Devy L Elling

Ms. Devy L Elling

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

9Years (2018-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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28 November 2018 in Globalization and Health
Verified
Journal Article
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DEDevy L Elling
Devy L Elling
Pamela J. SurkanPamela J. Surkan
Pamela J. Surkan
SESahba Enayati
Sahba Enayati
Ziad El-KhatibZiad El-Khatib
Ziad El-Khatib
Increases in overweight and obesity among youths have resulted in the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at earlier ages. The impact of lifestyle-related factors has been implicated; however, its relation to morbidity and mortality and sex differences remain unclear. We aimed to document the changes in risk factors and sex differences associated with T2DM-related morbidity and mortality during 1995–2015. We used mortality rates and morbidity estimates from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2016 using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine associations between T2DM-related mortality and related risk factors. DALYs were grouped by country income level, and were stratified by sex. Increases in mortality were observed for both sexes, and females tended to have higher mortality rates per 100,000 persons. Body mass index (BMI) continued to be the leading risk factor for T2DM-related mortality, and increases in BMI were more common in low- and middle-income countries (LIC and MIC). Low physical activity was strongly associated with mortality rates, followed by dietary risks and smoking (2.4; 1.4; 0.8 per 100,000 persons, respectively). Similar patterns were observed after adjustments for income level, sex, and age. DALYs continued to show increasing trends across all income levels during 1995–2015 (high-income (HIC):16%; MIC: 36%; LIC: 12%). Stratification by sex showed similar results; males had fewer T2DM DALYs than females, though a greater increase was observed among males. Overall, T2DM related mortality was higher among females. Compared to in HIC, there appeared to be a considerable increase in the burden of T2DM in MIC and LIC, where BMI is the leading risk factor for T2DM-related mortality. Prevention programs should emphasize related risk factors according to the existing standard of care.

17 July 2020 in International Journal of Workplace Health Management
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
DEDevy L Elling
Devy L Elling
PWPeter Wennberg
Peter Wennberg
YAYlva B. Almquist
Ylva B. Almquist
KSKristina Sundqvist
Kristina Sundqvist
Purpose: Individual factors associated with managers' organisational alcohol policy knowledge and inclination to initiate early alcohol interventions have been understudied. This study aims to examine differences in managers' policy knowledge and inclination across a range of socio-demographic, work-related and health characteristics, and it aims to examine the association between policy knowledge and inclination to intervene, net of these characteristics.Design/methodology/approach: Questionnaire data were collected from 430 managers. Organisational alcohol policy knowledge and inclination to intervene were measured using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high). Socio-demographic, work-related and health characteristics included gender, age, education, managerial responsibility, years in current position, self-rated health and alcohol consumption. Associations were examined using multilevel ordinal regression analysis.Findings: Managers with a greater number of employees demonstrated the highest level of organisational alcohol policy knowledge and were more inclined to initiate early alcohol interventions. Alcohol policy knowledge was associated with inclination to intervene, net of individual characteristics.Practical implications: Considering how managers' characteristics might influence efforts to decrease hazardous alcohol consumption is potentially important when designing future workplace alcohol prevention programmes.Originality/value: Several individual factors related to managers' organisational alcohol policy knowledge and inclination to initiate early alcohol interventions were identified, particularly managerial responsibility. However, the association between policy knowledge and inclination to intervene remained strong after accounting for these individual factors. Future studies should explore alternative explanations at the individual and organisational levels.

2 August 2022 in WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation
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Journal Article
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DEDevy L Elling
Devy L Elling
YAYlva B. Almquist
Ylva B. Almquist
PWPeter Wennberg
Peter Wennberg
KSKristina Sundqvist
Kristina Sundqvist
BACKGROUND: Alcohol interventions targeting the adult population are often conducted in healthcare settings, while preventive interventions often target adolescents or young adults. The general working population is often overlooked. A workplace-based intervention, consisting of development and implementation of an organizational alcohol policy, and skills development training for managers (APMaT) was carried out in order to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harms by identifying hazardous consumers at an early stage. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate APMaT by focusing on managers’ inclination to initiate early alcohol intervention. METHODS: In a cluster randomized design, data were obtained from 187 managers (control: n = 70; intervention: n = 117). Inclination to initiate early alcohol intervention was measured using three items on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Changes in managers’ inclination to intervene were analyzed by applying multilevel ordered logistic regression. Predictors included in the model were group (control vs. intervention), time (baseline vs. 12-month follow-up), and the multiplicative interaction term (group×time). RESULTS: Significant increase in inclination to intervene against hazardous alcohol consumption among managers in the intervention group compared to managers in the control group was observed. Specifically, a 50% increase of confidence to initiate an intervention was observed among managers in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: APMaT seems effective to increase managers’ inclination to intervene early against hazardous consumption in the workplace. The effectiveness of APMaT at the employee level should be explored in prospective studies.

