Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen

Scopus Publications

The Danish Infection Cohort: a resource for population based infectious disease epidemiology
Noelle M. Cocoros, Eyal Oren, Bianka Darvalics, Kasper Mortensen, Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Marie Holm Eliasen, Lars Pedersen, Henrik Toft Sørensen
European Journal of Epidemiology, 2026
Infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, but many aspects of the epidemiology of infections are unknown or unclear because key data are lacking. We created The Danish Infection Cohort by linking Danish National Health Survey data (including self-reported behavioral, health, and other information) to data on diagnoses and medications in Danish national health registries. We included individuals ≥ 18 years of age in surveys from 2010, 2013, 2017, and 2021. We identified evidence of infection in the 365 days post-survey by using two definitions: hospital-diagnosed infections, via primary or secondary discharge diagnoses in the Danish National Patient Registry (containing all Danish hospital-based outpatient, emergency, and inpatient encounters); and community-treated infections, via systemic anti-infective prescription redemptions at community pharmacies in the Danish National Prescription Registry. Overall, among 609,224 individuals, 196,980 (32.3%) had one or more infections within 365 days post-survey: 11,850 hospital-diagnosed and 185,130 community-treated. Because more than one infection occurred in some individuals, the total number of infections was 315,689: 25,385 hospital-diagnosed and 290,304 community-treated. The most common diagnoses were respiratory infections (34.9%), and the most common anti-infectives were antibiotics (80.6%). This cohort, with nearly 200,000 individuals with infections, and more than 315,000 infections overall, includes data on smoking, weight, physical activity, diet, alcohol use, and other factors, enabling a wide range of investigations including infectious disease patterns and etiologies over time.
Representativeness of participants in the Danish National Health Survey across 422,371 orthopedic surgeries: a study of hip and knee arthroplasty and hip fracture patients
Simon Storgaard Jensen, Nadia R. Gadgaard, Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Lei Wang, Alma Becic Pedersen
Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, 2025
Aims Orthopedic registries have provided valuable knowledge about risk for and prognosis after total hip arthroplasties (THA), knee arthroplasties (KA), and hip fractures. However, registries are often limited by the lack of data on health risk behaviors, quality of life, and social background, which are readily available in surveys. We examined if participants in The Danish National Health Survey, based on self-administered questionnaires, are representative of THA, KA, and hip fracture patients. Methods Patients were identified in the Danish orthopedic registries and linked with survey data (from 2010, 2013, and 2017) on an individual level. Data on age, sex, comorbidity, medication, markers of socioeconomic position, and healthcare utilization were assessed from the Danish medical databases. We calculated the proportions of variables before and after surgery, comparing patients who had and had not participated in surveys. Results We included 177,617 THA surgeries (4.5% of patients completed pre-surgery surveys and 7.0% completed post-surgery surveys), 152,154 KA surgeries (7.0% of patients completed pre-surgery surveys and 6.2% completed post-surgery surveys) and 92,600 hip fracture surgeries (3.8% of patients completed pre-surgery surveys and 2.2% completed post-surgery surveys). Survey participants and non-participants had similar age and sex distribution in the three cohorts. Based on comorbidity, medication, and healthcare utilization, participants appeared slightly healthier than non-participants. There was a slight variation in socioeconomic markers for THA and KA patients between participants and non-participants. Conclusion The Danish National Health Survey provides a sample that appears to be largely representative of all THA, KA, and hip fracture patients in Denmark. Survey data could be a valuable data source for further studies of the risks and outcomes associated with patients undergoing THA and KA and those suffering from hip fractures, while carefully considering the identified similarities and differences when designing studies and analyzing the survey data.
