a PCB residue level in muscle tissue of 12 mg/kg lw causes reproductive impairment in mink (Neovison vison), suggesting reproductive problems also in the highly PCB-exposed otters in Sweden. Since the bans of PCB and DDT in the mid-1970s, concentrations of these substances in otter and fish have decreased and the otter population is increasing. Few pathological changes in otters have been found that can be related to high contaminant concentrations. However, we found a correlation between elevated PCB concentrations and alterations in bone mineral density. No relationship was seen between DDE and bone parameters. The decline of the otter coincided with the decline of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Sweden, all showing decreased reproductive outcome. Reproductive success started to increase for all of them around 1990 and during the same period concentrations of PCB and DDE have decreased in these species. The body condition among female otters has increased over the study period, indicating an improved health status. However, we found a high prevalence (71%) of cysts on the spermatic duct in otters collected between 1999 and 2012, possibly caused by endocrine disrupting chemicals. Although the organochlorine concentrations in otters have decreased, otters still face many problems. New threats to the otter population in Scandinavia are the perfluorinated chemicals, including PFOS and PFOA. Results in this thesis show an increasing trend for these compounds in otters up to 2011, including some extremely high concentrations of PFOS in otters from southern Sweden.

No description available.

A population based cross-sectional time series analysis was conducted using three Ontario administrative databases, to assess trends over time in the surgical management of kidney stone disease. All kidney stone treatments performed with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), ureteroscopy (URS) and percutaneous nephrolithotomy between July 1, 1991 and December 31, 2010, were included. Time series modeling with exponential smoothing and autoregressive integrated moving average models demonstrated a significant increase in the utilization of URS over time (23.69% to 59.98%, p<0.0001), with a reciprocal significant decrease in the utilization of SWL (68.77% to 33.36%, p<0.0001). As a result of this shift in treatment paradigm, time series modeling also demonstrated an associated significant decrease in the need for ancillary treatment over time (22.12% to 16.01%, p<0.0001) and a significant increase in the need for hospital readmission (8.01% to 10.85%, p<0.0001) or emergency room visit (7.58% to 9.95%, p=0.0024) within 7 days following treatment.

A population based cross-sectional time series analysis was conducted using three Ontario administrative databases, to assess trends over time in the surgical management of kidney stone disease. All kidney stone treatments performed with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), ureteroscopy (URS) and percutaneous nephrolithotomy between July 1, 1991 and December 31, 2010, were included. Time series modeling with exponential smoothing and autoregressive integrated moving average models demonstrated a significant increase in the utilization of URS over time (23.69% to 59.98%, p<0.0001), with a reciprocal significant decrease in the utilization of SWL (68.77% to 33.36%, p<0.0001). As a result of this shift in treatment paradigm, time series modeling also demonstrated an associated significant decrease in the need for ancillary treatment over time (22.12% to 16.01%, p<0.0001) and a significant increase in the need for hospital readmission (8.01% to 10.85%, p<0.0001) or emergency room visit (7.58% to 9.95%, p=0.0024) within 7 days following treatment.

<p>Wegener´s granulomatosis (WG) is an unusual, serious, systemic vasculitis with specific clinical findings. The studies in this thesis aim at broadening our understanding of the aetiology and outcome of WG.</p><p>Patients with WG were identified in the In-patient Register 1975-2001. During this time the incidence increased three-fold, and neither ANCA-related increased awareness, nor diagnostic drift, seem to fully explain this trend, but it is still unclear if a true rise in incidence exists. </p><p>Anti- neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) have been presented as highly specific for vasculitis. In a series of consecutive cANCA/PR3-ANCA positive patients, we investigated the positive predictive value for ANCA, and the outcome of patients with a positive cANCA/PR3-ANCA but not vasculitis. These patients have a low future risk of developing vasculitis, possibly indicating that ANCA, in this setting, reflects neutrophil activating properties not specific to vasculitis.</p><p>By linkage of the WG-cohort, and randomly selected population controls, to the Multi-generation register, we identified all first-degree relatives and spouses of patients and controls, totally encompassing some 2,000 patients and 70,000 relatives. Familial aggregation of WG was the exception, with absolute risks of < 1 per 1000.However, relative risks in first-grade relatives amounted to 1.56 (95% CI 0.35-6.90) such that a moderate familial aggregation cannot be excluded.</p><p>In the WG-cohort, cancer occurrence and risk was compared to that of the general population. Patients with WG have an overall doubled risk of cancer, with particularly increased risks of bladder-cancer, haematopoietic cancers including lymphomas and squamous skin-cancer. In a case-control study nested within the WG-cohort, treatment with cyclophosphamide was compared among bladder-cancer patients and matched cancer-free controls. Absolute risk of bladder cancer as high as 10% some years after diagnosis were found, and this risk can partly be attributed to cyclophosphamide-treatment, with a dose-response relationship.</p>

