EPINOR Abstract book 2015

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Abstract book

Index Welcome………………. 3 The program…………. 4 The lecturers…………. 5 – 8 The abstracts….…….. 9 - 55

Welcome to the second EPINOR Summer School We are pleased to welcome you to the second EPINOR Summer School. We hope that the beautiful Jægtvolden and its surroundings will make this a successful event for you. This summer’s course is dedicated to random error, missing data and measurement error. These are common problems in epidemiology that might influence the validity and interpretation of your results. The first day of the course, we will visit the HUNT Research Center at Levanger – the basis for the HUNT study. Here we will have a three hours lecture on Random Error provided by Professor Imre Janszky, NTNU. On Monday evening, we go to Jægtvolden Fjordhotell. This will be the venue for the rest of the course. We are looking forward to learn more on Missing Data and Measurement Error from Dr. Jonathan Bartlett, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. We hope you will enjoy the course, the social program, and the collaboration and discussions with your fellow participants.

Tom Ivar Lund Nilsen and Johan Håkon Bjørngaard

Summer School 2015 Program Monday, June 8

10:30 Epinor Bus Departure from Trondheim Airport Værnes

11:15 11:30 – 12:15

Arrival at HUNT Research Centre, Levanger Welcome speech

12:15 – 13:00 Lunch

13:00 - 15:45 Random Error by professor Imre Janszky 16:15 Epinor Bus Departure from HUNT Research

Centre

17:00 19:00 19:30

Arrival at Jægtvolden Hotel Apéretif Dinner

Wednesday, June 10

08:15 – 11:30

Lecture: Joint model imputation for imputation of multiple variables Chained equations / fully conditional specification imputation Variable selection, number of imputations, and practicalities Break Computer practical

11:30 – 15:00 Lunch ans social events 15:00 – 18:00 Lecture: Handling interactions and non-linearities in the

substantive model when using imputation Imputing in survival analysis settings Imputation in clustered or hierarchical data Break Computer practical

19:30 20:00

Apéretif Dinner

Tuesday, June 9

08:30 - 12:00

Lecture: The impacts of missing data on analyses (bias and efficiency) Adopting a principled approach to handling missing data Missing data mechanisms and Rubin’s taxonomy Break Computer practical

12:00 - 13:00 Lunch 13:00 – 16:30

Lecture: A critique of ad-hoc methods for handling missing data The validity of complete case analyses Multiple imputation for one partially observed variable Break Computer practical

Poster exhibition 17:30 Bus to Øyna for dinner Thursday, June 11

09:00 – 12:00 Lecture: The effects of misclassification in binary covariates Adjustment for misclassification using predictive value weighting Adjustment for misclassification using multiple imputation Break Computer practical

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch 13:00 – 15:00 Lecture: The effects of covariate measurement error in

regression models Regression calibration for covariate measurement error Multiple imputation for covariate measurement error Break Computer practical

15:00 Closing remarks 15:30 16:45

Epinor bus departure to Trondheim Airport Værnes Arrival Trondheim Airport Værnes

The lecturers

Johnathan Bartlett………………….…. 6

Imre Janszky……………………..………. 7

Steinar Krokstad………………………… 8

Jonathan Bartlett is a lecturer in the Department of Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. His research focuses on the development of statistical methods for handling missing data and measurement error. He is currently funded by a UK Medical Research Council Career Development Award in Biostatistics, with a focus on development of methods in the context of individual participant data meta-analysis.

He has developed new methods for imputation of missing data, and has taught missing data courses across Europe. He maintains the popular website www.missingdata.org.uk, as well as a personal blog at www.thestatsgeek.com. He also has long standing collaborations with researchers in dementia at University College London.

Jonathan Bartlett

Imre Janszky has an MD and a PhD degree from Semmelweis Medical University, Budapest, Hungary and from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, respectively. He is currently working at the Department of Public Health and General Practice/Norwegian University of Science and Technology as professor in epidemiology. His main focus of research is on risk and prognostic factors for cardiovascular diseases but he also has interest in other areas including epidemiology of psychiatric and neurologic disorders and epidemiologic methods.

Imre Janszky

Steinar Krokstad is a professor in social medicine and the director of the HUNT Research Centre, NTNU. He has a PhD in Social Epidemiology covering research on socio-economic causes of poor health, disease, mortality and disability. He further has research experience in psychiatric epidemiology and health services research.

His clinical experience includes several years as specialist in general practice, and now he is a specialist and consultant in psychiatry at Levanger Hospital, Nord-Trøndelag Health Trust.

He was the Project manager (PI) of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study in 2006-08 (HUNT3), which integrated data from a variety of medical and social science research disciplines. Data from HUNT3 have led to extensive research in a wide range of disciplines. In addition, HUNT3 was a population based screening for selected diseases and conditions.

As Head of the HUNT Research Centre since 2008, he has been heavily involved in disease prevention and health promotion in partnership with local, regional and national authorities.

In addition to scientific papers he has published several book chapters in social medicine and medical sociology, and is one of the editors of the Social Medicine textbook in Norway.

Steinar Krokstad

The abstracts Admassu N Lamu 10 Maria Carlsson 33

Ali Naseribafrouei 11 Maria Garcia Lopez 34

Anna Usynina 12 Marianne Bakke Johnsen 35

Anne Merete Vangen-Lønne 13 Marit Næss 36

Anne-Karine Melsom 14 Marko Lukic 37

Bjørn Fjukstad 15 Markus Knudsen 38

Einar Holsbø 16 Martine Hansen 39

Eirin Haug 17 Mashhood Sheikh 40

Ekaterina Sharashova 18 Melanie Simpson 41

Elin Evensen 19 Mie Jareid 42

Ellen Modalsli 20 Miriam Gustafsson 43

Gunnhild Vie 21 Nils Abel Aars 44

Helena Kjeldsgaard 22 Per-Jostein Samuelsen 45

Hilde Brun Lauritzen 23 Ragna Elise Govatsmark 46

Hilde Kristin Refvik Riise 24 Rajesh Shigdel 47

Ingeborg Forthun 25 Reza Ghiasvand 48

Jessica Gabin 26 Ruby Del Risco Kollerud 49

Johanne Instanes 27 Saija Mikkilä 50

Kai Triebner 28 Solbjørg Makalani Myrtveit 51

Katrine Skyrud 29 Toril Bakken 52

Kristin Gärtner 30 Torunn Varmdal 53

Kristin Hestmann Vinjerui 31 Vitaly Postoev 54

Kristine Vejrup 32 Ylva Hiorth 55

NAME: ADMASSU N. LAMU PROJECT TITLE: COMPARISON OF MULTI ATTRIBUTE UTILITY (MAU) INSTRUMENTS PURPORTING TO MEASURE HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE INSTITUTION: UIT – THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY PERSONAL INTERESTS: CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS:

POSTER ABSTRACT

Comparing disease severities and treatment effects across different patient groups is essential when setting health care priorities. For such decisions on "whether to help the crippled or the blind", it is required to measure health related quality of life (HRQoL) on a commensurable scale. The best source of information is to ask patients and users to value their health state, either indirectly by use of a generic descriptive instrument, or directly by use of a valuation technique. The problem is that existing instruments give very different results implying an arbitrary element when used as aid for informing priority setting. The primary aim of this large international project is to contribute to methodological development in the field of measuring health related quality of life (HRQoL).