Prevalence and determinants of eating disorder risk behaviours among adult women in Denmark: findings from nationwide cross-sectional health surveys between 2000 and 2023
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Rikke Bjerring Plenborg, Michael Davidsen, Ola Ekholm, Lau Caspar Thygesen
Journal of Eating Disorders, 2025
Eating disorders exhibit the highest mortality among mental disorders and are associated with serious physical and mental health symptoms. Short disease duration is a crucial predictor of recovery, and therefore, screening instruments targeting eating disorder risk behaviours are needed for preventive purposes. Furthermore, knowledge about potential determinants of such risk behaviours may refine future prevention strategies and initiatives. This study aimed to describe trends between 2000 and 2023 in the prevalence of eating disorder risk behaviours among adult women from the general population in Denmark and to explore associated determinants in 2023. Data were derived from female respondents aged ≥ 16 years in the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey in 2000 (n = 1,704), 2005 (n = 2,709), and 2023 (n = 5,072), a nationwide cross-sectional health survey. Information on eating disorder risk behaviours was assessed by the validated screening instrument, Risk Behaviour for Eating Disorder 8-items (RiBED-8), and collected by self-administered questionnaires. The prevalence of eating disorder risk behaviours between 2000 and 2023 was described as proportions, whereas univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to explore potential associations between self-reported determinants and eating disorder risk behaviours in 2023. All analyses were stratified by age (16–24, 25–34, ≥ 35 years). The overall prevalence of eating disorder risk behaviours increased from 10.0% in 2000 to 20.6% in 2023 with the largest increase in age group 25–34 years (from 11.6 to 27.3%). In the adjusted regression models, higher levels of perceived stress were consistently associated with eating disorder risk behaviours across age groups (OR = 1.07–1.10). In contrast, the associations with low and high body mass index, current smoking, and loneliness varied across age groups. Between 2000 and 2023, a two-fold increase in the overall prevalence of eating disorder risk behaviours was demonstrated among adult women in Denmark, which urgently calls for targeted prevention initiatives based on identified determinants. If left untreated, such risk behaviours may develop into clinical eating disorders with negative implications for society and individuals. Future studies are furthermore encouraged to examine eating disorder risk behaviour trends and determinants among men. Eating disorders are serious mental disorders associated with high mortality risk and adverse physical and mental health symptoms. Short disease duration is crucial for recovery, thus targeted screening instruments are needed for preventive purposes. Furthermore, knowledge about trends in eating disorder risk behaviours and associated determinants may serve as useful information when planning prevention initiatives and strategies. In this study, self-reported information on eating disorder risk behaviours, assessed by a validated screening instrument RiBED-8, was obtained by self-administered questionnaires in 2000, 2005, and 2023 among women aged 16 years or older from the general population in Denmark. Furthermore, potential self-reported determinants associated with eating disorder risk behaviours in 2023 were explored. Results showed a large increase in the prevalence of eating disorder risk behaviours between 2000 and 2023, from 10.0 to 20.6%, and largest in age group 25–34 years. Several significant determinants were identified, and among them, perceived stress was significantly associated with eating disorder risk behaviours across age groups. On the other hand, associations with low and high body mass index, smoking, and loneliness varied by age groups. In conclusion, results from the present study highlight the urgent need for targeted prevention of eating disorders based identified determinants.
Trends in educational inequality in healthy life expectancy in Denmark between 2010 and 2021: a population-based study
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Michael Davidsen, Henrik Brønnum-Hansen, Marie Holm Eliasen, Anne Illemann Christensen
BMJ Open, 2025
Objectives For several decades, mortality has decreased more rapidly among individuals with a higher socioeconomic position than among those with a lower position. This widening social inequality gap has increasingly been recognised as an important aspect of public health research and policies. The objective of this study was to examine trends in educational inequality in healthy life expectancy (HLE) in Denmark between 2010 and 2021 at the age of 30 years. Design The study is a population-based study based on register data on longest attained education, standard life tables and self-reported health information from nationwide health surveys. Setting The study is conducted among the general adult population in Denmark. Participants Participants include respondents from the Danish National Health Survey and the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2021 aged ≥30 years. Primary and secondary outcome measures Expected lifetime in good self-rated health, with no long-standing illness and with no activity limitations was estimated by Sullivan’s method, and educational inequality was expressed by the Slope Index of Inequality. Results Between 2010 and 2021, educational inequality in HLE increased among both men and women for long-standing illness (5-year trend: +1.1 and +1.2 years) and activity limitations (+2.4 and +2.6 years) but remained stable among men (+0.1 year) and decreased among women (−0.3 year) for self-rated health. For the latter two indicators, the inequality gap narrowed after 2017. Conclusion Trends in educational inequality in HLE in Denmark 2010–2021 vary by health indicator. Steadily widening gaps were demonstrated for long-standing illness, while narrowing gaps were seen after 2017 for activity limitations and self-rated health. Future studies are encouraged to explore potential health risk behaviours that may explain or modify these inequality trends.
