To determine, in a general population, how much rates of stress reactions (SR), major depression (MD), alcohol-use disorder (AUD) and drug-use disorder (DUD) increase after the death of close relatives.

SR, MD, AUD, and DUD registrations were assessed from national Swedish registries. From the population followed from 2000 to 2018, those exposed to death of a close relative in 2002–2016 were matched to unexposed controls and analyzed in males and females by a controlled pre-post design using a difference-in-difference method.

Substantial, brief increases in risk for SR and more modest prolonged increases in MD were observed after death of relatives in both men and women greatest with children, followed by spouses, parents, and siblings. Relatively long-lasting modest increases in AUD but not DUD were also observed following death of relatives. The absolute increases for SR and MD were greater in females than males and for AUD greater in males than females. However, logistic regression analyses showed most effects did not differ significantly by sex. Consistently larger increases in disorder risk were seen with the death of younger v. older parents, siblings, and spouses and with accidental v. non-accidental death in children.

Applying a matched cohort design to Swedish population registries, death of close relatives was associated with, and likely caused, substantial increases in rates of SR, MD, and AUD, consistent with smaller prior clinical investigations. Through such registries, we can, in large representative samples, integrate the impact of exposures to selected environmental adversities into disorder risk pathways.

Blast related characteristics may contribute to the diversity of findings on whether mild traumatic brain injury sustained during war zone deployment has lasting cognitive effects. This study aims to evaluate whether a history of blast exposure at close proximity, defined as exposure within 30 feet, has long-term or lasting influences on cognitive outcomes among current and former military personnel.

One hundred participants were assigned to one of three groups based on a self-report history of blast exposure during combat deployments: 47 close blast, 14 non-close blast, and 39 comparison participants without blast exposure. Working memory, processing speed, verbal learning/memory, and cognitive flexibility were evaluated using standard neuropsychological tests. In addition, assessment of combat exposure and current post-concussive, posttraumatic stress, and depressive symptoms, and headache was performed via self-report measures. Variables that differed between groups were controlled as covariates.

No group differences survived Bonferroni correction for family-wise error rate; the close blast group did not differ from non-close blast and comparison groups on measures of working memory, processing speed, verbal learning/memory, or cognitive flexibility. Controlling for covariates did not alter these results.

No evidence emerged to suggest that a history of close blast exposure was associated with decreased cognitive performance when comparisons were made with the other groups. Limited characterization of blast contexts experienced, self-report of blast distance, and heterogeneity of injury severity within the groups are the main limitations of this study.

The objective of this population-based register study was (1) to investigate the association between young adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and subsequent labour market marginalisation (LMM) in two comparison groups, i.e. matched young adults from the general population without ADHD and unaffected siblings to persons with ADHD and (2) to assess the role of comorbid disorders.

This study included all young adults in Sweden, aged 19–29 years, with an incident diagnosis of ADHD 2006–2011 (n = 9718). Crude and multivariate sex-stratified hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were measured 5 years after the diagnosis of ADHD for the risk of disability pension, long-term sickness absence (SA) (>90 days), long-term unemployment (>180 days) and a combined measure of all three in young adults with ADHD compared to their siblings without ADHD and a matched comparison group.

In the adjusted analyses young adults with ADHD had a 10-fold higher risk of disability pension (HR = 10.2; CI 9.3–11.2), a nearly three-fold higher risk of long-term SA (HR = 2.7; CI 2.5–2.8) and a 70% higher risk of long-term unemployment (HR = 1.7; CI 1.6–1.8) compared to the matched comparison group. The risk estimates were lower compared to siblings for disability pension (HR = 9.0; CI 6.6–12.3) and long-term SA (HR = 2.5; CI 2.1–3.1) but higher in the long-term unemployed (HR = 1.9; CI 1.6–2.1). Comorbid disorders explained about one-third of the association between ADHD and disability pension, but less regarding SA and long-term unemployment.

Young adults with ADHD have a high risk for different measures of LMM and comorbidities explain only a small proportion of this relationship.