Publications by authors named "Ballin M"
Background: The importance of adolescent cardiorespiratory fitness for long-term risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains poorly investigated, and whether the association is influenced by unobserved familial confounding is unknown.
Methods: We conducted a sibling-controlled cohort study based on all Swedish men who participated in mandatory military conscription examinations from 1972 to 1995 around the age of 18, and who completed standardized cardiorespiratory fitness testing. The outcome was T2D, defined as a composite endpoint of diagnosis in inpatient or specialist outpatient care, or dispensation of antidiabetic medication, until 31 December 2023.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines how body sway, influenced by visual and multitasking conditions, relates to fracture risk in older adults.
- During an average follow-up of nearly 5 years, a significant number of participants (348 women and 149 men) experienced fractures, with specific measurements of body sway linked to increased fracture risk.
- The findings suggest that greater body sway velocity and variability, particularly during challenging tasks like dual-tasking and eyes closed, heighten fracture risk for both genders.
Background: Low bone density and osteoporosis are indications for bone-specific treatment. However, given the limited availability of bone density data in clinical practice and the fact that most patients with hip fracture do not have osteoporosis, accurate prediction of hip fracture risk in the absence of bone density data would be crucial.
Methods: This development and validation study included the entire Swedish population aged 50 years or older in 2005 (N = 3,340,977) and was conducted by cross-linking data from nationwide registers.
Article Synopsis
- The study is investigating the effectiveness of structured health interventions in preventing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease specifically in low socioeconomic populations, as previous trials have shown mixed results in the general population.
- The research will involve 3,000 participants aged 50-59 from 30 primary care centers in Stockholm, comparing systematic health dialogues to more casual opportunistic screenings.
- Key outcomes include changes in systolic blood pressure, other biological risk factors, and lifestyle habits measured at 6 and 12 months, alongside long-term effects tracked through national registries.
Objective: To investigate whether the higher risks of certain cancers associated with high cardiorespiratory fitness can be explained by increased detection and unobserved confounders.
Design: Nationwide sibling-controlled cohort study of adolescents.
Setting: Sweden.
Article Synopsis
- Consensus statements are important in medicine and public health, but not all use solid evidence to support their claims.
- Some statements rely on expert panels, which can be biased if many members share the same opinions or interests, especially without a thorough review of evidence.
- A recent case about COVID-19 showed that many panel members had strong connections to groups pushing for strict COVID measures without revealing these biases, highlighting the need for clear conflicts of interest to ensure trustworthiness.
Importance: Cardiovascular risk factors in youth have been associated with future cardiovascular disease (CVD), but conventional observational studies are vulnerable to genetic and environmental confounding.
Objective: To examine the role of genetic and environmental factors shared by full siblings in the association of adolescent cardiovascular risk factors with future CVD.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a nationwide cohort study with full sibling comparisons.
Background: Real-world evidence on the safety and effectiveness of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination against severe disease caused by the omicron variant among adolescents is sparse. In addition, evidence on risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease, and whether vaccination is similarly effective in such risk groups, is unclear. The aim of the present study was therefore to examine the safety and effectiveness of monovalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccination against COVID-19 hospitalisation, and risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalisation in adolescents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Taking fewer than the widely promoted "10 000 steps per day" has recently been associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality. The relationship of steps and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk remains poorly described. A meta-analysis examining the dose-response relationship between steps per day and CVD can help inform clinical and public health guidelines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To evaluate whether SARS-CoV-2 infection in residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities is associated with higher mortality after the acute phase of infection, and to estimate survival in uninfected residents.
Design: Extended follow-up of a previous, propensity score-matched, retrospective cohort study based on the Swedish Senior Alert register.
Setting: LTC facilities in Sweden.
Signal peptide peptidase (SPP) and SPP-like (SPPL) aspartyl intramembrane proteases are known to contribute to sequential processing of type II-oriented membrane proteins referred to as regulated intramembrane proteolysis. The ER-resident family members SPP and SPPL2c were shown to also cleave tail-anchored proteins, including selected SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) proteins facilitating membrane fusion events. Here, we analysed whether the related SPPL2a and SPPL2b proteases, which localise to the endocytic or late secretory pathway, are also able to process SNARE proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The effect of a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine on the risk of death in the oldest and frailest individuals is unknown.
