Publications by authors named "Christina H Edwards"
Background: The interpretation of research results is affected by how results are presented. We show the importance of presenting the association between body mass index (BMI) and healthcare costs from both the individual perspective and the population perspective.
Material And Method: Using measurements of height and weight from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT Study) linked to register data on specialist healthcare costs and demographics, we estimated the association between BMI and specialist healthcare costs by means of regression analyses.
Individuals aged 65 years and above are at increased risk of complications and death from influenza compared with any other age group. Enhanced vaccines, as the MF59-adjuvanted quadrivalent influenza vaccine (aQIV) and the high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine (HD-QIV), provide increased protection for older adults in comparison to the traditional standard-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccines (SD-QIV). This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of aQIV compared to SD-QIV and HD-QIV in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden for adults aged ≥65 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Past studies have found associations between obesity and healthcare costs, however, these studies have suffered from bias due to omitted variables, reverse causality, and measurement error.
Methods: We used genetic variants related to body mass index (BMI) as instruments for BMI; thereby exploiting the natural randomization of genetic variants that occurs at conception. We used data on measured height and weight, genetic information, and sociodemographic factors from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Studies (HUNT), and individual-level registry data on healthcare costs, educational level, registration status, and biological relatives.
Several studies have estimated effects of body mass index (BMI) on labour market outcomes, and these studies have mixed findings. A significant challenge has been to adequately control for omitted variables, selection, reverse causality, and measurement error. We examine the impact of BMI on income using genetic variants as instrumental variables for BMI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Overweight and obesity is a major global public health challenge, and understanding the implications for healthcare systems is essential for policy planning. Past studies have typically found positive associations between obesity and healthcare utilization, but these studies have not taken into consideration that obesity is also associated with early mortality. We examined associations between body mass index (BMI, reported as kg/m) and healthcare utilization with and without taking BMI-specific survival into consideration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study aimed to evaluate the health and economic impacts of different sick leave strategies for workers exhibiting influenza symptoms.
- It assessed various interventions, including increasing sick leave from 65% to 80-90% and reducing the delay to sick leave from 4 days to 0.5 days, across 12 seasonal and 36 pandemic scenarios.
- Findings indicated that prompt sick leave and a high percentage of workers taking it led to significant health and economic benefits, with the best results coming from interventions that encouraged sick leave within half a day of symptom onset.
Background: Cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination is affected by assumptions used in health economic evaluations. To inform such evaluations, we assessed healthcare use before and after hospitalisations due to rotavirus and other acute gastroenteritis (AGE) among children <5years of age in Norway and estimated daycare and work absenteeism.
Methods: We conducted post-discharge interviews with caregivers of 282 children hospitalised with AGE at two hospitals in Norway during April 2014-February 2017.
Background: Knowledge about influenza transmission in the workplace and whether staying home from work when experiencing influenza-like illness can reduce the spread of influenza is crucial for the design of efficient public health initiatives.
Aim: This review synthesizes current literature on sickness presenteeism and influenza transmission in the workplace and provides an overview of sick leave recommendations in Europe for influenza.
Methods: A search was performed on Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, Cinahl, Web of Science, Scopus and SweMed to identify studies related to workplace contacts, -transmission, -interventions and compliance with recommendations to take sick leave.