Social inequalities in ageing. Copenhagen Life Course Epidemiology in Aging Research (CLEAR)

Our purpose is to study social inequalities in health and aging in a life course perspective, and to explore the pathways through and interactions with psychosocial, psychological and biological factors. We want to inform policy makers on intervention possibilities aiming at reducing social inequality in health among middle-aged and older adults.

To inform intervention strategies a better understanding of life course social determinants of aging as well as their interplay with psychological, behavioural and biological factors is of huge importance in today’s aging society. Knowledge about risk factors and development of interventions in the most vulnerable older citizens will add important new knowledge to this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AHEAD is an acronym for Arbejdsmiljø, Hovedpine og Evnen til at Arbejde i Danmark (Working environment, Headache and the Ability to Work in Denmark)

Headache disorders are the most prevalent neurological disorders, and among primary headaches migraine and tension-type headache are the most frequent. Among occupationally active individuals in Denmark, 10% of the men and 24% of the women report migraine or frequent headache.

Despite the high number of people with headache disorders, surprisingly few studies have investigated the causes and consequences of headache in an occupational health perspective. Consequently, the adverse effects of headache on sickness absence, work ability and—not least—quality of life are often unnoticed.

Together with our collaborators, we are investigating causes and consequences of headache, and how these consequences can be mitigated among employees in Denmark.

Currently, with support from Helsefonden we are studying the demand-specific work ability among people with from migraine or frequent headache and among people with possible medication-overuse headache.

Publications from the project

Appel et al., Journal of Aging and Health 2022: Socioeconomic Position and Late-Onset Dementia: A Nationwide Register-Based Study

Islamoska et al., Public Health 2022: The association between migraine and dementia - a national register-based matched cohort study

Steenberg et al., International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 2022: Demand-specific work ability among employees with migraine or frequent headache

Urhammer et al., J Occup Environ Med 2020: The effect of psychosocial work factors on headache: results from the PRISME cohort study

Appel et al. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2020: The longitudinal association between shift work and headache: results from the Danish PRISME cohort

Jakobsen et al., Ergonomics 2017: The association between shift work and treatment-seeking migraine in Denmark 

Collaboration

  • The Danish Knowledge Center for Headache
  • The National Research Centre for the Working Environment
  • The Danish Committee for Health Education

 

 

The overall aim of our research is to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on emotional reactions to the pandemic, social relations at work, and social stigmatization among frontline employees.

Currently, we are investigating teachers at public schools and employees, working within eldercare, ambulance service, psychiatry, childcare, and rehabilitation.

COLLABORATION

This research is carried out as a collaboration between researchers at the Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen and labor unions (FOA and Danmarks Lærerforening).

PUBLICATIONS

Danish reports

Kirsten Nabe-Nielsen, Vivian Rueskov, Inge Larsen, Nina Vibe Fuglsang, Charlotte Juul Nilsson: CLASS – En analyse af bæredygtigheden af tiltag til begrænsning af smittespredning i folkeskolen, Københavns Universitet, København april 2021. 

Kirsten Nabe-Nielsen, Inge Larsen, Nina Vibe Fuglsang, Charlotte Juul Nilsson: CLASS – Folkeskolelæreres arbejdsmiljø under COVID-19: Udfordringer og mulige løsninger baseret på erfaringer fra juni 2020, Københavns Universitet, København, februar 2021.

Kirsten Nabe-Nielsen, Nina Vibe Fuglsang, Inge Larsen, Charlotte Juul Nilsson: CLASS – Folkeskolelæreres arbejdsmiljø under anden bølge af COVID-19-pandemien i Danmark, Københavns Universitet, København, januar 2021.

Kirsten Nabe-Nielsen, Inge Larsen, Nina Vibe Fuglsang, Charlotte Juul Nilsson: CLASS – et forskningsprojekt om COVID-19’s betydning for Læreres Arbejdsmiljø, Sammenhold og Smitteoplevelse, Københavns Universitet, København, oktober 2020. 

Scientific papers

Kirsten Nabe-Nielsen, Nina Vibe Fuglsang, Inge Larsen, and Charlotte Juul Nilsson: COVID-19 Risk Management and Emotional Reactions to COVID-19 Among School Teachers in Denmark. Results From the CLASS Study, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Volume 63, Number 5, May 2021, pp 357-362.

Kirsten Nabe-Nielsen, Charlotte Juul Nilsson, Maria Juul-Madsen, Charlotte Bredal, Lars Ole Preisler Hansen, Åse Marie Hansen: COVID-19 risk management at the workplace, fear of infection and fear of transmission of infection among frontline employees, Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2020. 

OTHER DISSEMINATION

Podcasts

Børn&Unge Podcast, May 2021: Veras brev blev et lys i en mørk tid (in Danish, podcast about the consequences of COVID-19 for the working environment among pedagogues)

Radio4, December 2021: Psykologi i coronaens tid (in Danish, podcast about fear of infection and “zoom fatigue”)

Webinars

Arbejdsmiljørådet, May 2021: Arbejdsmiljø i en coronatid – hvad har vi lært?

Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation, October 2020: FH døgnet (the effect of COVID-19 on the working environment from minute 2:02:00)

Selected articles in magazines

Folkeskolen, April 2021: Folkesundhedsforsker: Corona-opgaver tærer på lærernes resurser

Folkeskolen, January 2021: Forsker: Husk lærernes psykiske arbejdsmiljø, når I åbner skolerne

Fagbladet FOA, October 2021: Adgang til tests og værnemidler afgørende for det mentale helbred

Mit Arbejdsmiljø, August 2020: Med COVID-19 på skoleskemaet

Mit Arbejdsmiljø, August 2020: COVID-19 påvirker frontlinjemedarbejdere følelsesmæssigt

Folkeskolen, 4 June 2020: Halvdelen af lærerne frygter at tage corona-smitte med hjem

Fagbladet FOA, May 2020: Forsker undersøger coronaens effekt på FOA-faggruppers arbejdsmiljø

 

 

 

 

 

Funding

  • Nordeafonden STRIT 8.8 mio DKK (STRIT)
  • Nordeafonden Center for Sund Aldring 3 mio. DKK (CAMB2)
  • Nordforsk (Social inequalities in Ageing)
  • Beckettfonden 100.000 kr. (CAMB2)
  • Ensomme gamles værn 300.000 kr. (STRIT)
  • VELUX (CAMB)
Rikke Lund

Research Group Leader
Rikke Lund
Professor

Email: rilu@sund.ku.dk
Phone: +45 35 32 79 92
Mobile: +45 24 66 05 35

Internal researchers

Name Title Phone E-mail
Foverskov, Else Assistant Professor +4535328974 E-mail
Jørgensen, Terese Sara Høj Associate Professor +4535335886 E-mail
Kalvåg, Cecilie Kivikoski Student +4535332751 E-mail
Lund, Rikke Professor, Head of Section +4535327992 E-mail
Malling, Gritt Marie Hviid PhD Fellow +4535327715 E-mail
Molbo, Drude Data Administrator +4535326736 E-mail
Nilsson, Charlotte Juul Associate Professor +4535327122 E-mail