Methods: Two matched cohorts were formed using Swedish nationwide registers. In the first, residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) given a fourth dose of an mRNA vaccine from 1 January 2022 onwards were matched 1:1 on birth year and county of residence to residents given at least a third dose ( = 24,524).
Background: Real-world evidence supporting vaccination against COVID-19 in individuals who have recovered from a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection is sparse. We aimed to investigate the long-term protection from a previous infection (natural immunity) and whether natural immunity plus vaccination (hybrid immunity) was associated with additional protection.
Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we formed three cohorts using Swedish nationwide registers managed by the Public Health Agency of Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare, and Statistics Sweden.
Background: Although 10 000 steps per day is widely promoted to have health benefits, there is little evidence to support this recommendation. We aimed to determine the association between number of steps per day and stepping rate with all-cause mortality.
Methods: In this meta-analysis, we identified studies investigating the effect of daily step count on all-cause mortality in adults (aged ≥18 years), via a previously published systematic review and expert knowledge of the field.
In this nationwide cohort study, we investigated trends in hip fracture incidence, hospital length of stay (LOS), and 30-day mortality after admission in Sweden. The cohort included all individuals in Sweden aged ≥ 50 years with a first hip fracture diagnosis during 1998-2017 (N = 313,761). The outcomes were hip fracture incidence and 30-day mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 beyond 6 months remains incompletely understood. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination against the risk of infection, hospitalisation, and death during the first 9 months after vaccination for the total population of Sweden.
Methods: This retrospective, total population cohort study was done using data from Swedish nationwide registers.
Background: Dog ownership (DO) has been associated with higher levels of self-reported walking and physical activity. However, compared to device-based measures, self-reported measures of physical activity may suffer from bias due to recall and social desirability. They are also incapable of quantifying light-intensity physical activity (LPA) and step volume, both of which may have important health benefits, especially for older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The effectiveness of heterologous prime-boost Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination is currently unknown.
Methods: From individuals vaccinated with two doses against Covid-19 in Sweden until July 5, 2021 (N=3,445,061), we formed a study cohort including 94,569 individuals that had received heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 / BNT162b2 prime-boost vaccination, 16,402 individuals that received heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 / mRNA-1273 prime-boost vaccination, and 430,100 individuals that received homologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 / ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 prime-boost vaccination. In addition, 180,716 individuals were selected who were unvaccinated at the date of vaccination in the corresponding case.
Importance: The association between COVID-19 immunity within families and the risk of infection in nonimmune family members is unknown.
Objective: To investigate the association between risk of COVID-19 in nonimmune individuals and the number of their family members with known immunity acquired from a previous COVID-19 infection or full vaccination (2 vaccine doses).
Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cohort study of data from nationwide registries in Sweden, all individuals who acquired immunity from either previous COVID-19 infection or full vaccination until May 26, 2021, were considered for inclusion.
Observational studies show that physical activity is strongly associated with a reduced risk of premature mortality and major non-communicable diseases. We reviewed to which extent these associations have been confirmed in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the outcomes of mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and fracture. The results show that exercise does not reduce all-cause mortality and incident CVD in older adults or in people with chronic conditions, based on RCTs comprising ∼50,000 participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To compare 30-day mortality in long-term care facility (LTCF) residents with and without COVID-19 and to investigate the impact of 31 potential risk factors for mortality in COVID-19 cases.
Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Setting And Participants: All residents of LTCFs registered in Senior Alert, a Swedish national database of health examinations in older adults, during 2019-2020.
Background: Improving accuracy of identification of COVID-19-related deaths is essential to public health surveillance and research. The verbal autopsy, an established strategy involving an interview with a decedent's caregiver or witness using a semi-structured questionnaire, may improve accurate counting of COVID-19-related deaths.
Objective: To develop and pilot-test the Verbal Autopsy Instrument for COVID-19 (VAIC) and a death adjudication protocol using it.
Background Aging leads to increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and reduced skeletal muscle density. To which extent these are associated with the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and all-cause mortality in older adults is unknown. Methods and Results A total of 3294 70-year-old individuals (49.
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