12 August 2020 in JMIR Research Protocols
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Journal Article
Open access
DEDevy L Elling
Devy L Elling
MWMartina Wilson
Martina Wilson
PCPer Carlbring
Per Carlbring
PWPeter Wennberg
Peter Wennberg
KSKristina Sundqvist
Kristina Sundqvist
Background: High alcohol consumption poses risks to individual health and society. Previous alcohol interventions have mainly focused on high-risk consumers or young adults in school-based settings. Since the majority of the adult population is in the workforce, the workplace can be considered a favorable arena for implementing interventions. Objective: This protocol describes a project aimed at increasing knowledge of the effectiveness of combining the implementation of an organizational alcohol policy with skills training for managers as a workplace alcohol prevention program, by evaluating the intervention and exploring managers’ perceptions of the intervention. Methods: Organizations with at least 100 employees were invited to take part in the project. A total of 11 organizations (744 managers and 11,761 employees) were included in the project. Data are collected through self-administered online surveys at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months. The primary outcome is managers’ inclination to initiate an early alcohol intervention (eg, by initiating a dialogue) when concern regarding employees’ hazardous alcohol consumption arises. The secondary outcomes of interest are managers’ and employees’ organizational alcohol policy knowledge and changes in alcohol consumption, as measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score. A linear mixed-model framework will be used to model variability on different levels. Primary analysis will follow an intention-to-treat approach. Additionally, managers’ responses from semistructured interviews will be analyzed using thematic analysis to explore managers’ experiences regarding the prevention program. Results: This study is ongoing. The overall study start was on January 2018, and the study is planned to end in December 2020. Baseline and 12-month follow-up measurements have been collected. Conclusions: This project is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an alcohol prevention program regarding higher inclination to initiate early alcohol interventions after policy implementation and skills training among managers, compared to the usual practices in the workplace. The results from this study can contribute to increased knowledge about alcohol interventions and future prevention programs in the workplace. Trial Registration: ISRCTN17250048; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17250048

11 May 2025 in Social Science & Medicine
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Journal Article
Open access
JGJessie Gevaert
Jessie Gevaert
LML. Mangot-Sala
L. Mangot-Sala
MAM. Almroth
M. Almroth
KBK. Badarin
K. Badarin
DEDevy L Elling
Devy L Elling
TBTheo Bodin
Theo Bodin
Research on health in self-employment shows mixed findings, partly due to limited focus on heterogeneity within self-employment, physical health outcomes and reliance on self-reported, cross-sectional data. This study addresses these gaps by identifying self-employment types using the 'precarious employment framework' and examining their association with cardiovascular health conditions in Sweden. Using the Swedish Work, Illness, and Labour Market Participation (SWIP) cohort, we analyzed individuals born between 1948 and 1968, aged 40-60 in 2008, and living in Sweden in 2005. We identified a typology of precarious self-employment in 2008 (N = 281,251), with cardiovascular health conditions tracked between 2009 and 2020. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to categorize self-employment based on six indicators of precarity: business type, prior unemployment, combined employment, number of employees, income, and income volatility. Cox proportional hazards models estimated the association between the self-employment types and cardiovascular health conditions (diagnoses for myocardial infarction and stroke) compared to waged employment, adjusting for covariates. We identified four self-employment types: entrepreneurial employers, precarious solo self-employed, own-account combiners, and small traders. Precarious self-employment among 40-to-60-year-olds was associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular conditions later in life. The 'precarious employment framework' effectively captures the heterogeneity of self-employment and highlights its role as a social determinant of cardiovascular health. Our findings suggest that precarious self-employment is linked to increased cardiovascular risk. This underscores the importance of considering employment quality and heterogeneity in future research and public policies addressing self-employed populations.

21 September 2024 in Alcohol and Alcoholism
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Journal Article
Open access
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ETEmelie Thern
Emelie Thern
KBKatrina J Blindow
Katrina J Blindow
EJErica Jonsson
Erica Jonsson
EBEmma Brulin
Emma Brulin
JLJonas Landberg
Jonas Landberg
DEDevy L Elling
Devy L Elling
The current study aims to (i) examine differences in hazardous alcohol consumption across different industries in Sweden and (ii) assess to what degree any such difference can be attributed to a differential distribution of nicotine use, health, and work environments among individuals working in these industries. A pooled cross-sectional study was conducted including all participants of the survey of Health, Work Environment, and Lifestyle Habits between 2012 and 2023 (n = 54 378), collected by an occupational health service company (Feelgood). The survey contained self-reported information on alcohol use, industry, nicotine use, health, and work environment. Crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were obtained by pooled logistic regression analyses. Hazardous alcohol use was highly prevalent in the current study population (37%), especially among individuals in the accommodation/food service, arts/entertainment/recreation, and the construction industry. Compared to individuals working in education, individuals in these industries had >1.6-fold increased odds of reporting hazardous alcohol consumption. Differences in nicotine use and physical work environment between the industries explained some of the differences in hazardous alcohol consumption between industries, while differences in health and psychosocial work environment had limited effects on the estimates. We identified several industries in the Swedish workforce where hazardous alcohol use is highly prevalent. While differences in nicotine use, health, and work environment explained a part of these risk differences, most of the risk differences remained.