NAME: ALI NASERIBAFROUEI PROJECT TITLE: PREVALENCE OF DIABETES TYPE INSTITUTION: INSTITUTT FOR SAMFUNNSMEDISIN, DET HELSEVITENSKAPELIGE FAKULTET, UIT PERSONAL INTERESTS: PHOTOGRAPHING CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: ALMENNLEGE, BIOTEKNOLOG, PHD STUDENT I EPIDEMIOLOGI

POSTER ABSTRACT / PROJECT SUMMARY

My project is about prevalence of diabetes in northern parts of Norway with especial focus on the Sami people. The people are indigenous people who have lived in northern parts on Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia for thousands of years. Our study is a cross-sectional study using questionnaire and personal meetings and biometrical (height, weight, BMI, WC…) and biochemical measurements (blood glucose, cholesterol, TG, HbA1c,…). This project is a part of SAMINOR study, which repeats every 10 year and looks at health-related factors in areas under study, which are mostly rural regions and municipalities in northern Norway. I am going to use STATA software to analyze the data. We will try to find prevalence of diabetes type 1 and 2 as well as predisposing factors in this regard. By linking the results from the SAMINOR 1 which was done in 2003-4 with SAMINOR2, which was carried out in 2012-2014 we can have a longitudinal study, keeping track as health indicators.

NAME: ANNA USYNINA PROJECT TITLE: Perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortality in Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Counties, Russia

INSTITUTION: UIT THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY PERSONAL INTERESTS: PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: NEONATOLOGY &

PERINATOLOGY

CONTACT INFORMATION: [email protected]

PhD project

BACKGROUND There are many factors that influence perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortality. Preterm birth, severe (predominantly, primary) infections in pregnancy, placental insufficiency and acute asphyxia are just a few of the most important ones. Reductions in risk factors pertaining to prematurity and low birth weight are essential for survival for these infants. AIMS OF STUDY To assess the associations between perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortalities and selected characteristics based on the data obtained from the population-based Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Counties Birth Registries and to evaluate the short-term survival of preterm or low birth weight infants. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cohort study will be performed to assess the main risk factors associated with perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortalities. The study population consists of all live- and stillbirths registered in the Murmansk Counties Birth Registries between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2011 (n=52,806). Data from Arkhangelsk County will be included into analysis of short-term survival of preterm or low birth weight infants. Totally approximately 80 000 births from both Counties will be included in the study. Multivariable logistic regression and survival analysis will be used.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE:

A PARTICIPANT OF SALZBURG MEDICAL SEMINARS ON MATERNAL AND INFANT HEALTH (2001, 2010);

A PARTICIPANT OF OBRESVERSHIP PROGRAMM ON NEONATOLOGY (NICU, GRAZ MEDICAL

UNIVERSITY, AUSTRIA, 2013). THIS EXPERIENCE HELPS ME A LOT IN MY CLINICAL PRACTICE; I LIKE TO WORK WITH PEOPLE.

NAME: ANNE M VANGEN-LØNNE PROJECT TITLE: TIME TRENDS IN INCIDENCE AND CASE FATALITY OF ISCHEMIC STROKE INSTITUTION: UIT THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY PERSONAL INTERESTS: MUSIC, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, ICELANDIC HORSES CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS:

NEUROLOGY,STROKE MEDICINE, EPIDEMIOLOGY

PROJECT SUMMARY

Time trends in incidence and case fatality of ischemic stroke.

The Tromsø Study 1977-2010.

Background and Purpose

Ischemic stroke incidence has declined in industrialized countries the last decades, with possible exception for the youngest age groups. We estimated age- and sex specific trends in incidence and case fatality of first-ever ischemic stroke between 1977 and 2010 in a Norwegian municipality.

Methods

Age-adjusted time trends in incidence from 1977 through 2010 were estimated by fractional polynomial and Poisson regression, and case fatality by logistic regression in 36 575 participants of the population-based Tromsø Study.

Results

There were 1214 first-ever ischemic strokes within a total follow-up time of 611 176 person-years. The overall age- and sex-adjusted incidence decreased by 24% in 1995-2010. In women aged 30-49 years the incidence increased significantly from 1980 to 2010. In men aged 30-49 years there was a non-significant, rising trend from 1977 to 2010. Men aged 50-64 years had similar incidence in 2010 compared to 1989. From the mid-1990s to 2010, the incidence declined significantly in women aged 50-74 years and in men aged 65-74 years, but remained stable in those aged ≥75 years. Case fatality decreased significantly in men aged 30-84 years from 1995 to 2010, while there was no significant change in women.

Conclusions

Age-adjusted incidence of first-ever ischemic stroke increased in young women, declined in women aged 50-74 and men aged 65-74 and remained stable among the oldest. Case fatality declined in men aged 30-84 years, but not in women.

NAME: ANNE-KARINE MARKENG MELSOM PROJECT TITLE: Mortality among drug users seeking treatment for the use of opioids, stimulants or poly drugs. A nationwide follow up study based on central registry data. INSTITUTION: NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET, UIT

PERSONAL INTERESTS: LITERATURE, TRAVELLING, RENOVATION CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS:

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH


Patients with substance use disorders are at high risk of harmful health events but the mortality risk is not well studied. Existing knowledge has severe shortcomings and prior studies lack generalizability. Using a prospective design, we will investigate the mortality, cause of death and risk factors among the total cohort of 13000 patients seeking treatment during 2009-2010 for the use of opioids, stimulants and poly drugs. Patients will be followed for four years. The mortality risk will be compared to the mortality of a similar sized control cohort selected by Statistics Norway. Information from the Norwegian Patient Registry, the Cause of Death Registry and the Prescription Registry will be linked to databases from Statistics Norway to provide information about drug diagnose, employment, education, welfare support, criminal history, legal drug use, co-morbidity, and type, level and number of drug treatment episodes, latency time and drop out of drug treatment. The purpose is to provide better insight about health risks for this vulnerable patient group. Knowledge about risk factors likely to influence the mortality makes it possible to prioritize those at the highest risk and target the most beneficial treatment course.

Aims:1.Calculate the total and cause-specific hazard ratios for death for drug users seeking treatment for the use of opiates(F-11), amphetamines, cocaine and other stimulants(F-14, F-15) and poly drugs(F-19) compared to a control cohort. 2.Investigate whether age, sex, education, employment, welfare support, criminal history, legal use of drugs, co-morbidity, and treatment course are risk factors for all-cause mortality for these patients.

