Elena Kotyrlo

Marital status and risk of dementia: a nationwide population-based prospective study from Sweden

Objectives To examine the association between marital status and dementia in a cohort of young-old (50–64) and middle-old (65–74) adults, and also whether this may differ by gender. Design Prospective population-based study with follow-up time of up to 10 years. Setting Swedish national register-based study. Participants 2 288 489 individuals, aged 50–74 years, without prior dementia diagnosis at baseline. Dementia was identified using the Swedish National Patient Register and the Cause of Death Register. Outcome measures The influence of marital status on dementia was analysed using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted stepwise for multiple covariates (model 1: adjusted for age and gender; and model 2: additionally adjusted for having adult children, education, income and prior cardiovascular disease). Results During follow-up, 31 572 individuals in the study were identified as demented. Cox regression showed each non-married subcategory to be associated with a significantly higher risk of dementia than the married group, with the highest risk observed among people in the young-old age group, especially among those who were divorced or single (HRs 1.79 vs 1.71, fully adjusted model). Analyses stratified by gender showed gender differences in the young-old group, with indications of divorced men having a higher relative risk compared with divorced women (HRs 2.1 vs 1.7, only-age adjusted model). However, in the fully adjusted model, these differences were attenuated and there was no longer any significant difference between male and female participants. Conclusions Our results suggest that those living alone as non-marrieds may be at risk for early-onset and late-onset dementia. Although more research is needed to understand the underlying mechanism by which marital status is associated with dementia, this suggests that social relationships should be taken seriously as a risk factor for dementia and that social-based interventions may provide an opportunity to reduce the overall dementia risk.

CHILDCARE REFORM: EFFECTS ON EARNINGS AND EMPLOYMENT AMONG NATIVE SWEDISH AND IMMIGRANT MOTHERS

This paper studies earnings and labor force participation of native Swedes and recent immigrants in Sweden in response to the childcare reforms of 2001 and 2002 using a difference-in-differences ap ...

Childbearing and Labor Market : Time and Space Dynamics

Fertility is an important determinant of long-run population growth and labor market conditions. The present study focuses on the effects of time and space dynamics on the description of fertility in Sweden. These effects were expected to be generated by labor mobility across municipalities. The influence of time dynamics in postponing or accelerating childbearing was assessed by considering two different effects of earnings. First, the effect within one generation was considered by comparing a family’s current earnings with the earnings in the recent past and expected earnings in the future. The second effect, referred to previously as the Easterlin hypothesis, was examined through the generations by comparing a household’s earnings for a younger generation with earnings of the parental generation. The hypotheses were tested for the period 1981–2008. The study involved estimating space and time dynamics by using the SAR (2,1) model and the general method of moments for aggregate panel data. By comparing different specifications, positive spatial autocorrelation of fertility was identified. Current earnings appeared to have a negative effect on fertility rates within municipalities, and in the long-run, across them. The inverted Easterlin hypothesis was weakly supported within municipalities. The study makes an important theoretical contribution through the application of a stationarity condition and evaluation of the long-run effect in the direct, indirect, and total forms of the SAR (2,1) model with second-order autoregressive and first-order spatial disturbances.