The missing middle of childhood.

Middle childhood, between six and twelve years, is a critical bridge between earlier childhood and adolescence with rapid physical and psychological transitions. Most of the world's 2.6 billion young people, of which the middle childhood age group is a significant portion, live in low- and middle-income countries.

The Swedish intersectoral national public health policy: effects on child and adolescent health.

Background: To improve health, intersectoral cooperation is often advocated. However, only few studies have reported health effects of this approach. Sweden has adopted a national public health policy (NPHP), which focuses on intersectoral primary prevention of disorders and injuries.

Mortality trends for young adults in Sweden in the years 2000-2017.

Aim: Mental health problems in young people seem to be on the rise and more so in Sweden than in other locations. The aim was to compare the development of mortality rates for young adults in Sweden with Western Europe in total.

Methods: Young adults were defined as individuals aged 20-34 years and the study period was 2000-2017.

Methadone-related deaths among youth and young adults in Sweden 2006-15.

Aims: To identify methadone-related deaths and determine the prevalence among youth and young adults in Sweden 2006-15.

Design, Setting And Participants: National retrospective registry study comparing data from all forensic autopsy examinations and toxicology cases involving methadone during 2006-15 in individuals aged 15-29 years with police records, previous pharmaceutical prescriptions and health-care episodes.

Measurements: Multinomial logistic regression.

Cross-sectoral cooperation at the ministerial level in three Nordic countries - With a focus on health inequalities.

To reduce health inequalities requires interventions that address the social determinants of health. The responsibilities, at the ministerial level, for these determinants are mainly situated outside the ministry of health. Accordingly, interventions to reduce health inequalities require coordination between the ministry of health and other ministries.

Rural-urban mortality inequalities in four Nordic welfare states.

Unlabelled: In the Nordic countries, there are ambitious welfare policies that might reduce rural-urban health disparities.

Aim: To investigate the effect of population density on health in four Nordic countries.

Methods: The health outcomes analysed were life expectancy and potential years of life lost.

Antidepressant medication might increase the risk of self-harm injuries: findings in 17 OECD countries.

Clinical trials suggest that antidepressants increase the risk of self-harm injuries (SHI). The aim was to investigate associations between antidepressants' use and the rate of change of SHI in 17 countries over the period 2000-16, with initial levels of SHI taken into account. The rate of change of SHI seems mainly (81%) determined by initial rates.

Mortality rates in OECD countries converged during the period 1990-2010.

Aims: Since the scientific revolution of the 18th century, human health has gradually improved, but there is no unifying theory that explains this improvement in health. Studies of macrodeterminants have produced conflicting results. Most studies have analysed health at a given point in time as the outcome; however, the rate of improvement in health might be a more appropriate outcome.

[Systematic review of the effect of pictorial warnings on cigarette packages in smoking behavior].

We used a structured approach to assess whether active smokers presented with pictorial warnings on cigarette packages (PWCP) had a higher probability of quitting, reducing, and attempting to quit smoking than did unexposed smokers. We identified 21 articles from among nearly 2500 published between 1993 and 2013, prioritizing coverage over relevance or quality because we expected to find only a few studies with behavioral outcomes. We found very large heterogeneity across studies, poor or very poor methodological quality, and generally null or conflicting findings for any explored outcome.

The rate of country-level improvements of the infant mortality rate is mainly determined by previous history.

Background: Studies of country-level determinants of health have produced conflicting results even when the analyses have been restricted to high-income counties. Yet, most of these studies have not taken historical, country-specific developments into account. Thus, it is appropriate to separate the influence of current exposures from historical aspects.

Mental health problems are rising more in Swedish adolescents than in other Nordic countries and the Netherlands.

Unlabelled: Mental health problems increased in adolescents and young adults in Europe between 1950 and 1990, and the cause is largely unknown. Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden form a relatively homogenous group of countries with favourable conditions for children. Our review examined the time trends for mental health problems in these countries between 1990 and 2010.

Might extended education decrease inequalities in health?-a meta-analysis.

Background: Health is substantially worse in less educated people, and extended education might potentially improve their health. A prerequisite for a beneficial health effect of education is that the effect is absolute. An absolute effect of education means that the health effect comes about independently of any effect on other persons.

School policies for preventing smoking among young people.

Background: School tobacco policies (STPs) might prove to be a promising strategy to prevent smoking initiation among adolescents, as there is evidence that the school environment can influence young people to smoke. STPs are cheap, relatively easy to implement and have a wide reach, but it is not clear whether this approach is effective in preventing smoking uptake.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of policies aiming to prevent smoking initiation among students by regulating smoking in schools.

Systematic review of the effect of pictorial warnings on cigarette packages in smoking behavior.

We used a structured approach to assess whether active smokers presented with pictorial warnings on cigarette packages (PWCP) had a higher probability of quitting, reducing, and attempting to quit smoking than did unexposed smokers. We identified 21 articles from among nearly 2500 published between 1993 and 2013, prioritizing coverage over relevance or quality because we expected to find only a few studies with behavioral outcomes. We found very large heterogeneity across studies, poor or very poor methodological quality, and generally null or conflicting findings for any explored outcome.

A comparative analysis of early child health and development services and outcomes in countries with different redistributive policies.

Background: The social environment is a fundamental determinant of early child development and, in turn, early child development is a determinant of health, well-being, and learning skills across the life course. Redistributive policies aimed at reducing social inequalities, such as a welfare state and labour market policies, have shown a positive association with selected health indicators. In this study, we investigated the influence of redistributive policies specifically on the social environment of early child development in five countries with different political traditions.

Anti-tobacco policy in schools: upcoming preventive strategy or prevention myth? A review of 31 studies.

Objective: To summarise the evidence on effectiveness of school anti-tobacco policies (exposure) in preventing tobacco use (outcome) among high school students.

Data Sources: The search was conducted between 1 September and 30 November 2011 on six electronic databases with keywords: 'policy', 'ban', 'restriction' and 'environment' in combination with 'adolescent' or 'student', 'school' and 'smoking' in titles, abstracts or keywords. Restrictions were made to articles published in English.

Identification of potential opinion leaders in child health promotion in Sweden using network analysis.

Background: Opinion leaders are often local individuals with high credibility who can influence other people. Robust effects using opinion leaders in diffusing innovations have been shown in several randomized controlled trials, for example regarding sexually transmitted infections (STI), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, mammography rates and caesarean birth delivery rates. In a Cochrane review 2010 it was concluded that the use of opinion leaders can successfully promote evidence-based practice.