Figur 1 Bjørn and a koala

NAME: BJØRN FJUKSTAD PROJECT TITLE: INTERACTIVE EXPLORATION OF HIGH-THROUGHPUT OMICS DATA INSTITUTION: DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, UIT PERSONAL INTERESTS: CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS:

VISUALIZATION, DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS, EPIDEMIOLOGY, STATISTICS, MACHINE

LEARNING, EDUCATION,


fjukstad.github.io

+47 48 14 90 92


The goal of my project is to build and evaluate a data exploration system for systems epidemiology data from the NOWAC research project. The system should support advanced statistical methods on multi-level and multi-omics data. It should provide interactive response times and scale to very large datasets. This research will be done in close collaboration with the NOWAC analysis model developers and data analysts, and an important goal is to provide visualizations that enable novel biological discoveries.

NAME: EINAR HOLSBØ PROJECT TITLE: INTEGRATIVE GENOMIC ANALYSES AT SCALE AND SPEED INSTITUTION: UNIVERSITY OF TROMSØ PERSONAL INTERESTS: BOOKS, SANDWICHES CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: MACHINE

LEARNING/STATISTICS, MATHEMATICS, BIOINFORMATICS, DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS


DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT, AND SCALE STATISTICAL METHODS FOR THE NORWEGIAN WOMEN AND CANCER

POSTGENOME COHORT.

Fig. 1 nice photo of me Einar

NAME: EIRIN HAUG PROJECT TITLE: PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE INSTITUTION: NTNU PERSONAL INTERESTS: PASTRY CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: PASTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

CONTACT INFORMATION:

[email protected]


In my PhD project I am studying the relationship between pregnancy complications and cardiovascular disease. Several studies have found that women who experience preeclampsia or high blood pressure during their pregnancies have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. In my thesis I am using HUNT data combined with the Norwegian Medical Birth Registry to map out the life trajectories of cardiovascular risk factors in women. The aim is to describe how the trajectories of the women who have experienced hypertensive pregnancy complications vary from those of women who did not experience these complications. To accomplish this I use statistical tools such as linear mixed models. Hopefully this study will help us identify when in the life of these women the increased risk is established and how prevention efforts and clinical practice for cardiovascular disease in women can be improved.

NAME: EKATERINA SHARASHOVA PROJECT TITLE: HEART RATE DECLINE: ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER VARIABLES AND THE ROLE IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE INSTITUTION: UIT – THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY PERSONAL INTERESTS: STATISTICS, CARDIOVASCULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: RESEARCH, TEACHING CONTACT INFORMATION: +4746554448;

[email protected]


Over the last few decades, resting heart rate has shown a remarkable decline in the general population of Tromsø. Aims: 1. To describe the nature and extent of the heart rate decline in a large sample from the general population; 2. To explain the heart rate correlation with possible determinants and other relevant risk factors and estimate the effect of the reduction related to increased physical activity, reduced smoking and possible other factors; 3. To estimate the role of heart rate values in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

The data to be used are from the Tromsø Study. Follow-up information on mortality and heart disease morbidity are available as well. All analytic approaches will be quantitative. Analyses will include cross-sectional approaches with focus on mean values, un-adjusted and adjusted for possible determinants. Longitudinal considerations may reveal how values change from one study to the next for the same attendees. For the follow up, the essential method is Cox regression.

NAME: ELIN EVENSEN PROJECT TITLE: THE INFLUENCE OF BIRTH WEIGHT AND CHILDHOOD WEIGHT DEVELOPMENT ON OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY, BODY COMPOSITION AND BONE STRENGTH IN YOUNG ADULTS. THE TROMSØ STUDY: FIT FUTURES INSTITUTION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF NORTH NORWAY PERSONAL INTERESTS: TRAVELING AND READING CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: FINISH MY PHD/PUBLIC HEALTH

AND PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE


POSTER ABSTRACT Background

Overweight and obesity as well as osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures are important public health problems in Norway today. Both topics, and the relationship between them, are the main focus of the present project.

Objectives

The main questions are how birth weight and weight development in childhood influence development of overweight and obesity, body composition (skeletal-, fat- and lean mass) and bone strength in adolescence/young adulthood. This project will add to the knowledge about factors affecting public health in Norwegian children and adolescents, and help to establish knowledge based preventive strategies.

Material and methods

The study is a population based longitudinal cohort study based on already collected data in the Tromsø study Fit Futures surveys in 2010/2011 and 2012/2013. Fit Futures is a population-based study of 1170 adolescents from Tromsø and the surrounding municipalities. Main age group is 15-20 years of age. In this study, data from Fit Futures will be linked to additional data from the birth registry and data from childhood health records (height and weight at 2-4 years age and 5-7 years of age) to get longitudinal data.

Statistical analyses (linear, logistic regression and linear mixed models and GEE) will be performed.

This gives us a unique opportunity to study the influence of early life conditions (birth weight, weight development in childhood) on body composition and bone strength in a young Norwegian population with reported high prevalence of overweight, obesity and risk of osteoporotic fractures.

The project period will run from March 2015 to March 2018.

Project leader: Professor Nina Emaus, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

POSITION: PHD CANDIDATE/RESEARCH ADVISER, CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTRE, UNN HF

PRIOR EDUCATION: NURSE (RN), MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH (MPH) FROM 2013

Foto: Jan Fredrik Frantzen, UNN HF

Figur 1 Paste your portrait or send it to us

NAME: ELLEN HEILMANN MODALSLI PROJECT TITLE: “PSORIASIS AND COMORBIDITY” INSTITUTION: NTNU PERSONAL INTERESTS: FAMILY & OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: DERMATOLOGY & EPIDEMIOLOGY


Psoriasis: Prevalence and comorbidities

SUMMARY

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the skin. The disease is relatively common worldwide and one of the

highest prevalences, 11.4 %, has been found in a self-reporting survey from Tromsø, Norway. Psoriasis is known to be

associated with arthropathy and arthritis. In addition, some studies show that psoriasis, even in mild cases, may be

associated with impaired quality of life and increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality. Recent studies have

also found associations between psoriasis and certain chronic disorders, especially the metabolic syndrome and

cardiovascular diseases. Chronic inflammation has been put forward as a potential link between psoriasis and many of

the associated diseases. Little is known about the association between psoriasis and osteoporosis, but it has been

hypothesized that people with psoriasis may be more prone to osteoporosis than healthy subjects due to increased

concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6.

In this PhD-project we have used the unique HUNT3 study, and linked it to relevant research databases/registries in

Norway, to address the following issues:

1. To validate the psoriasis question in the HUNT 3 study and estimate the prevalence of psoriasis using clinical

examination as the gold standard.

2. To study the association of psoriasis with established risk factors for osteoporosis,with bone mineral density

measurements and with risk of fracture.

3. To investigate whether psoriasis is associated with increased risk of anxiety, depression and impaired quality

of life using variables available for this purpose in the HUNT 3 study.

HAPPY TO BE A PART OF THE EPINOR NETWORK!

A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF BEING A PHD-STUDENT

- BOTH SCIENTIFICALLY AND SOCIALLY!

