I urval från Stockholms universitets publikationsdatabas

• Mental health by native-immigrant intermarriage in Sweden: a register-based retrospective cohort study

  2022. Helena Honkaniemi, Sol Pia Juárez, Mikael Rostila. European Journal of Public Health

  Artikel

  Background: Native–immigrant intermarriage is often regarded as a proxy for integration, given that intermarried immigrants are more socioeconomically and culturally similar to natives than intramarried immigrants. This study aimed to assess whether integration affects mental health and care-seeking behaviours, examining prescription hazards for psychotropic medications by native–immigrant marital composition in Sweden.

  Methods: Total population register data were used to identify first-time married couples residing in Sweden between 31 December 2005 and 31 December 2016. Index persons were distinguished by gender and partners’ origin (native vs. immigrant), as well as by immigrants’ regions of origin, with intramarried natives as references. Using Cox regression, hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for antidepressant and anxiolytic prescriptions and adjusted for socioeconomic factors, presence of children and length and quality of marriage.

  Results: Intramarried immigrant women had higher psychotropic prescription hazards than intramarried native references (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.10–1.12), whereas intermarried immigrant women had equal hazards. Immigrant women’s hazards were lower than native references after adjustment. Intramarried immigrant men had the greatest prescription hazards (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.32–1.34), and intermarried immigrant men slightly higher hazards (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.10–1.13), than intramarried natives. All were partly attenuated after adjustment. Intermarriage hazards increased by similarities in regions of origin, especially among men.

  Conclusions: Integration indicated by intermarriage appears to be protective for the mental health of immigrants, especially for immigrant men. Future research should empirically disentangle the social, cultural and socioeconomic mechanisms underlying these health differences.

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• Health Risk Behaviours by Immigrants’ Duration of Residence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

  2022. Sol P. Juárez (et al.). International Journal of Public Health 67

  Artikel

  Objectives: The aim was to systematically review and synthesise international evidence on changes in health risk behaviours by immigrants’ duration of residence.

  Methods: We searched literature databases for peer-reviewed quantitative studies published from 2000 to 2019, examining alcohol, drug and tobacco use; physical inactivity; and dietary habits by duration of residence.

  Results: Narrative synthesis indicated that immigrants tend to adopt health risk behaviours with longer residence in North America, with larger variation in effect sizes and directionality in other contexts. Random-effects meta-analyses examining the pooled effect across all receiving countries and immigrant groups showed lower odds of smoking (OR 0.54, 0.46–0.63, I2 = 68.7%) and alcohol use (OR 0.61, 0.47–0.75, I2 = 93.5%) and higher odds of physical inactivity (OR 1.71, 1.40–2.02, I2 = 99.1%) among immigrants than natives, but did not provide support for a universal trend by duration of residence.

  Conclusion: Findings suggest that duration of residence could serve as an effective instrument to monitor immigrants’ health changes. However, differences in receiving country contex

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• Mental health after migration to Sweden

  2022. Helena Honkaniemi.

  Avhandling (Dok)

  Migrants often experience worse mental health after migration than natives in Sweden. Using survey, register and peer-reviewed published data, the five studies of this thesis explored the mental health variation of different migrant groups settled in Sweden, including by the timing of migration, level of integration and region of origin. In parallel, the studies considered the role of downstream (individual) and upstream (structural) social determinants of health as drivers of mental health inequalities.

  Study I assessed migrants’ risk of self-reported psychological distress by their age at migration and duration of residence in Sweden, relative to Swedish-born natives. Migrants generally had higher risks of psychological distress than natives, increasing with older age at migration and longer duration of residence, especially among migrants from regions not affiliated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Health differences were largely explained by inequalities in socioeconomic position, social connection and discrimination. 

  Study II explored how prescription rates of psychotropic medications varied by native-migrant marital composition as a proxy for integration in Sweden. Intramarried migrants had the highest prescription hazards, whereas migrants intermarried with natives had lower hazards, albeit higher than for intramarried natives. Migrant women, but not men, had attenuated hazards after adjusting for socioeconomic and other marriage-related social factors.

