Spatial pattern of all cause excess mortality in Swiss districts during the pandemic years 1890, 1918 and 2020.

Every pandemic is embedded in specific spatial and temporal context. However, spatial patterns have almost always only been considered in the context of one individual pandemic. Until now, there has been limited consideration of spatial similarities or differences between pandemics.

The health and demographic impacts of the "Russian flu" pandemic in Switzerland in 1889/1890 and in the years thereafter.

Our study aims to enhance future pandemic preparedness by leveraging insights from historical pandemics, focusing on the multidimensional analysis of past outbreaks. In this study, we digitised and analysed for the first time aggregated mortality and morbidity data series from the Russian flu in Switzerland in 1889/1890 and subsequent years to assess its comprehensive impact. The strongest effects were observed in January 1890, showing significant monthly excess mortality from all causes compared to the preceding five years (58.

Health of singleton neonates in Switzerland through time and crises: a cross-sectional study at the population level, 2007-2022.

Background: Being exposed to crises during pregnancy can affect maternal health through stress exposure, which can in return impact neonatal health. We investigated temporal trends in neonatal outcomes in Switzerland between 2007 and 2022 and their variations depending on exposure to the economic crisis of 2008, the flu pandemic of 2009, heatwaves (2015 and 2018) and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Using individual cross-sectional data encompassing all births occurring in Switzerland at the monthly level (2007-2022), we analysed changes in birth weight and in the rates of preterm birth (PTB) and stillbirth through time with generalized additive models.

Health of neonates born in the maternity hospital in Bern, Switzerland, 1880-1900 and 1914-1922.

The identification of factors impeding normal fetal development and growth is crucial for improving neonatal health. Historical studies are relevant because they show which parameters have influenced neonatal health in the past in order to better understand the present. We studied temporal changes of neonatal health outcomes (birth weight, gestational age, stillbirth rate) and the influence of different cofactors in two time periods.

Associations between 3D surface scanner derived anthropometric measurements and body composition in a cross-sectional study.

Background: 3D laser-based photonic scanners are increasingly used in health studies to estimate body composition. However, too little is known about whether various 3D body scan measures estimate body composition better than single standard anthropometric measures, and which body scans best estimate it. Furthermore, little is known about differences by sex and age.

From pandemic to endemic: Spatial-temporal patterns of influenza-like illness incidence in a Swiss canton, 1918-1924.

In pandemics, past and present, there is no textbook definition of when a pandemic is over, and how and when exactly a respiratory virus transitions from pandemic to endemic spread. In this paper we have compared the 1918/19 influenza pandemic and the subsequent spread of seasonal flu until 1924. We analysed 14,125 reports of newly stated 32,198 influenza-like illnesses from the Swiss canton of Bern.

Intergenerational transmission of height in a historical population: From taller mothers to larger offspring at birth (and as adults).

Changes in growth and height reflect changes in nutritional status and health. The systematic surveillance of growth can suggest areas for interventions. Moreover, phenotypic variation has a strong intergenerational component.

Reinfections and Cross-Protection in the 1918/19 Influenza Pandemic: Revisiting a Survey Among Male and Female Factory Workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights questions regarding reinfections and immunity resulting from vaccination and/or previous illness. Studies addressing related questions for historical pandemics are limited. We revisit an unnoticed archival source on the 1918/19 influenza pandemic.

Body height among adult male and female Swiss Health Survey participants in 2017: Trends by birth years and associations with self-reported health status and life satisfaction.

The increase in adult height for 150 years is linked to overall improvements in nutrition, hygiene, and living standards. Height is positively associated with general health and success on various levels (e.g.

A quantitative synthesis study on body mass index and associated factors among adult men and women in Switzerland.

Excess weight is caused by multiple factors and has increased sharply in Switzerland since the 1990s. Its consequences represent a major challenge for Switzerland, both in terms of health and the economy. Until now, there has been no cross-dataset overview study on excess weight in adults in Switzerland.

Body height in adult women and men in a cross-sectional population-based survey in Geneva: temporal trends, association with general health status and height loss after age 50.

Objective: On the one hand, trends in average height in adulthood mirror changes in living standard and health status of a population and its subgroups; on the other hand, height in general, as well as the loss of height in older age in particular, are associated in different ways with outcomes for health. For these aspects, there is hardly any information for Switzerland based on representative and measured body height data.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional survey study.

Associations between hydration status, body composition, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors in the general population: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Whole-body hydration status is associated with several health outcomes, such as dehydration, edema and hypertension, but little is known about the nonclinical determinants. Therefore, we studied the associations of sex, age, body composition, nutrition, and physical activity on several body hydration measures.

Methods: We assessed sociodemographic variables, dietary habits, and physical activity by questionnaire and body composition by bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA).

The role of body height as a co-factor of excess weight in Switzerland.