NAME: GUNNHILD ÅBERGE VIE PROJECT TITLE: DISABILITY PENSIONS IN A FAMILY- AND TIME PERSPECTIVE, THE HUNT STUDY INSTITUTION: NTNU PERSONAL INTERESTS: FAMILY LIFE (MY CHILDREN), GARDENING CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: POSTDOCTORAL POSITION, MENDELIAN

RANDOMISATION STUDIES

CONTACT INFORMATION: TLF 73597583 [email protected]


BACKGROUND: POOR HEALTH AND WORK DISABILITY IS CLUSTERED IN FAMILIES. PARTNERS MIGHT

INFLUENCE EACH OTHERS, BUT SIMILARITIES MIGHT ALSO BE PRE-EXISTING.

AIM: TO STUDY POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF LIVING WITH A SPOUSE WITH POOR HEALTH OR UNHEALTHY

LIFESTYLE ON MORTALITY AND WORK DISABILITY.

METHODS: 18,943 NORWEGIAN COUPLES AGED 20+ FROM THE NORD-TRØNDELAG HEALTH STUDY

(HUNT2 1995-97) WERE FOLLOWED UNTIL DECEMBER 2007. OF THESE, 26,007 INDIVIDUALS FROM

14,419 COUPLES WERE NOT YET RETIRED AT BASELINE. INFORMATION ON DEATHS AND INCIDENT DISABILITY

PENSIONS WERE COLLECTED FROM NATIONAL REGISTRIES.

WE FIT A DISCRETE TIME MULTILEVEL LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODEL INCLUDING COUPLE MEANS AND

INDIVIDUAL’S DEVIATION FROM COUPLE MEANS FOR EACH EXPOSURE (WITHIN/BETWEEN MODEL). BETWEEN

ESTIMATES EXCEEDING WITHIN ESTIMATES WOULD SUGGEST POSSIBLE INFLUENCE OR COUPLE LEVEL

CONFOUNDING. WE ADJUSTED FOR AGE, SEX, SMOKING AND EDUCATION.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: MY PHD-PROJECT ON DISABILITY PENSIONS AND HEALTH IN COUPLES ENDS IN FEBRUARY 2016. I AM

CURRENTLY APPLYING FOR FUNDING TO CONTINUE AS A POST.DOC. IF I RECEIVE FUNDING, MY NEXT PROJECT

WILL BE ON CONSEQUENCES OF OBESITY. WE WILL USE A MENDELIAN RANDOMISATION APPROACH (GENETIC

INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLE ANALYSES).

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NAME: HELENA KAMES KJELDGAARD PROJECT TITLE: Hyperemesis gravidarum: the relation to anxiety and depression INSTITUTION: Faculty of medicine, University of Oslo PERSONAL INTERESTS: Handicraft, reading, music, writing… CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: Research ;) CONTACT INFORMATION: [email protected] https://dk.linkedin.com/in/helenakjeldgaard

PROJECT

Whereas most women experience nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is characterised by extreme vomiting and nausea, leading to maternal weight loss and nutritional deficiencies. HG has a prevalence of 0.8 to 3.2%. The aetiology is unclear and little is known about possible co-morbidity, of which mental health is a key component: HG is associated with an approximately three-fold increase in the risk of maternal depression and anxiety. The direction of the association between psychological factors and HG, however, has been debated, leading to the call for longitudinal studies. Data are obtained from The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) linked to the Medical Birth Registry and NorPD. NorPD contains information on all prescribed drugs, reimbursed or not, dispensed at pharmacies to individual patients treated in ambulatory care.

The large sample size, long follow-up time, multiple measurement points, large geographic coverage and the possibility to link the MoBa data to NorPD provides a rare opportunity to explore the causal relationship between HG and maternal mental health and how drug consumption may influence this relationship.

In sub-analyses, timing and duration of medication use will be accounted for, in addition to maternal co-variates, including co-morbidity and socio-demographic variables.

The impact of different exposures will be estimated in multivariate logistic regression models. Student’s test or chi-square test will be used to estimate differences between groups, depending on whether the variable is continuous or categorical.


I have a master’s degree in Medicine with Industrial Specialization from Aalborg University, Denmark, where I have obtained knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology; pharmacology; preclinical and clinical research and related regulatory requirements.

I am very interested in mental health and how this is related to disease development.

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NAME: HILDE BRUN LAURITZEN PROJECT TITLE: DETERMINANTS OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTIVE CHEMICALS IN PREGNANT SCANDINAVIAN WOMEN, 1986-88 INSTITUTION: ISM, NTNU PERSONAL INTERESTS: BEING WITH MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: EPIDEMIOLOGY, PEDIATRICS, OBSTETRICS, PUBLIC HEALTH

POSTER ABSTRACT

Background: The fetal period is a vulnerable stage of human development, and exposure to organochlorines (OCs) and perfluorinated compounds (PFASs) that may act as endocrine disruptive chemicals in utero have been associated with adverse effects on fetal development, including growth restriction. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of demographic and pregnancy related factors on these substances in maternal serum. Design/Methods: The study was part of a population based prospective multicenter study of parous women in Trondheim and Bergen, Norway, and Uppsala, Sweden. Serum from 475 women was collected in 1986-1988 at around 17 weeks of gestation. Analyses of several polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, pesticides and metabolites, in addition to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) were conducted. Associations between the OC and PFAS concentrations and demographic and pregnancy related variables were evaluated using multivariable linear regression. Results and discussion: OC concentrations were positively associated with maternal age and education level, and inversely associated with previous breastfeeding duration, body mass index and serum sampling date. The PFAS concentrations were positively associated with serum sampling year and time since the most recent pregnancy, and inversely associated with previous breastfeeding duration. Women from Uppsala had significantly higher concentrations of PCB 153, PFOS and PFOA than their peers from Trondheim and Bergen. There were significantly lower levels of PCB 118 and PFOS among smokers than non-smokers. Explained variance of the final models ranged from around 17% to 44%. Conclusions: Overall results indicated that maternal age and breastfeeding explained variation in concentrations for all the OCs, while the other variables were of varying importance according to compound. Breastfeeding duration, time since last pregnancy and study site explained the most variation in the PFAS concentrations. All these factors and variables are important to concider when performing studies on health effects of the contaminants, for instance effects on fetal growth.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: My phD-project is about endocrine disrupting chemicals in pregnancy in relation to pre- and postnatal growth and development

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NAME: INGEBORG FORTHUN PROJECT TITLE: MATERNAL CONSTITUTIONAL FACTORS AND RISK OF CEREBRAL PALSY IN OFFSPRING INSTITUTION: UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN PERSONAL INTERESTS: BOOKS, HIKING CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: PERINATAL

EPIDEMIOLOGY, PUBLIC HEALTH, DATA

MANAGEMENT, STATISTICS

POSTER ABSTRACT

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of physical disability in children, affecting about 2 per 1000 live-born. Birth injury and birth hypoxia were once regarded as primary causes of CP, but more careful studies suggest that birth complications are merely an early manifestation of the syndrome. While a few prenatal risk factors have been identified, little is known about causal pathways. The aim of my PhD project is to investigate how different maternal constitutional factors like pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and socioeconomic status in early pregnancy may influence the risk of CP in offspring. The PhD project is part of a large epidemiological study on CP called Mother and Babies in Norway and Denmark (MOBAND). MOBAND is a collaborative study between the Pediatric Department at Haukeland University Hospital, the University of Bergen, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in USA. In the first part of the PhD project the aim is to investigate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and risk of CP in offspring, both overall and for major CP subtypes. The study population consists of 189 410 children in the MOBAND study. MOBAND comprises data from two population-based, prospective birth cohorts: the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). Information on pre-pregnancy BMI is self-reported in early pregnancy while CP diagnoses have been obtained from the national cerebral palsy registries in Norway and Denmark. Associations are investigated using log-binominal regression.

