Publications by authors named "Kaia Laidra"

Objectives: The Estonian National Mental Health Study (EMHS) was conducted in 2021-2022 to provide population-wide data on mental health in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective of this paper is to describe the rationale, design, and methods of the EMHS and to evaluate the survey response.

Methods: Regionally representative stratified random sample of 20,000 persons aged 15 years and older was drawn from the Estonian Population Register for the study.

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The aim of the study was to analyse health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among the Estonian general population and its socio-demographic and behavioural correlates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal data on 1781 individuals from an Estonian rapid-assessment survey on COVID-19 were used. HRQoL was assessed with the EQ-5D-3L in June 2020 (baseline) and in May 2021 (follow-up).

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Article Synopsis
  • - Organised cervical cancer screening in Estonia began in 2006, but participation remains low, so a study was conducted in 2020 to test the feasibility and acceptance of HPV self-sampling among women who had not attended screening.
  • - A randomised intervention study involved 12,000 women born between 1958-1983, with varying methods of receiving self-sampling kits; the results showed a 16% overall participation rate, significantly higher in the opt-out group compared to the opt-in groups.
  • - Findings indicated that self-sampling was well-received, with 98% of participants finding it easy to use and 88% expressing preference for it in future screenings, highlighting its potential to increase cervical
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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzed mental health responses during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Estonia, using data from a survey of 4,606 individuals aged 18-79 conducted in April 2020.
  • Results showed that 52.2% of participants reported elevated stress levels, particularly among women, younger individuals, Estonians, and those who perceived a higher risk of infection or had respiratory symptoms.
  • The findings suggest significant stress in the population, highlighting potential long-term impacts on mental health that require further investigation.
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Objective: To assess, at a clinical level, the mental health of former Chernobyl cleanup workers from Estonia by comparing them with same-age controls.

Method: The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was administered during 2011-2012 to 99 cleanup workers and 100 population-based controls previously screened for mental health symptoms.

Results: Logistic regression analysis showed that cleanup workers had higher odds of current depressive disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 3.

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Purpose: To study the long-term mental health consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident among cleanup workers from Estonia.

Methods: In 2010, 614 Estonian Chernobyl cleanup workers and 706 geographically and age-matched population-based controls completed a mail survey that included self-rated health, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL), alcohol symptoms (AUDIT), and scales measuring depressive, anxiety, agoraphobia, fatigue, insomnia, and somatization symptoms. Respondents were dichotomized into high (top quartile) and low symptom groups on each measure.

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Agreement between adolescents, mothers, fathers, and teachers on adolescents' personality traits was investigated in a longitudinal study. The targets for personality ratings were the adolescents who participated in the European Youth Heart Study in Estonia. There were 593 participants in the first wave and 480 participants in the follow-up study 3 years later.

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As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, 16,954 participants from 53 nations were administered an anonymous survey about experiences with romantic attraction. Mate poaching--romantically attracting someone who is already in a relationship--was most common in Southern Europe, South America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe and was relatively infrequent in Africa, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Evolutionary and social-role hypotheses received empirical support.

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This study examined the relationship between alcohol/illicit drug use, the Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits, aggressiveness (Agg), and hyperactivity (Hyp), and platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity in a population-derived representative sample of preadolescents and adolescents (n=1172). Alcohol and illicit drug use was self-reported. The FFM personality inventories were filled in by mothers of the participants, and Agg and Hyp were rated by their class teachers.

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Evolutionary psychologists have hypothesized that men and women possess both long-term and short-term mating strategies, with men's short-term strategy differentially rooted in the desire for sexual variety. In this article, findings from a cross-cultural survey of 16,288 people across 10 major world regions (including North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia) demonstrate that sex differences in the desire for sexual variety are culturally universal throughout these world regions. Sex differences were evident regardless of whether mean, median, distributional, or categorical indexes of sexual differentiation were evaluated.

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The Standard Progressive Matrices was standardised in Estonia in 2001 on a sample of 2,689 12- to 18-yr.-olds. The mean IQ of the Estonian sample was approximately 5 points higher than British IQ norms of 1979.

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