Association between perceived stress and the risk of continued opioid use after total hip arthroplasty in patients with osteoarthritis: a Danish registry-based study of 1,727 individuals
Nina M Edwards, Heidi A R Jensen, Alma B Pedersen
Acta Orthopaedica, 2025
Background and purpose: Continued opioid use persists in up to one-third of patients 12 months after total hip arthroplasty (THA). Psychological factors, including stress, may influence pain and therefore opioid consumption, yet the effect of stress history on opioid use after THA remains unclear. We aimed to examine the association between perceived stress and the risk of continued opioid use following THA in patients with osteoarthritis.Methods: Based on data from the Danish National Health Surveys in 2013 and 2017, a total of 1,727 individuals completed the Perceived Stress Scale and later underwent THA, tracked through the Danish Hip Arthroplasty Registry. All were over the age of 35. Patients were classified by stress level (high vs low stress). Continued opioid use was defined as ≥ 2 opioid prescriptions 1–12 months post-surgery, recorded in the Danish National Prescription Database. Adjusted prevalence differences and adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated using log-binomial regression, controlling for sex, age, comorbidities, and education.Results: Of 258 patients with high stress level, 68 (26%) had continued opioid use, compared with 224 (15%) of the 1,469 patients with a low level. We showed higher ratios in high stress patients (adjusted prevalence difference 9.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6–14.8, adjusted prevalence ratio 1.5 [CI 1.2–1.9]). Median morphine milligram equivalents (MME) were higher for high stress with a median difference of 1,230 (interquartile range 1,025–3,745).Conclusion: High levels of perceived stress before THA are associated with a higher risk of continued opioid use and greater opioid consumption in the first postoperative year. These findings suggest the potential for preoperative stress screening and targeted interventions to reduce postoperative opioid use.
Association between preoperative self-rated health and opioid use 12 months after total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis: a cohort study using Danish National Health Survey Data
Alma B Pedersen, Nina M Edwards, Maaike G J Gademan, Inger Mechlenburg, Heidi A R Jensen, Henrik T Sørensen
Acta Orthopaedica, 2025
Background and purpose: We examined the association between preoperative self-rated health (SRH) and opioid use 12 months after total hip arthroplasty (THA) for osteoarthritis.Methods: We identified 381,323 people who answered a question on SRH in the Danish National Health Surveys 2010, 2013, or 2017. Among these, 4,174 people age > 35 years subsequently underwent THA for osteoarthritis. SRH was categorized as poor (“poor” or “fair” health) or good (“good,” “very good,” or “excellent” health). Opioid use was defined as ≥ 2 prescriptions 1–12 months after THA. We calculated prevalences and prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) through log-binomial regression, overall and by preoperative opioid use status adjusting for potential confounders. The total morphine milligram equivalent (MME) dose after THA with interquartile range (IQR) was further calculated.Results: 876 (21%) patients rated their health as poor and 3,292 (79%) as good. The prevalence of opioid use among patients with poor SRH was higher than among those with good SRH (PR 2.33, CI 2.05–2.65) (315 [36%] vs 132 [14%]). Similarly, among preoperative non-users, the prevalence was 62 (15%) for patients with poor SRH and 140 (6%) for patients with good SRH (PR 2.20, CI 1.65–2.93), and among preoperative users, the prevalence was 252 (54%) for patients with poor SRH and 299 (31%) for patients with good SRH (PR 1.64, CI 1.44–1.86). The overall median MME dose was higher among patients with poor SRH (2,940, IQR 800–9,610) than among those with good SRH (1,000, IQR 400–3,175) with a median difference of 1,940 (IQR 1,227–2,653).Conclusion: Compared with good preoperative SRH, poor preoperative SRH was associated with higher opioid use 12 months after THA for osteoarthritis.
Trends in health behaviour indicators between 1987 and 2023 among adults in the general population in Denmark
Heidi A. R. Jensen, Michael Davidsen, Marie H. Eliasen, Anne Wingstrand, Peter L. Kristensen, Jes B. Sørensen, Anne I. Christensen, Ola Ekholm
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2025
Aims: Health surveys constitute an essential component in comprehensive public health surveillance systems by providing information relevant for health care planning and policy development. This study aimed to describe trends in key indicators of health risk behaviours based on data from nine health survey waves conducted in Denmark between 1987 and 2023. Methods: Data were derived from the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey and the Danish National Health Survey conducted in the general population aged ⩾16 years. The number of respondents varied between 4,667 (1994) and 183,646 (2021). Data collection methods included both face-to-face interviews and self-administered (paper-and-pencil or web) questionnaires. Trends in the prevalence of the following health risk behaviours were examined: Daily smoking, a high weekly alcohol intake, unhealthy dietary pattern, leisure-time sedentary behaviour, obesity, and cannabis use in the past 12 months. Furthermore, the five-year change in odds ratio was calculated for each indicator. Results: A decreasing prevalence was observed for daily smoking (from 44% to 12%) and a high weekly alcohol intake (from 25% to 16%), while the prevalence of obesity (from 6% to 19%) and unhealthy dietary pattern (from 13% to 19%) increased. Leisure-time sedentary behaviour showed inconsistent patterns across different time periods, and cannabis use remained relatively stable (~7%). Overall, five-year trends confirmed these patterns. Conclusions: Based on health risk behaviour trends in Denmark during the past decades demonstrated in the present study, policymakers are encouraged to develop national prevention strategies targeting these behaviours to support favourable trends and reverse unfavourable trends.