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NAME: JESSICA GABIN PROJECT TITLE: CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS AND DEMENTIA: THE HUNT STUDY INSTITUTION: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND GENERAL PRACTICE: HUNT RESEARCH CENTRE (ISM) NTNU PERSONAL INTERESTS: PIANO, KNITTING, GARDENING, MUSHROOM HUNTER CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: GERIATRIC

MEDICINE/PSYCHIATRY, EPIDEMIOLOGY OF

ALZHEIMER DISEASE AND VASCULAR DEMENTIA


Background In Norway, there has not yet been a systematic study of the prevalence and risk factors for dementia. Three cross-sectional studies were conducted and known as The Helse Undersøkelse av Nord-Trøndelag (HUNT) Study, which was initially undertaken in 1984-1986 of all county residents age 22 and over. The Health and Memory Study (HMS) was initiated in 1995 to examine cognition in the population of Nord-Trøndelag.

Methods In HUNT1, 75,024 individuals were enrolled to establish the prevalence of vascular diseases. HUNT2 was initiated in 1995-1997 with a similar enrollment, 45,000 of whom also participated in HUNT1. Blood samples were collected for participants in HUNT2 and a large biobank is available for future studies. Between 2006 and 2008, HUNT3 was conducted, and included 75% of those surveyed in HUNT2. HMS-HUNT (n=1233) links dementia cases from these two studies discovered between 1995 and 2011 from two regional memory clinics and 23 municipal nursing homes. Dementia diagnoses were all adjudicated by a study geriatrician using ICD-10 criteria. We estimated the period prevalence using the end-point of the study and present findings stratified by whether cases were ascertained in the community of in institutions.

Results There were 1,233 cases of dementia over age 60 found in HUNT-HMS participants in the study period. Of these, 644 were diagnosed with AD, 219 VaD, 124 mixed AD/VaD and 246 other dementias. Of the original participants of HUNT1 who were alive in 1995 (n=64,175), there were 34,496 deceased (n=18,611) or under 60 years of age (n=11,068) by March, 2011. Preliminary analyses of the period prevalence found increasing rates with age, with the overall prevalence being higher in women compared with men. These rates appear to be lower in Norway, than in comparison with other similar studies done in Europe and North America.

Conclusions In Norway, the prevalence rates for dementia increased with age and appear higher in women, as in other studies in Europe and North America. However, the rates were lower than expected, likely due to under-ascertainment of residents living at home who may not have been diagnosed. This underscores the importance of community based ascertainment in studies of dementia.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: AS MORE PEOPLE ARE LIVING LONGER, DEMENTIA IS BECOMING MORE COMMON IN THE POPULATION IN

NORWAY AND WORLDWIDE. RATES INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY WITH AGE, WITH DEMENTIA AFFECTING 5%

OF THE POPULATION OLDER THAN 65 AND 20–40% OF THOSE OLDER THAN 85. JESSICA GABIN IS A PHD

CANDIDATE AT THE HUNT RESEARCH CENTER AND IS USING THE HUNT DATA TO EXAMINE THE ROLE

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE HAS ON ALZHEIMER DISEASE AND VASCULAR DEMENTIA.

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NAME: JOHANNE TELNES INSTANES PROJECT TITLE: ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: PRE-AND PERINATAL RISK FACTORS AND SOMATIC COMORBIDITY. INSTITUTION: UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN. PERSONAL INTERESTS: DANCING CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: PSYCHIATRY

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting both children and adults worldwide. The risk of psychiatric comorbidity is high, but also somatic diseases may co-occur with ADHD. The etiology of ADHD is complex, involving interactions between genetic and environmental factors, and many risk pathways may lead to its clinical features. Previous studies have described several pre- and perinatal risk factors for ADHD, but few have focused on the association between chronic maternal somatic diseases and the risk of ADHD in the offspring.

Aims: To study well-known perinatal risk factors like low birthweight and being small for gestational age to exploit if these risk factors differ by sex and age. Further, to investigate if maternal chronic somatic disorders are associated with ADHD in the offspring. Finally, to perform a systematic literature review focusing on somatic health conditions associated with adult ADHD. Material and methods: To perform a population based nested case-control study by linking information from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, the Norwegian Prescription Database and the National Educational Database. Individuals receiving ADHD medication in 2004-2012 are defined as ADHD patients (N=47,944), and grouped as children (4-17 years) or adults (>17 years) by age at last registered prescription. Remaining individuals (N=2,274,713) are defined as controls. The association between different pre-and perinatal factors and offspring ADHD is analysed using logistic regression to adjust for confounders and evaluate interactions. Further, to perform an extensive literature search in Embase, PsychInfo and Medline on adult ADHD and somatic comorbidity.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: WORKING AS A PHD STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN, DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICINE AND

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC GLOBAL HEALTH AND PRIMARY CARE. PREVIOUSLY WORKED AS A DOCTOR

SPECIALIZING IN PSYCHIATRY FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS.

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NAME: KATRINE DAMGAARD SKYRUD PROJECT TITLE: REGIONAL VARIATION IN CANCER SURVIVAL INSTITUTION: CANCER REGISTRY OF NORWAY PERSONAL INTERESTS: SPORT CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: SOCIAL SCIENCE


[email protected]

POSTER ABSTRACT

Regional variation in cancer survival and the impact of stage, socioeconomic status, comorbidity and treatment

Katrine Damgaard Skyrud, Morten Tandberg Eriksen, Freddie Bray, Yngvar Nilssen, Bjørn Møller

Introduction: Universal health systems aim to provide equal health care to all citizens, irrespective of

socioeconomic status and place of residence.

Aims: It is known that cancer survival varies dependent on patient’s place of residence, but if it can be

caused by the patient case-mix with respect to the prognostic factors stage, socioeconomic status (SES),

comorbidity or treatment, is yet to investigate.

Methods: National population-based data from the Cancer Registry of Norway were used to identify 258

675 patients diagnosed with cancer from 2002-2011. The six most common cancer sites as well as all sites

combined were investigated. The effect of adjusting for prognostic factors on regional variation was

investigated, by calculating the mean absolute deviation of the relative excess risks (RER) for all health

services regions.

