Per Axelsson

Indigenous and tribal peoples' health (The Lancet-Lowitja Institute Global Collaboration): a population study.

BACKGROUND International studies of the health of Indigenous and tribal peoples provide important public health insights. Reliable data are required for the development of policy and health services. Previous studies document poorer outcomes for Indigenous peoples compared with benchmark populations, but have been restricted in their coverage of countries or the range of health indicators. Our objective is to describe the health and social status of Indigenous and tribal peoples relative to benchmark populations from a sample of countries. METHODS Collaborators with expertise in Indigenous health data systems were identified for each country. Data were obtained for population, life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, low and high birthweight, maternal mortality, nutritional status, educational attainment, and economic status. Data sources consisted of governmental data, data from non-governmental organisations such as UNICEF, and other research. Absolute and relative differences were calculated. FINDINGS Our data (23 countries, 28 populations) provide evidence of poorer health and social outcomes for Indigenous peoples than for non-Indigenous populations. However, this is not uniformly the case, and the size of the rate difference varies. We document poorer outcomes for Indigenous populations for: life expectancy at birth for 16 of 18 populations with a difference greater than 1 year in 15 populations; infant mortality rate for 18 of 19 populations with a rate difference greater than one per 1000 livebirths in 16 populations; maternal mortality in ten populations; low birthweight with the rate difference greater than 2% in three populations; high birthweight with the rate difference greater than 2% in one population; child malnutrition for ten of 16 populations with a difference greater than 10% in five populations; child obesity for eight of 12 populations with a difference greater than 5% in four populations; adult obesity for seven of 13 populations with a difference greater than 10% in four populations; educational attainment for 26 of 27 populations with a difference greater than 1% in 24 populations; and economic status for 15 of 18 populations with a difference greater than 1% in 14 populations. INTERPRETATION We systematically collated data across a broader sample of countries and indicators than done in previous studies. Taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we recommend that national governments develop targeted policy responses to Indigenous health, improving access to health services, and Indigenous data within national surveillance systems. FUNDING The Lowitja Institute.

The Northern Population Development; Colonization And Mortality In Swedish Sapmi, 1776–1895

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the Consequence of Colonization project is to study population development and mortality in Swedish Sapmi. This article, the first to be drawn from our research, compares these changes between Sami and non-Sami, South and North Sami. Study design. Longitudinal individual based data from computerized records ofthe Glillivare, Undersaker and Frostviken parishes, divided into 2 40-year periods: 1776–1815 and 1856-1895. METHODS: The main source material used for the present study was a set of data files from the Demographic Data Base (DDB) at Umea University, the largest historical database in Europe. A Sami cohort was created by indicators of ethnicity in the parish registers, and was later extended with automatic linkages to children and parents. RESULTS: Sami mortality rates show great fluctuations during the period 1776–1815, almost always peaking at a higher rate than in the rest of Sweden. The non-Sami group had lower mortality rates compared with both Sweden as a whole and the Sami in the parish. Between 1856 and 1895, the non-Sami experienced a very small reduction in their mortality rates and the Sami experienced overall improvement in their health status. Significant differences in age-specific mortality appear when the South and North Sami are compared, showing that the South Sami had far lower child mortality rates. CONCLUSIONS: The Sami population’s health status improved during the nineteenth century. This indicates that they had advanced in the epidemiologic transition model. A corresponding change is not found for the non-Sami group.

Infant mortality of Sami and settlers in Northern Sweden: the era of colonization 1750-1900

The study deals with infant mortality (IMR) that is one of the most important aspects of indigenous vulnerability. Background: The Sami are one of very few indigenous peoples with an experience of a positive mortality transition. Objective: Using unique mortality data from the period 1750–1900 Sami and the colonizers in northern Sweden are compared in order to reveal an eventual infant mortality transition. Findings: The results show ethnic differences with the Sami having higher IMR, although the differences decrease over time. There were also geographical and cultural differences within the Sami, with significantly lower IMR among the South Sami. Generally, parity has high explanatory value, where an increased risk is noted for children born as number five or higher among siblings. Conclusion: There is a striking trend of decreasing IMR among the Sami after 1860, which, however, was not the result of professional health care. Other indigenous peoples of the Arctic still have higher mortality rates, and IMR below 100 was achieved only after 1950 in most countries. The decrease in Sami infant mortality was certainly an important factor in their unique health transition, but the most significant change occurred after 1900.

The Cutter incident and the development of a Swedish polio vaccine, 1952-1957

The creation of two different vaccines to eradicate polio stands out as one of modern science most important accomplishments. The current article examines Swedish polio vaccine research, the vaccin ...

Statistics on Indigenous Peoples: International effort needed

In 2007, the UN General Assembly endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In the following years, there has been a strong call from a range United Nations agenci ...

Nonlinear wave interactions for ideal MHD plasmas

The theory for resonant three-wave interactions in anisotropic and inhomogeneous MHD plasmas is extended. Using a Hamiltonian formalism, we derive symmetric coupling coefficients, relevant for a class of MHD models with anisotropic pressures. For the case with an isotropic pressure term, we present general results valid for arbitrary static background states.

Sweden in 1930 and the 1930 census

The primary goal of censuses has always been to collect reliable information on the state’s population and provide a basis for governmental decision-making. This study examines the categories used in the 1930 census and links them to the context in which they were generated. We treat the census as a tool of state power, which can be discerned from the definitions of its categories and the way in which statistics are collected and used. The guiding question of the study was “how does the 1930 census differ from previous censuses and how can these differences and changes be explained?” We find that as in earlier censuses, Statistics Sweden used extracts from the parish books on the individual level to collect information for the 1930 census, but also used diverse supplementary sources including tax registers, income tax returns and language surveys. Thus, unlike in most countries, Sweden did not send out census takers or questionnaires to the population. Many of the new or updated variables we see in the 1930 census such as income, wealth, and number of children born, can be related to the political and social debate concerning the poor working class and the establishment of the welfare state. The inclusion of categories such as ethnicity, religion, and foreign nationality can be seen as part of a normative approach wanting to control, monitor and correct deviant elements of the Swedish population. Sweden has several extraordinary longitudinal population databases built on the country’s excellent parish registers dating back to the 18th century. While the Swedish censuses have rarely been used as sources of data for historical analysis, this work demonstrates that the 1930 census has great potential to support new research.

Ethnicity, statistics and health in Sweden - ways forward

(no abstract available) Citation: Int J Circumpolar Health 2016, 75: 33200 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v75.33200Tularemia mapping in northernmost Sweden : seroprevalence and a case-control study of risk factors