Stockholm County Council

About: Stockholm County Council is a government organization based out in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 1410 authors who have published 2429 publications receiving 78936 citations.

Call-related factors influencing output power from mobile phones

Abstract: Mobile phone use is increasing but there is also concern for adverse health effects. Well-designed prospective studies to assess several health outcomes are required. In designing a study of mobile phone use, it is important to assess which factors need to be considered in classifying the exposure to radiofrequency fields (RF). A pilot study was performed in Sweden and in the UK 2002 to 2003 to test the feasibility of recruiting a cohort of mobile phone users from a random population sample and from mobile phone subscription lists for a prospective study. As one part of this pilot study, different factors were evaluated regarding possible influence on the output power of the phones. By local switch logging, information on calls made from predefined subscriptions or dedicated handsets were obtained and the output power of phones during calls made indoors and outdoors, in moving and stationary mode, and in rural as well in urban areas were compared. In this experiment, calls were either 1, 1.5 or 5 min long. The results showed that high mobile phone output power is more frequent in rural areas whereas the other factors (length of call, moving/stationary, indoor/outdoor) were of less importance. Urban and rural area should be considered in an exposure index for classification of the exposure to RF from mobile phones and may be assessed by first base station during mobile phone calls or, if this information is not available, possibly by using home address as a proxy.

Primary prevention of childhood obesity through counselling sessions at Swedish child health centres : design, methods and baseline sample characteristics of the PRIMROSE cluster-randomised trial

Abstract: Background: Childhood obesity is a growing concern in Sweden. Children with overweight and obesity run a high risk of becoming obese as adults, and are likely to develop comorbidities. Despite the immense demand, there is still a lack of evidence-based comprehensive prevention programmes targeting pre-school children and their families in primary health care settings. The aims are to describe the design and methodology of the PRIMROSE cluster-randomised controlled trial, assess the relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire, and describe the baseline characteristics of the eligible young children and their mothers. Methods/Design: The PRIMROSE trial targets first-time parents and their children at Swedish child health centres (CHC) in eight counties in Sweden. Randomisation is conducted at the CHC unit level. CHC nurses employed at the participating CHC received training in carrying out the intervention alongside their provision of regular services. The intervention programme, starting when the child is 8-9 months of age and ending at age 4, is based on social cognitive theory and employs motivational interviewing. Primary outcomes are children’s body mass index and waist circumference at four years. Secondary outcomes are children’s and mothers’ eating habits (assessed by a food frequency questionnaire), and children’s and mothers’ physical activity (measured by accelerometer and a validated questionnaire), and mothers’ body mass index and waist circumference. Discussion: The on-going population-based PRIMROSE trial, which targets childhood obesity, is embedded in the regular national (routine) preventive child health services that are available free-of-charge to all young families in Sweden. Of the participants (n= 1369), 489 intervention and 550 control mothers (75.9%) responded to the validated physical activity and food frequency questionnaire at baseline (i.e., before the first intervention session, or, for children (Continued on next page)

Is the question 'Have you had childhood eczema?' useful for assessing childhood atopic eczema in adult population surveys?

Abstract: Atopic eczema (AE) is a major risk factor for hand eczema. In Scandinavian population-based studies, the occurrence of AE in childhood has often been assessed by the question 'Have you had childhood eczema?' In the present study, this question was validated. A questionnaire was sent to 600 cases with AE and 600 controls without eczema or allergic disease, identified in school medical records from the 1960s. The response rate was 70.5%, and the mean age of the respondents was 36.7 years. The specificity of the question was 70.7% and the sensitivity 89.9%. The sensitivity was higher and the specificity lower in a subgroup with current hand eczema compared with a group without hand eczema. The results showed that the question overestimated the prevalence of AE in childhood by a factor of 1.6. When used for risk assessment, the question provided a better estimate of the risk of current hand eczema as compared with the lifetime risk of hand eczema. In conclusion, the validated question overestimated prevalence of childhood AE and may overestimate AE as a risk factor for hand eczema in adult population surveys.

Short-term and long-term effects of childhood cancer on income from employment and employment status: A national cohort study in Sweden.

Abstract: Background: There is insufficient knowledge regarding the economic impact of childhood cancer on parents. The objectives of the current study were to investigate the short-term and long-term effect ...