Results: All the prognostic factors were highly associated with both survival and region. Statistically

significant regional variations of RER of death were found for three out of six cancer sites and for all sites

combined in a model controlling for age and sex. For prostate cancer the mean absolute deviation of RER

for the regions was 3.3 when adjusting for age and sex, it was 1.3 when adjusting for stage in addition and

remained almost unchanged when adjusting for the other factors.

Conclusions: Stage, SES, comorbidity and proportion who received treatment differed across the health

service regions. Adjustment for stage explained most of the regional differences observed in survival for

prostate cancer, and minor for the other sites. The effect of adjustment for SES, comorbidity and treatment

was small. Thus, there still exist unexplained variations between the regions which may be due to

inequality of care delivered by the health services.

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NAME: KRISTIN GÄRTNER PROJECT TITLE: MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES IN ADOPTED CHILDREN – A LONGITUDINAL REGISTER-BASED STUDY INSTITUTION: NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH PERSONAL INTERESTS: HIKING, SINGING, SWIMMING, SKIING, DANCING AND RELAXING ON THE COUCH CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION AND ILLNESS PREVENTION

PROJECT PRESENTATION: MENTAL HEALTH OF INTERNATIONALLY ADOPTED ADOLESCENTS

BACKGROUND

ALTHOUGH INTERNATIONALLY ADOPTED CHILDREN SHOW POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT AFTER ADOPTION, THEY

ARE CONSIDERED TO BE AT INCREASED RISK FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS COMPARED TO NON-ADOPTED

PEERS. ADOLESCENCE HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS AN ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE PERIOD FOR ADOPTEES;

HOWEVER THERE ARE CONFLICTING RESEARCH FINDINGS.

AIMS

THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT IS TO EXAMINE MENTAL HEALTH AND RESILIENCE IN

INTERNATIONALLY ADOPTED ADOLESCENTS COMPARED TO THEIR NON-ADOPTED PEERS. FURTHER, WE AIM

TO EXAMINE PROBLEMATIC ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE AMONG ADOPTEES, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT

INDICATOR OF MALADJUSTMENT THAT CAN GREATLY IMPACT HEALTH BEHAVIORS LATER IN LIFE.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

THE FIRST TWO ARTICLES EMPLOY DATA FROM THE YOUTH@HORDALAND-SURVEY OF ADOLESCENTS IN THE

COUNTY OF HORDALAND IN WESTERN NORWAY, CONDUCTED IN SPRING 2012. THE

YOUTH@HORDALAND-SURVEY IS A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY WITH A MAIN AIM TO ASSESS MENTAL

HEALTH PROBLEMS AND SERVICE USE IN ADOLESCENTS. INTERNATIONAL ADOPTEES WERE IDENTIFIED BY

LINKING THE YOUTH@HORDALAND-SURVEY TO THE NORWEGIAN CENTRAL ADOPTION REGISTRY, WHICH

CONTAINS INFORMATION ON ALL ADOPTIONS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN NORWAY SINCE 1917. OF THE

10 220 PARTICIPANTS IN THE SURVEY, 45 WERE IDENTIFIED AS INTERNATIONALLY ADOPTED.

THE THIRD ARTICLE IS A META-ANALYSIS SUMMARIZING THE EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE MENTAL HEALTH

OF INTERNATIONALLY ADOPTED ADOLESCENTS.

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NAME: KRISTIN HESTMANN VINJERUI. PROJECT TITLE: SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITIES

IN SPECIALIZED HEALTH CAR EUTILIZATION.

INSTITUTION: DEPT. OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND

GENERAL PRACTICE, NTNU.

PERSONAL INTERESTS: BRIGHT FUTURE PRE-SCHOOL. YOGA. PILATES. TRIATHLON. KNITTING. FAMILY. CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: COMBINING

RESEARCH AND CLINICAL WORK.

MY PROTOCOL IN SHORT

Is the use of Norwegian health care fair? It is known that people with high social status, i.e. with higher education and income, have better health and longer life expectancy. There is a constant gradient of health over all levels of education and income and this is what is called social inequality in health.

Good health depends on many factors , in the individual and in the society at large. The health care is considered to play a small role in overall health. It is nevertheless important to consider whether the health care, and use of health care, even out or increase social inequality in health.

Research show that all social classes visit their general practitioner equally often (primary health care), however in specialist health care, there is a general tendency that those with higher social status use it more.

My project will explore in detail how the different use of specialist health care is distributed, in public and private sector, inpatient and outpatient care and in various departments. It will be analyzed with regard to social status, physical and mental health.

Data: Helseundersøkelsen i Nord-Trøndelag, HUNT. Norwegian patient registry, NPR.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: In 2004, I was enstooled as Queen Mother of Development, in the village Ajumako-Techiman, Ghana. This was an appreciative gesture to my contribution of founding and financing the Bright Future pre-school in 2001.

Financing is an ongoing process. Transfers are made every quarter and contributions are very welcome to account: 16040970022!

Please see Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/6574528188/

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NAME: KRISTINE VEJRUP PROJECT TITLE: PRENATAL METHYLMERCURY EXPOSURE AND LANGUAGE DELAY AT THREE YEARS INSTITUTION: NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH PERSONAL INTERESTS: NUTRITION AND HEALTH CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: EPIDEMIOLOGY

AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Introduction: There is a worldwide concern about prenatal methylmercury (MeHg)

exposure and its possible neurodevelopmental effect in susceptible children.

Aims: To examine whether an association is found between prenatal low-level exposure

to MeHg and language delay at three years, adjusting for fish intake, long chain n-3 fatty

acids and dioxin and dioxin like-polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCB) exposure.

Methods: Data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The study

sample consisted of 46,750 mother-child pairs. MeHg exposure was calculated from

reported seafood intake during pregnancy assessed by a FFQ in mid-pregnancy.

Children’s language was measured by the Dale and Bishop grammar rating and the Ages

and Stages communication scale (ASQ). We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95%

confidence intervals (CI) using logistic regressions.

Results: Median MeHg exposure was 0.14 μg/kg body weight/week (range 0.0-1.7). The

adjusted association between MeHg exposure at the 90th percentile and risk of a child

having unintelligible speech was OR= 1.98 (95%CI: 1.16, 3.39). Additional adjusting for

fish intake strengthened the association (OR= 2.50 (95%CI: 1.21, 5.18)), adjusting for

concomitant high exposure to dioxin and dl-PCB weakened the association (OR=1.86

(95%CI: 1.07, 3.23)). High MeHg exposure was also associated with low communication

skills (ASQ), with adjusted OR=1.39 (95%CI: 1.07, 1.81).

Conclusions: In spite of a prenatal MeHg exposure being below the tolerable weekly

intake set by the European Food Safety Authority, these results suggest an increased risk

of language delay at three years in children of mothers with the highest MeHg exposure.

