Health Determinants and Burden of Disease – Team Agardh

People who grow up and live in disadvantaged conditions have poorer health and shorter life expectancy. The aim of our research is to identify socioeconomic, physical, environmental, and behavioral determinants that contributes to inequalities in health. The group is strongly connected to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), USA, and contributes to analyses on social determinants for disease burden.

Part of the:

Research projects

The Swedish Burden of Disease Dataset

About the research

The specific research projects utilize register data from a Swedish Burden of Disease dataset in collaboration with research partners in Sweden and abroad. We apply methods from social epidemiology, health economy, geography, and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project, to investigate and monitor socioeconomic, regional, and small-area inequalities in health.

The results of our research can generate opportunities for informed policy-making to improve population health. 

Our projects are currently funded by Forte, Försäkringskassan and Pfizer.

Publications

Funding

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council for Health Working Life and Welfare
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2026
    Research problem and specific questions While Europe is one of the regions with the highest alcohol consumption in the world, there are major differences in alcohol use and alcohol related harm between European countries. Previous comparative studies have analyzed variations to understand importance of alcohol policies. However, major changes in policies and drinking habits have occurred in recent years, and there are also new methods for analyzing both policy, consumption and disease burden. Thus an updated study on alcohol policy, alcohol consumption and alcohol related harm, using improved methods is needed.Data and methodWe will use a scale for assessing alcohol policy in countries, developed by Finnish researchers and recently updated. Consumption data as well as data on burden of disease will be extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database for all EU countries plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and UK. Data will be analyzed for the period 1990-2020. Burden of alcohol related harm will be assessed by using data on alcohol related mortality as well DALYs (Disability adjusted life years). The data in the GBD system ensures comparability over time as well as between countries.Plan for project realisationThe core team consists of senior researchers from Sweden, Finland, Netherlands and Italy, with experience from GBD studies, and similar comparative studies. One FTE will be hired to collect data on alcohol policy from the different countries according to a specific protocol. The NORDAN and EUROCARE networks will be helpful in finding and translating information on alcohol policy. One FTE will be hired to extract data from the GBD database on alcohol consumption and alcohol related harm in the different countries. Timelines will be constructed to relate policy to consumption and level of harm in different countries.RelevanceComparison of alcohol policy and level of consumption, in relation to alcohol related harm, has been important in understanding drivers of alcohol problems and alcohol related harm, since randomised controlled studies are not possible. Major changes have occurred in European countries in recent years, so findings from previous comparative studies need to be updated. The combination of the alcohol policy scale with alcohol related harm based on GBD data has not been performed in previous comparative studies. Close contact will be held with stakeholders and end users of alcohol policy information in Sweden and Europe.
  • Swedish Research Council for Health Working Life and Welfare
    1 January 2022 - 31 December 2026
    Low socioeconomic position has consistently been identified as a predictor of disease and premature mortality, but the magnitude of this inequality is still unclear. The vast amount of research is typically based on different types of health indicators or data that only reflect specific diseases or causes of deaths. This gives a fragmented picture of the problem. In this project we seek to, for the first time, estimate the magnitude of inequality in health (both fatal and non-fatal) for the whole population of Sweden over time and identify diseases where inequality is greatest. The goal is to support health care policy decision and targeted action, but also to establish a framework for conveying the effect of public health problems generated by inequalities over the life course.  We will use internationally unique Swedish registers on health, health care and welfare, and the advanced systematic methods developed within the Global Burden of Disease study. The GBD quantifies disease burden for 369 diseases and causes of deaths and 87 risk factors by age, sex and over time at the global, national and increasingly sub-national level on a yearly basis. Specifically, burden from diseases and deaths can be compared but also combined into one single estimate. Using this new approach will give us a more complete picture to help understand and explain inequalities in health. The results will be of broad international importance and not only support policy measures in Sweden, but also help improve the knowledge building around inequality in the conditions and opportunities over the life course and inequality in health. Furthermore, this project will develop methods for socioeconomic stratification of burden of disease and risk factor analyses, which can be applicable globally.
  • Swedish Research Council for Health Working Life and Welfare
    1 January 2020 - 31 December 2023

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