The Arctic and sub-Arctic region of the North Atlantic is a remote area, also in relations to environmental contaminants, such as POPs, BFRs and last but not least, PFCs. Both the BFRs and PFCs are considered emerging pollutants of significant environmental concern. The main objective of this thesis is to increase the knowledge and understanding of organohalogen compound distribution in the Nordic environment, their occurrence in biota and change over time. The temporal change of environmental contaminants in the Baltic Sea was monitored over the years 1971 to 2001, with emphasis on BCPS. Further, the pollution profile of the Nordic region was investigated by using common guillemot eggs. Further, to investigate a single remote site, Iceland, in more depth, eggs from seven marine bird species were collected and analysed. Both the organohalogen compounds mentioned above and their metabolites were investigated. The study focused also on an inter-species difference in the bird’s capability of metabolising xenobiotics. All environmental pollutants investigated in the Baltic Sea show decreasing levels over the time period investigated. BCPS showed a remarkably small change over time compared to other compounds. These results reinforce the previous findings, indicating the North Atlantic as remote where the concentrations of the organohalogens are lower compared to Europe in general. There are some exceptions however; the concentration of HCB is ubiquitously distributed across the study area. Further, the spatial trends of the PFCs are complicated and differ within the PFC group. When comparing bird species from Iceland, the concentration of organohalogens mainly depends on trophic level, while migration seems to contribute to a lesser extent. There are some similarities in the metabolism between the bird species investigated. However, the guillemot seems to distinguish itself from other marine birds, with a different composition of metabolites, indicating a different metabolic capacity. In conclusion, even human populations living in remote areas need to minimise the release of pollutants to the environment. Long term, well organised, and extensive governmental monitoring programs are highly recommended to follow the quality the environment and to detect any immediate and/or new threats of chemical pollutants.

Wegener´s granulomatosis (WG) is an unusual, serious, systemic vasculitis with specific clinical findings. The studies in this thesis aim at broadening our understanding of the aetiology and outcome of WG. Patients with WG were identified in the In-patient Register 1975-2001. During this time the incidence increased three-fold, and neither ANCA-related increased awareness, nor diagnostic drift, seem to fully explain this trend, but it is still unclear if a true rise in incidence exists. Anti- neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) have been presented as highly specific for vasculitis. In a series of consecutive cANCA/PR3-ANCA positive patients, we investigated the positive predictive value for ANCA, and the outcome of patients with a positive cANCA/PR3-ANCA but not vasculitis. These patients have a low future risk of developing vasculitis, possibly indicating that ANCA, in this setting, reflects neutrophil activating properties not specific to vasculitis. By linkage of the WG-cohort, and randomly selected population controls, to the Multi-generation register, we identified all first-degree relatives and spouses of patients and controls, totally encompassing some 2,000 patients and 70,000 relatives. Familial aggregation of WG was the exception, with absolute risks of &lt; 1 per 1000.However, relative risks in first-grade relatives amounted to 1.56 (95% CI 0.35-6.90) such that a moderate familial aggregation cannot be excluded. In the WG-cohort, cancer occurrence and risk was compared to that of the general population. Patients with WG have an overall doubled risk of cancer, with particularly increased risks of bladder-cancer, haematopoietic cancers including lymphomas and squamous skin-cancer. In a case-control study nested within the WG-cohort, treatment with cyclophosphamide was compared among bladder-cancer patients and matched cancer-free controls. Absolute risk of bladder cancer as high as 10% some years after diagnosis were found, and this risk can partly be attributed to cyclophosphamide-treatment, with a dose-response relationship.

This thesis examines underpricing in Sweden using unique data on the 185 firms going public through initial public offerings (IPOs) and listing on the Stockholm Stock Exchange between 1994-2011. The average initial return in the Swedish IPO market adjusted for index movements is 11.49% but underpricing of individual IPOs was as high as 241.04%. Further, time trends in underpricing, the level of average initial returns effect on IPO supply underpricing and differences between sectors, segments and investment banks are examined. Finally, it is argued that investors must be rewarded for taking the high risk associated with IPO investing and that the average initial return of 11.49% is a reasonable compensation for that risk.