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NAME: MARIA CARLSSON PROJECT TITLE: TEMPORAL TRENDS IN INCIDENCE OF INTRACEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE. RISKFACTOR PROFILE, CASE FATALITY AND LONG-TIME MORTALITY. THE TROMSØ STUDY 1974-2012 INSTITUTION: INSTITUTE OF CLINICAL MEDICINE, UIT, THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY. PERSONAL INTERESTS: SEA KAYAKING AND PHOTO CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: PHD GRADE, AND

HOPEFULLY CONTINUE WITH RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF

CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASES.


POSTER ABSTRACT

Background: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a bleeding in the brain parenchyma, caused

by a rupture of a cerebral blood vessel. It is a disease with high morbidity and case fatality.

Treatment possibilities are limited and prevention is of major importance to reduce the

burden of ICH.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore temporal trends in incidence and case fatality

rates of ICH over the last two decades in a Norwegian community

Methods The Tromsø study, started in 1974, is an ongoing, prospective population-based

study with six repeated screening surveys. 40 051 individuals have attended at least one of

the surveys. The participants have been followed up with registration of first-ever incident

ICH and death through 31 December 2012. Crude incidence rates and incidence rates

adjusted to the European standard population of 1976 were calculated. Trends in incidence

rates over time were obtained using Poisson regression. Analyses were made in the overall

population, in men and women, and in individuals aged <75 years and ≥75 years. Case

fatality rates were calculated and trends over time were analysed using logistic regression.

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NAME: MARIA GARCIA LOPEZ PROJECT TITLE: “DOES TREATMENT WITH FOLIC ACID AND VITAMIN B12 REDUCE THE RISK OF HIP FRACTURE?” INSTITUTION: OSLO UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL HF/ UNIVERSITY OF OSLO PERSONAL INTERESTS: ENDOCRINOLOGY, OSTEOPOROSIS, VITAMINS, MEDICINE.

POSTER ABSTRACT / PROJECT SUMMARY.

BACKGROUND: OSTEOPOROTIC HIP FRACTURES CONSTITUTE A WELL-KNOWN PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM

AMONG THE ELDERLY IN WESTERN SOCIETIES. WITH AN EXPECTED FUTURE GROWTH OF THE OLDER

POPULATION, PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES ARE ESSENTIAL. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE REPORTED ASSOCIATIONS

BETWEEN HIGH HOMOCYSTEINE CONCENTRATION, POOR VITAMIN B12 AND AN INCREASED RISK OF HIP

FRACTURE (AS HOMOCYSTEINE MIGHT STIMULATE BONE RESORPTION WHILE VITAMIN B12 MIGHT

STIMULATE OSTEOBLAST PROLIFERATION). IT HAS ALSO BEEN REPORTED THAT SUPPLEMENTATION WITH

FOLIC ACID AND VITAMIN B12 CAN LOWER THE CONCENTRATION OF HOMOCYSTEINE IN BLOOD.

METHODS/DESIGN: WE AIM TO STUDY THE POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TAKING ORAL

SUPPLEMENTATION WITH VITAMIN B12 AND FOLIC ACID, AND SUSTAINING A HIP FRACTURE. WE WILL USE

COMBINED DATA FROM TWO LARGE RANDOMIZED TRIALS (NORVIT AND WENBIT) PERFORMED IN

NORWAY (1998-2005), WHERE PATIENTS WERE ASSIGNED TO DIFFERENT GROUPS RECEIVING

SUPPLEMENTS OF VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN B6, FOLIC ACID OR PLACEBO. PATIENTS WILL BE FOLLOWED UP

UNTIL THEY SUSTAIN A HIP FRACTURE BY LINKAGE TO NORHIP: A NOREPOS* DATABASE OF ALL HIP

FRACTURES REGISTERED IN NORWAY FROM YEAR 1994 TO 2013.

CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE EVIDENCE ON THE EFFICACY OF VITAMIN B12

AND FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENTATION IN THE PREVENTION OF OSTEOPOROTIC FRACTURES IN THE ELDERLY.

*NOREPOS (THE NORWEGIAN EPIDEMIOLOGIC OSTEOPOROSIS STUDIES) IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN

EPIDEMIOLOGIC OSTEOPOROSIS STUDIES, WHICH ARE SUB-STUDIES WITHIN LARGE POPULATION-BASED SURVEYS IN

FOUR DISTRICTS OF NORWAY (TROMSØ, NORD-TRØNDELAG, HORDALAND, OSLO). THE NOREPOS HIP FRACTURE

DATABASE (NORHIP) INCLUDES ALL HOSPITALIZATIONS FOR HIP FRACTURE IN NORWAY.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: INSTITUTE OF HEALTH AND SOCIETY, UNIVERSITY OF OSLO, PO BOX 1130, N-0318 OSLO, NORWAY .E-MAIL ADDRESS: [email protected].

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NAME: MARIANNE BAKKE JOHNSEN PROJECT TITLE: CAN WE REDUCE THE INCREASING DEMAND OF HIP AND KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY? INSTITUTION: COMMUNICATION AND RESEARCH UNIT FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS, DIVISION OF SURGERY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE, OSLO UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL PERSONAL INTERESTS: CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: POST DOC

STUDIES/CLINICAL WORK

POSTER ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the association between leisure time physical activity (LPA) and the risk of total hip (THR) or total knee (TKR) replacement due to primary osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: Participants (n=66 863) in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) from 1995-1997 and 2006-2008 were followed prospectively to identify THRs and TKRs using the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register. Self-reported LPA was classified as inactive, low, moderate or high. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) according to levels of LPA with adjustments for confounding variables. Analyses were performed by age (<45, 45-59 and ≥60 years) and sex.

Results: We identified 1636 THRs and 1019 TKRs due to primary OA during 17.1 years (median) of follow-up. There was a dose-response relationship between LPA and THR in those <45 years at baseline. In comparison to low LPA, high LPA showed a two-fold risk of THR for both men (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.01-3.74) and women (HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.25-3.50). A similar trend was present for TKR, but only significant for women in the youngest age group. In middle-aged women (45-59 years), high (HR 1.39, 95% CI 1.04-1.86) and moderate LPA (HR 1.81, 95% CI, 1.28-1.58) were associated with increased risk of THR and TKR, respectively. No association was found in the oldest age group.

Conclusion: We found that increasing levels of LPA was associated with the risk of THR and TKR. The findings were most apparent in those younger than 45 years at baseline, and among women.

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NAME: MARIT NÆSS PROJECT TITLE: Intergenerational transmission of overweight and obesity from parents to their adolescent offspring – a HUNT Study. INSTITUTION: HUNT, NTNU CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: BIOBANKING, LEADERSHIP AND RESEARCH


[email protected]

POSTER ABSTRACT

Introduction: There is a global worry concerning the extent of overweight and obesity development among children and adolescents. The observed weight increase is explained primarily by reduced levels of physical activity and change to a more calorie rich diet. However, the influence of genetics and social environment represented by parents and nearby surroundings, are important factors to consider, and studies indicates that inherited patterns seem to be a strong predictor for obesity.