Implications of the decline in adolescent drinking on the experience of alcohol-related consequences in the Nordic countries: A study based on data from the ESPAD project
Ola Ekholm, Veronica Pisinger, Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Kim Bloomfield
NAD Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2024
Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate: (1) whether self-reported acute alcohol-related consequences among adolescents in the Nordic countries have declined in concert with the decline in alcohol consumption; (2) whether the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences has strengthened; and (3) whether the decline in alcohol-related consequences can be attributed to the decline in alcohol consumption. Methods: Data are from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) cross-sectional surveys in 2007, 2011 and 2015. Participants were students aged 15–16 years in 2007 (n = 16,035), 2011 (n = 14,765) and 2015 (n = 13,517). Alcohol consumption variables included lifetime and 12-month alcohol use, volume ethanol at last drinking occasion and heavy episodic drinking in the past 30 days. Self-reported acute alcohol-related consequences were measured as a sum index of experiencing the following at least once within the last 12 months: (1) an accident or injury; (2) being victimised by robbery or theft; or (3) had trouble with the police. Results: For all alcohol indicators, adolescent alcohol use decreased between 2007 and 2015. The highest prevalence estimates were found in Denmark, and here only the number of current drinkers decreased significantly. In addition, a decreasing trend in self-reported acute alcohol-related consequences was observed. We did not find a strengthening of the alcohol consumption consequences association from 2007 to 2015, except in Iceland. When all surveys were combined, the decrease in alcohol-related consequences could be explained by a decrease in alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Overall, adolescents aged 15–16 years exhibited decreasing trends in both alcohol consumption, less markedly in Denmark, and in our sum index of alcohol-related consequences between 2007 and 2015. Except for Iceland, we found no support for a strengthening of the alcohol-consequences association with declining drinking among adolescents.
Variations in the agreement of self-reported cancer: A Danish nationwide study
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Trine Allerslev Horsbøl, Lau Caspar Thygesen, Michael Davidsen, Anne Illemann Christensen, Ola Ekholm
International Journal of Cancer, 2024
Previous studies show that the agreement between self‐reported and registry‐documented diseases varies across diseases. Few studies have addressed these challenges across site‐specific cancer diagnoses. The present study aimed to examine the sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of self‐reported cancer in a Danish nationwide survey among adults aged ≥16 years, using registry data as the criterion standard. Moreover, the influence of sociodemographic variables and time since diagnosis on sensitivity was explored using multiple logistic regression models. Self‐reported data on cancer history of any site were derived from the Danish National Health Survey 2017 (n = 183 372). Individual‐level survey data were linked to data from the Danish Cancer Registry on 10 site‐specific cancer diagnoses. NPV was consistently high ≥99.5% across the included cancer diagnoses. In contrast, sensitivity varied greatly and was lowest for cancer in brain/central nervous system (CNS) among both men (25.6%) and women (23.9%) and highest for rectal cancer among men (96.9%) and for breast cancer among women (98.9%). Sensitivity was also relatively low for nonmelanoma skin cancer (41.4% among men; 44.6% among women) and urinary tract cancer (60.0% among men; 60.4% among women). When restricting diagnostic definitions for cancer in brain/CNS and urinary tract cancer to include only malignant neoplasms, sensitivity increased. For several cancer diagnoses, sensitivity decreased with increasing age and lower educational level, whereas conflicting results were observed for time from diagnosis to self‐report. Future studies are encouraged to use self‐reported cancer history data with caution and for example, include questions on only site‐specific cancer diagnoses with high sensitivity.