  Study III reviewed the international literature for previous evidence of the effects of non-health-related policies for migrant health. Restrictive entry and integration policies, including social welfare policies, were found to be associated with poorer self-rated general and mental health. Studies examining generous integration-related policies revealed largely positive mental health effects for migrants.

  Study IV investigated the mental health effects of the 1995 Father’s quota, a Swedish parental leave reform that incentivized fathers’ leave use. Whereas both native and migrant fathers increased their parental leave use following the reform, only migrant fathers, especially those from non-OECD regions and with migrant partners, experienced concurrent decreases in psychiatric hospitalizations.

  Study V examined the mental health effects of another Swedish parental leave policy, the 2012 Double Days reform, which introduced a month of simultaneous parental leave for mothers and fathers. Although both native and migrant fathers had increased levels of parental leave use, only native fathers and their partners exhibited decreased psychotropic medication prescription rates and greater outpatient care uptake related to mental health. 

  The findings of this thesis highlight the dynamic nature of mental health after migration, and the relevance of the social determinants of health within the receiving country context. The studies provide empirical support for how migrants’ mental health can vary by the timing of migration and level of integration, through downstream determinants, including socioeconomic position and social connection, and upstream determinants, such as welfare programs and migration policies. Taken together, the thesis emphasizes the need to consider migrant mental health inequalities as socially-patterned phenomena amenable to change after migration.

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• Psychiatric consequences of a father’s leave policy by nativity: a quasi-experimental study in Sweden

  2022. Helena Honkaniemi (et al.). Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 76 (4), 367-373

  Artikel

  Background Parental leave use has been found to promote maternal and child health, with limited evidence of mental health impacts on fathers. How these effects vary for minority populations with poorer mental health and lower leave uptake, such as migrants, remains under-investigated. This study assessed the effects of a Swedish policy to encourage fathers’ leave, the 1995 Father’s quota, on Swedish-born and migrant fathers’ psychiatric hospitalisations.

  Methods We conducted an interrupted time series analysis using Swedish total population register data for first-time fathers of children born before (1992–1994) and after (1995–1997) the reform (n=198 589). Swedish-born and migrant fathers’ 3-year psychiatric hospitalisation rates were modelled using segmented negative binomial regression, adjusting for seasonality and autocorrelation, with stratified analyses by region of origin, duration of residence, and partners’ nativity.

  Results From immediately pre-reform to post-reform, the proportion of fathers using parental leave increased from 63.6% to 86.4% of native-born and 37.1% to 51.2% of migrants. Swedish-born fathers exhibited no changes in psychiatric hospitalisation rates post-reform, whereas migrants showed 36% decreased rates (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.64, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.86). Migrants from regions not predominantly consisting of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries (IRR 0.50, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.33), and those with migrant partners (IRR 0.23, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.38), experienced the greatest decreases in psychiatric hospitalisation rates.

  Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that policies oriented towards promoting father’s use of parental leave may help to reduce native–migrant health inequalities, with broader benefits for family well-being and child development.Data availability statement

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• Unintended health consequences of Swedish parental leave policy (ParLeHealth): protocol for a quasiexperimental study

  2021. Sol Pia Juárez (et al.). BMJ Open 11 (6)

  Artikel

  Introduction Sweden has long been praised for a generousparental leave policy oriented towards facilitating a genderequitable approach to work and parenting. Yet certain aspects of Swedish parental leave could also be responsible for the maintenance of (or even the increase in) health inequalities. Using a ‘Health in All Policies’ lens, this research project aims to assess the unintended health consequences of various components of Sweden’s parental leave policy, including eligibility for and uptake of earnings based benefits.

  Methods and analysis We will use individual-level data from multiple Swedish registers. Sociodemographic information, including parental leave use, will be retrieved from the total population register, Longitudinal Integration Database for Health Insurance and Labour Market Studies and Social Insurance Agency registers. Health information for parents and children will be retrieved from the patient, prescribed drug, cause of death, medical birth and children’s health registers. We will evaluate parents’ mental, mothers’ reproductive and children’s general health outcomes in relation to several policy reforms aiming to protect parental leave benefits in short birth spacing (the speed premium) and to promote father’s uptake (the father’s quota) and sharing of parental leave days (the double days reform). We will also examine effects of increases in basic parental leave benefit levels. Using quasi-experimental designs, we will compare health outcomes across these reforms and eligibility thresholds with interrupted time series, difference-in-difference and regression discontinuity approaches to reduce the risk of health selection and assess causality in the link between parental leave use and health.