Object: Excess weight (Body Mass Index [BMI] ≥25.0 kg/m ) is a major health issue worldwide, including in Switzerland. For high-income countries, little attention has been paid to body height in context of excess weight.

Historically High Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain.

Background: Excess mortality quantifies the overall mortality impact of a pandemic. Mortality data have been accessible for many countries in recent decades, but few continuous data have been available for longer periods.

Objective: To assess the historical dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 for 3 countries with reliable death count data over an uninterrupted span of more than 100 years.

Impact of comorbidities at diagnosis on the 10-year colorectal cancer net survival: A population-based study.

Background: It is established that comorbidities negatively influence colorectal cancer (CRC)-specific survival. Only few studies have used the relative survival (RS) setting to estimate this association, although RS has been proven particularly useful considering the inaccuracy in death certification. This study aimed to investigate the impact of non-cancer comorbidities at CRC diagnosis on net survival, using cancer registry data.

Risk for Invasive Cancers in Women With Breast Cancer : Results From a Population Not Covered by Organized Mammographic Screening.

Background: Even though breast cancer (BCIS) incidence has been increasing, the prognosis of BCIS patients has not been extensively investigated. According to the literature, women with BCIS have a higher risk of developing subsequent invasive breast cancer; conflicting information has been reported regarding their potential risk for a subsequent invasive non-breast cancer.

Methods: Data from 1,082 women, whose first-ever cancer diagnosis was primary BCIS between 2003 and 2015 and were living in the canton of Zurich, were used.

Clash of the pandemics - At least 150'000 adults in Switzerland suffer from obesity grades 2 or 3 and are thus at elevated risk for severe COVID-19.

: Grade 2 and 3 obesity, alongside with other relevant risk factors, are substantially and independently associated with adverse outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, for Switzerland, due to the lack of synthesis studies, it is currently unknown how many people are affected by obesity at all. This knowledge may help to better estimate the relevance and size of this group at elevated risk, which could be incorporated into strategies to protect risk groups during the still unfolding COVID-19 pandemic.

Are there sex differences among colorectal cancer patients in treatment and survival? A Swiss cohort study.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the three most common incident cancers and causes of cancer death in Switzerland for both men and women. To promote aspects of gender medicine, we examined differences in treatment decision and survival by sex in CRC patients diagnosed 2000 and 2001 in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland.

Methods: Characteristics assessed of 1076 CRC patients were sex, tumor subsite, age at diagnosis, tumor stage, primary treatment option and comorbidity rated by the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).

Public Health Interventions, Epidemic Growth, and Regional Variation of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic Outbreak in a Swiss Canton and Its Greater Regions.

Public health interventions implemented during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are based on experience gained from past pandemics. The 1918 influenza pandemic is the most extensively researched historical influenza outbreak. All 9335 reports available in the State Archives on 121 152 cases of influenza-like illness from the canton of Bern from 473 of 497 municipalities (95.

37-year incidence and mortality time trends of common cancer types by sex, age, and stage in the canton of Zurich.

Aims Of The Study: The Cancer Registry Zurich, Zug, Schaffhausen and Schwyz is one of the oldest cancer registries in Switzerland, first registering tumours in 1980 for the canton of Zurich. The aim of this study was to analyse trends in incidence and mortality for the most common types of cancer in the canton of Zurich from 1981 to 2017.

Methods: In this analysis of population-based cancer registry data, we included malignant tumours of the breast (ICD10 C50), prostate (C61), colon/rectum (C18–C21), lung (C33–C34), and melanoma (C43), diagnosed between 1981 and 2017.

Residential Altitude Associates With Endurance but Not Muscle Power in Young Swiss Men.

Introduction: Physical fitness benefits health. However, there is a research gap on how physical fitness, particularly aerobic endurance capacity and muscle power, is influenced by residential altitude, blood parameters, weight, and other cofactors in a population living at low to moderate altitudes (300-2100 masl).

Materials And Methods: We explored how endurance and muscle power performance changes with residential altitude, Body Mass Index (BMI), hemoglobin and creatinine levels among 108,677 Swiss men aged 18-22 years (covering >90% of Swiss birth cohorts) conscripted to the Swiss Armed Forces between 2007 and 2012.

Impact of World War 1 on placenta weight, birth weight and other anthropometric parameters of neonatal health.

Background: Wars do not only affect combatant countries, populations in neutral zones can be afflicted by circumjacent conflicts as well, posing a great health burden on mothers and newborns. As neonatal health remains an ongoing cause for concern, identifying determinants that impede fetal growth is crucial. Under this pretext, the study aimed to analyze the impact of World War 1 in the neutral city of Basel on neonatal health by assessing changes in anthropometric parameters.

Correction to: The relative risk of second primary cancers in Switzerland: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

Following publication of the original article [1], an error was reported in the author group. The correct author group should read as follows.