Supply or demand? Institutionalization of the mentally ill in the emerging Swedish welfare state, 1900-59.

Historical studies on the institutionalization of the mentally ill have primarily relied on data for institutionalized patients rather than the population at risk. Consequently, the underlying factors of institutionalization are unclear. Using Swedish longitudinal microdata from 1900-59 reporting mental disorders, we examine whether supply factors, such as distance to institutions and number of asylum beds, influenced the risk of institutionalization, in addition to demand factors such as access to family.

Ambient temperature and stillbirth risks in northern Sweden, 1880-1950.

Background: Climate vulnerability of the unborn can contribute to adverse birth outcomes, in particular, but it is still not well understood. We investigated the association between ambient temperature and stillbirth risk among a historical population in northern Sweden (1880-1950).

Methods: We used digitized parish records and daily temperature data from the study region covering coastal and inland communities some 600 km north of Stockholm, Sweden.

Climate vulnerability of Swedish newborns: Gender differences and time trends of temperature-related neonatal mortality, 1880-1950.

Background: In resource-poor societies, neonatal mortality (death in the first 28 days of life) is usually very high. Young infants are particularly vulnerable to environmental health risks, which are modified by socioeconomic factors that change over time. We investigated the association between ambient temperature and neonatal mortality in northern Sweden during the demographic transition.

The emergence of social gaps in mental health: A longitudinal population study in Sweden, 1900-1959.

During the recent decades, social inequalities in mental health have increased and are now one of the most persistent features of contemporary society. There is limited knowledge about when this pattern emerged or whether it has been a historically fixed feature. The objective of this study was to assess whether socioeconomic and gender gaps in mental health changed during the period 1900-1959 in Sweden.

Voluntary Associations and Net Fertility During the Swedish Demographic Transition.

This study investigates the role of changing social relations for fertility decline during the European fertility transition. The growth of voluntary associations at the end of the nineteenth century entailed a radical shift in the landscape of social relations in Sweden. By combining micro-census data from 1890 to 1900 with local-level membership data for three voluntary association groups, this article assesses the effect of parish-level voluntary association size on net fertility in Sweden using mixed-effects Poisson regression models.