  Ethics and dissemination This project has been granted allnecessary ethical permissions from the Stockholm Regional Ethical Review Board (Dnr 2019-04913) for accessing and analysing deidentified data. The final outputs will primarily be disseminated as scientific articles published in open-access,high-impact peer-reviewed international journals, as well as press releases and policy briefs.

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• Health risk behaviours among migrants by duration of residence

  2020. Lisa Berg (et al.). BMJ Open 10 (10)

  Artikel

  Introduction International migrants’ health has often been found to deteriorate in new countries, partly due to changes in health risk behaviours such as alcohol consumption, tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor dietary habits. However, limited efforts have been made to comprehensively evaluate the extent to which migrants adopt unhealthy risk behaviours with longer duration of residence. This systematic review and meta-analysis will summarise evidence on international migrants’ behavioural patterns by duration of residence in multiple country contexts.

  Methods and analysis PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and ProQuest databases will be searched for quantitative or mixed-method observational studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2019. Studies comparing foreign-born individuals by duration of residence will be included. Information on study characteristics, descriptive statistics and measures of effect will be extracted. All included studies will be quality assessed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The review will include narrative synthesis and, if sufficient and comparable data are available, random effects meta-analyses. The review will be conducted in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

  Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required since previously published information from peer-reviewed studies will be assessed. The results of this review will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences. Other forms of dissemination will include communication to broader audiences using well-established channels, including through university-based press releases. Progress will be regularly updated on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews to ensure full transparency.

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• Psychological distress by age at migration and duration of residence in Sweden

  2020. Helena Honkaniemi (et al.). Social Science and Medicine 250

  Artikel

  Migrants suffer from worse psychological health than natives in many countries, yet the extent to which this varies by age at migration and duration of residence in the receiving context remains unexplored in Sweden. Drawing on a life course approach, we investigate differences in psychological distress by age at migration and duration of residence in working-age migrants to Sweden, and examine the role of various social determinants of health in explaining these differences relative to Swedish-born.

  Using pooled cross-sectional data from the 2011/2015 Health on Equal Terms survey in Västra Götaland Region, Sweden (n = 58,428), we applied logistic regression analysis to calculate predicted probabilities and average marginal effects (AME) of migrant status, by age at migration and duration of residence, on psychological distress. Analyses were stratified by sex and region of origin and controlled for indicators of socioeconomic status (SES), social cohesion, and discrimination to assess their potential contribution to differences in migrants' and natives' psychological distress.

  All migrants except men from OECD-predominant regions had a greater probability of psychological distress than Swedish-born (ranging from AME 0.031 [95% Confidence Interval or CI 0.000–0.062] for OECD women to AME 0.115 [95% CI 0.074–0.156] for non-OECD men). Marginal effects of migration status on psychological distress probabilities generally increased with age at migration and duration of residence. Differences between migrants and natives were largely attenuated after controlling for social determinants, the greatest contribution coming from inequalities in social cohesion, followed by inequalities in discrimination and SES.

  Our results suggest a relative health advantage of early-life compared to later-life migration, albeit with worse outcomes with longer residence in Sweden. The predominance of integration opportunities in childhood strengthens calls for supportive policies to assist older migrants' integration directly upon arrival, which may ultimately improve their psychological wellbeing.

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• Restrictive Migration Policies have Adverse Effects on Migrant Health

  2019. Sol Pía Juárez (et al.).

  Övrigt

  Restrictive policies including those pertaining to temporary visas, detention and reduced access to welfare support are linked to a greater risk of poor general and mental health, as well as mortality among migrants, relative to native populations and migrants that did not experience such restrictions.

