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Research group Division for Epidemiology

The research area focuses on improved understanding of how stress-related illnesses and health problems arise and can be prevented in and outside of the workplace.

Chessboard with scattered pieces and two wooden dolls. Photo: Succo from Pixabay.

The Division for Epidemiology is the home to SLOSH – Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health – a nationally representative cohort study of the health consequences of psychosocial factors at work with 40,877 participants. Through extensive international collaboration, researchers at the Division are also able to use a number of large databases both in Sweden and in other countries to explore questions about working life and health.

Group description

The research focus mainly on longitudinal studies aiming to:

explore associations between work organisation, work environment and health, e.g. self-rated health, sleep disturbances, hearing problems, cognitive disturbances, depression, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and premature death.
study the causes and consequences of sickness absence, sickness presenteeism, and retirement.
investigate how acquired behavioural patterns, personal choices, and the balance between work and private life affects the associations between stress in working life and health.
study the health consequences of downsizing, organisational changes, and business cycle.
investigate the role of sleep and restitution in the relationship between stress in working life and health outcome.
study physiological mechanisms which mediate the association between stress and manifest disease, e.g. atherosclerosis and disturbances in hormonal regulation.
evaluate workplace interventions aiming to improve the work environment, reduce harmful stress, as well as to promote health and productivity among the emplyees.