Health and Well-Being in Older Adults With a Surgically Closed or an Unrepaired Ventricular Septal Defect
Marie Maagaard, Filip Eckerström, Anne‐Sif Lund Schram, Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Vibeke Hjortdal
Journal of the American Heart Association, 2023
Background Older adults with a congenital ventricular septal defect (VSD) recently exhibited reduced heart rate variability and exercise capacity. It is unknown whether these findings affect health‐related quality of life. Methods and Results Adults with VSDs and healthy controls, all concurrently included as part of another clinical study, completed the Danish National Health Survey questionnaire. Questionnaire data distributed to the general population were included and matched 10:1 with patients. Thirty patients with surgically closed VSDs (mean±SD age, 51±8 years), 300 adults from the general population (mean±SD age, 50±8 years), and 30 controls (mean±SD age, 51±9 years), as well as 30 patients with unrepaired VSDs (mean±SD age, 55±11 years), 300 adults from the general population (mean±SD age, 55±12 years), and 30 controls (mean±SD age, 55±10 years) completed the questionnaire. Educational level, social relations, and physical activity were comparable between groups. A larger proportion of patients with unrepaired VSDs compared with the general population experienced migraine (47% versus 24%; P =0.04), whereas more patients with surgically closed VSDs were affected by depression (13% versus 4%; P =0.02). For health‐related quality of life, patients with surgically closed VSDs reported lower physical functioning ( P <0.01), physical component summary ( P <0.01), general health perception ( P <0.01), and higher stress score ( P =0.03) compared with the general population and healthy controls. Patients with unrepaired VSDs reported lower scores on physical functioning ( P =0.03), bodily pain ( P <0.01), and mental health ( P =0.02), and a higher stress score ( P =0.03), than controls. Conclusions Older patients with VSDs report lower self‐perceived physical functioning, lower general health, and higher stress levels, all in line with previous findings, like lower exercise capacity and dysfunctional cognitive abilities, in adults with VSDs. Incessant follow‐up is paramount, as neither successfully closed nor hemodynamically insignificant VSD is equivalent with untroubled healthy aging. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT03684161.
Conflict and synergy in health promotion partnerships: a Danish case study
Ditte Heering Holt, Holger Højlund, Heidi A R Jensen
Health Promotion International, 2023
Trends in social inequality in mortality in Denmark 1995-2019: the contribution of smoking- and alcohol-related deaths
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Sofie Rossen Møller, Anne Illemann Christensen, Michael Davidsen, Knud Juel, Christina Bjørk Petersen
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2023
Agreement between self-reported diseases from health surveys and national health registry data: A Danish nationwide study
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Cathrine Juel Lau, Michael Davidsen, Ola Ekholm, Anne Illemann Christensen
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2022
The impact of non-response weighting in health surveys for estimates on primary health care utilization
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Cathrine Juel Lau, Michael Davidsen, Helene Birgitte Feveile, Anne Illemann Christensen, Ola Ekholm
European Journal of Public Health, 2022
Therapy-dependent inconsistencies in self-reported use of complementary and alternative medicine in the general population: Findings from a longitudinal study
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Ola Ekholm
BMJ Open, 2021
Trends in alcohol consumption among older adults in Denmark in the 21st century
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Kim Bloomfield, Cathrine Juel Lau, Ola Ekholm
NAD Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2020
Comparing older people’s drinking habits in four Nordic countries: Summary of the thematic issue
Christoffer Tigerstedt, Neda Agahi, Elin K Bye, Ola Ekholm, Janne Härkönen, Heidi Rosendahl Jensen, Cathrine Juel Lau, Pia Makela, Inger Synnøve Moan, Suvi Parikka, Jonas Raninen, Anni Vilkko, Kim Bloomfield
NAD Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2020
Alcohol's harms to others: The self-rated health of those with a heavy drinker in their lives
Kim Bloomfield, Heidi A R Jensen, Ola Ekholm
European Journal of Public Health, 2019
Neighbour noise annoyance is associated with various mental and physical health symptoms: results from a nationwide study among individuals living in multi-storey housing
Heidi A. R. Jensen, Birgit Rasmussen, Ola Ekholm
BMC Public Health, 2019
Inconsistencies in self-reported health conditions: results of a nationwide panel study
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Michael Davidsen, Anne Illemann Christensen, Ola Ekholm
International Journal of Public Health, 2019
The Danish health and morbidity surveys: Study design and participant characteristics
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Ola Ekholm, Michael Davidsen, Anne Illemann Christensen
BMC Medical Research Methodology, 2019
Neighbour and traffic noise annoyance: A nationwide study of associated mental health and perceived stress
Heidi A R Jensen, Birgit Rasmussen, Ola Ekholm
European Journal of Public Health, 2018
Consistency in adults’ self-reported lifetime use of illicit drugs: A follow-up study over 13 years
Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Karoliina Karjalainen, Knud Juel, Ola Ekholm
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2018

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Scopus Publications