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• Sveriges migrationspolitik kan vara en hälsorisk

  2019. Mikael Rostila (et al.). Dagens samhälle

  Artikel

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• Effects of non-health-targeted policies on migrant health

  2019. Sol Juárez (et al.). The Lancet Global Health

  Artikel

  Background: Government policies can strongly influence migrants' health. Using a Health in All Policies approach, we systematically reviewed evidence on the impact of public policies outside of the health-care system on migrant health. Methods: We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases from Jan 1, 2000, to Sept 1, 2017, for quantitative studies comparing the health effects of non-health-targeted public policies on migrants with those on a relevant comparison population. We searched for articles written in English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. Qualitative studies and grey literature were excluded. We evaluated policy effects by migration stage (entry, integration, and exit) and by health outcome using narrative synthesis (all included studies) and random-effects meta-analysis (all studies whose results were amenable to statistical pooling). We summarised meta-analysis outcomes as standardised mean difference (SMD, 95% CI) or odds ratio (OR, 95% CI). To assess certainty, we created tables containing a summary of the findings according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation. Our study was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017076104. Findings: We identified 43 243 potentially eligible records. 46 articles were narratively synthesised and 19 contributed to the meta-analysis. All studies were published in high-income countries and examined policies of entry (nine articles) and integration (37 articles). Restrictive entry policies (eg, temporary visa status, detention) were associated with poor mental health (SMD 0·44, 95% CI 0·13–0·75; I²=92·1%). In the integration phase, restrictive policies in general, and specifically regarding welfare eligibility and documentation requirements, were found to increase odds of poor selfrated health (OR 1·67, 95% CI 1·35–1·98; I²=82·0%) and mortality (1·38, 1·10–1·65; I²=98·9%). Restricted eligibility for welfare support decreased the odds of general health-care service use (0·92, 0·85–0·98; I²=0·0%), but did not reduce public health insurance coverage (0·89, 0·71–1·07; I²=99·4%), nor markedly affect proportions of people without health insurance (1·06, 0·90–1·21; I²=54·9%). Interpretation: Restrictive entry and integration policies are linked to poor migrant health outcomes in high-income countries. Efforts to improve the health of migrants would benefit from adopting a Health in All Policies perspective.

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• Trajectories of Antidepressant Use before and after the Loss of a Family Member

  2018. Helena Honkaniemi (et al.). Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 87 (4), 246-248

  Artikel

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• Mortality by country of birth in the Nordic countries – a systematic review of the literature

  2017. Helena Honkaniemi (et al.). BMC Public Health 17

  Artikel

  Background: Immigration to the Nordic countries has increased in the last decades and foreign-born inhabitants now constitute a considerable part of the region’s population. Several studies suggest poorer self-reported health among foreign-born compared to natives, while results on mortality and life expectancy are inconclusive. To date, few studies have summarized knowledge on mortality differentials by country of birth. This article aims to systematically review previous results on all-cause and cause-specific mortality by country of birth in the Nordic countries.Methods: The methodology was conducted and documented systematically and transparently using a narrative approach. We identified 43 relevant studies out of 6059 potentially relevant studies in August 2016, 35 of which used Swedish data, 8 Danish and 1 Norwegian.Results: Our findings from fully-adjusted models on Swedish data support claims of excess mortality risks in specific categories of foreign-born. Most notably, immigrants from other Nordic countries, especially Finland, experience increased risk of mortality from all causes, and specifically by suicide, breast and gynaecological cancers, and circulatory diseases. Increased risks in people from Central and Eastern Europe can also be found. On the contrary, decreased risks for people with Southern European and Middle Eastern origins are found for all-cause, suicide, and breast and gynaecological cancer mortality. The few Danish studies are more difficult to compare, with conflicting results arising in the analysis. Finally, results from the one Norwegian study suggest significantly decreased mortality risks among foreign-born, to be explored in further research.Conclusions: With new studies being published on mortality differentials between native and foreign-born populations in the Nordic countries, specific risk patterns have begun to arise. Regardless, data from most Nordic countries remains limited, as does the information on specific causes of death. The literature should be expanded in upcoming years to capture associations between country of birth and mortality more clearly.

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