title: Regional inequalities in pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity in Sweden, 1992, 2000, and 2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate regional differences and time trends in women's overweight and obesity in Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register (women aged ⩾18 years, first pregnancy only) and the Total Population Register accessed through the Umeå SIMSAM Lab, age-standardized prevalence of pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity (BMI ⩾ 25 kg/m(2)) and obesity (BMI ⩾ 30 kg/m(2)) were estimated by county for the years 1992, 2000, and 2010. Maps were created using ArcMap v10.2.2 to display regional variations over time and logistic regression analyses were used to assess if the observed trends were significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and obesity increased significantly in all Swedish counties between 1992, and 2010. In 2010, Södermanland and Gotland exhibited the highest age-standardized overweight/obesity (39.7%) and obesity (15.1%) prevalence, respectively. The sharpest increases between 1992 and 2010 were observed in Västerbotten for overweight/obesity (75% increase) and in Gotland for obesity (233% increase). Across the years, Stockholm had the lowest prevalence of overweight/obesity (26.3% in 2010) and obesity (7.3% in 2010) and one of the least steep increases in prevalence of both between 1992 and 2010.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Substantial regional differences in pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity prevalence are apparent in Sweden. Further research should elucidate the mechanisms causing these differences.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University & Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden pia.chaparro@chess.su.se.
authors.forename: M Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Chaparro
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anneli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ivarsson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University & Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koupil
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, USBE, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Häggström
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, USBE, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: de Luna
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Economic History, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Urban
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lindgren
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Overweight; Sweden; inequalities; obesity; pregnancy