Macroeconomic changes and trends in dental care utilization in Estonia and Lithuania in 2004-2012: a repeated cross-sectional study.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess trends and inequalities in dental care utilization in Estonia and Lithuania in relation to large-scale macroeconomic changes in 2004-2012.

Methods: Data on 22,784 individuals in the 20-64 age group were retrieved from nationally representative cross-sectional surveys in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012. Age- and sex-standardized prevalence estimates of past 12-month dental visits were calculated for each study year, stratified by gender, age group, ethnicity, educational level and economic activity.

Mental disorders among Chernobyl cleanup workers from Estonia: A clinical assessment.

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.

Chernobyl cleanup workers from Estonia: cohort description and related epidemiological research.

The Estonian study of Chernobyl cleanup workers was one of the first investigations to evaluate the possible health consequences of working in the Chernobyl area (the 30 km exclusion zone and/or adjacent territories) after the 1986 reactor accident. The cohort consists of 4831 men who were dispatched in 1986-1991 for tasks involving decontamination, construction of buildings, transport, radiation measurement, guard duty or other activities. By 31 December 2012, the follow-up of the cohort yielded 102 158 person-years of observation.

Mammography use and mode of detection among breast cancer patients in Estonia.

The aim of this study was to examine past mammography use and mode of detection among breast cancer (BC) patients in Estonia, a country that has low screening coverage and high BC mortality. Women newly diagnosed with primary BC in Estonia in 2008-2010 were interviewed. Determinants of past mammography use and the detection of BC by mammography were studied using multivariate logistic regression.

Mental health and alcohol problems among Estonian cleanup workers 24 years after the Chernobyl accident.

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.