Aim: To study the effects of parental BMI and waist circumference on equal measures in their offspring, addressed through adolescent sex stratified analyses considering one or both parents being overweight or obese. To investigate potential changes in parent-offspring weight relationships over time.

Methods: Study participants included are adolescent (age 13-19 years) from Young-HUNT1 (YH1)(1995-97) and Young-HUNT3 (YH3) (2006-08) with parents participating in the same surveys, HUNT2 and HUNT3 respectively. The study comprises 5266 full trios from YH1 and 3193 full trios from YH3. Regression analyses are performed with adolescent waist circumference (WC) and BMI as outcomes. Exposure variables include: parental BMI and WC. Covariates to be considered: parents’ education level, adolescent’ physical activity, vegetable consume as proxy for diet, chronic pain and puberty scores. Siblings are to be taken into account both sex-specifically and on basis of numerical sibling order.

Results: Preliminary results indicate differences between girls and boys considering maternal and paternal obesity as predictors for offspring’s obesity. Initial testing of co-variates effects indicate the following; Chronic pain seems more often to have effect on girls’ but not on boys’ weight. Parents education level is important for children`s BMI but not for WC. Both Puberty scores and Age seem to be strongly related to obesity. Physical activity and intake of vegetables seems to be of greater influence in YH3 than in YH1.

Conclusion: Preliminary results indicate interesting aspects related to sex differences, diversified parental effects and change in time from HUNT2 to HUNT3 concerning parent-offspring weight relationships.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: WORKING AT HUNT REASEARCH CENTRE, NTNU SINCE 2006

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NAME: MARKO LUKIC PROJECT TITLE: THE CHALLENGES OF USING

REPEATED MEASUREMENTS IN SURVIVAL

ANALYSIS – THE NORWEGIAN WOMEN AND

CANCER STUDY

INSTITUTION: THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF TROMSØ PERSONAL INTERESTS: HORROR MOVIES CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS:


POSTER ABSTRACT

Introduction

The use of follow-up information in survival analysis is important if significant changes in exposure levels during the study period are probable. Analyses that involve repeated measurements are often hampered by a high proportion of missing follow-up information.

Materials and methods

We used information on 92 385 women from the NOWAC study that have answered questions regarding coffee consumption during the second wave of data collection as our baseline. We also included information on coffee consumption and smoking habits that were collected during follow-up, 6-8 years after the baseline data collection. We compared three different approaches in data analysis: a complete-case analysis, an analysis with the last observation carried forward imputation method on the missing information during follow-up, and the analysis of multiple imputed data on all of the covariates with missing information at any time point.

Results

The complete case analysis, which included follow-up information on coffee consumption and smoking habits, yielded stronger association between coffee consumption and lung cancer compared to analysis that included baseline information only. The results from the analysis on the multiple imputed data provided similar estimates to those of the complete case analysis.

Conclusion

A survival analysis that allows the main exposure to vary over the study period could produce more reliable effect estimates. Multiple imputation should be considered if the proportion of missing information is high, at least as a part of a sensitivity analysis.

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NAME: MARKUS DINES KNUDSEN PROJECT TITLE: LIFESTYLE EFFECTS OF A COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING PROGRAM INSTITUTION: UIO, KREFTREGISTERET, SYKEHUS TELEMARK PERSONAL INTERESTS: SPORTS. CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: POST DOC.

NUTRITION, COLORECTAL CANCER

POSTER ABSTRACT

Baseline lifestyle characteristics in participants in Bowel Cancer Screening in Norway and in controls

Markus Dines Knudsen1,2, Edoardo Botteri1, Chloé Steen1, Geir Hoff1,2, Thomas de Lange1, Tomm Bernklev2,4, Anette Hjartåker3 and Paula Berstad1,2

1. Department of Bowel Cancer Screening, Cancer Registry of Norway 2. Department of Research and Development, Telemark Hospital, Skien, Norway 3.Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, 4. Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Background: Lifestyle has shown to have an impact on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. It is therefore of importance to investigate lifestyle characteristics in individuals participating in CRC screening when planning a national screening programme. The aim was to compare lifestyle characteristics in participants between two CRC screenings modalities and a matched control group.

Methods: In the trial Bowel Cancer Screening in Norway – a pilot project, 140.000 men and women are randomly assigned to flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) or Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) for occult blood in stools. A subgroup of 14,869 men and women (age 50-74, FS:FIT ratio 1:1) was invited to a lifestyle study and asked to fill in a short questionnaire on lifestyle (LSQ) when invited to screening. Seven-thousand age, and sex matched residents in income matched neighboring municipalities were invited as a control group. These were sent the LSQ but no invitation to screening. The LSQ included questions on height and weight, smoking, physical exercise, selected dietary items and alcohol use. Respondents will receive a follow-up LSQ one year after baseline invitation. Logistic regression was used to investigate the differences in lifestyle characteristics between the two screening arms and the control arm at baseline.

Results: The proportion of individuals invited to screening which both attended the screening examination and filled in LSQ were 42% and 54% in the FS and FIT arms, respectively. A total of 41% in the control group filled in the LSQ. Between the two screening arms, there was a slightly higher proportion of participants with a university degree in the FS than the FIT arm (43% vs. 40%, p<0.05). Similarly, there was a higher proportion of weekly alcohol consumption above recommended level in the FS arm compared to the FIT arm (9% vs 7%, p<0.05). The control arm had a higher probability of fulfilling ≥5 of the national lifestyle recommendations than participants in the screening arms (11% vs. 9%, p<0.05) along with having a university degree, 1


NAME: MARTINE DALGAARD HANSEN PROJECT TITLE: The impact of industrial pollution on levels of contaminants in humans and locally harvested food in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian border region. INSTITUTION: UIT THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE PERSONAL INTERESTS: SPORTS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, TRAVEL AND FRIENDS CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: POST DOC. ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY CONTACT INFORMATION: EMAIL: [email protected]

POSTER ABSTRACT Local industrial pollution and long-range transport of contaminants to Arctic regions put the health of people resided in the Norwegian-Russian border area at potential risk. Recent studies show that concentrations of heavy metals and dioxins are increasing in the local environment including locally caught fish, locally hunted game and locally gathered berries and mushrooms. The use of local food has historically been important but little is known about the use today. Local and traditional food often has a high nutritional value and concern of contaminants might influence the use of these resources. This may affect nutritional intake but also physical activity and use of the outdoors. Therefore, it is of outmost importance to clarify concentrations of contaminants in local food and their impact on humans to outweigh risk and benefits of use of local food. The specific aims of the PhD project is to determine the concentrations of heavy metals and dioxins in locally harvested and hunted food from the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian border region, to assess the level of consumption of these foods in the local population and to assess the concentrations of heavy metals and dioxins in humans in the area.

The work of the PhD will be based on already sampled blood and other types of data from the Norwegian-Russian Health Study 1994/95, the Kolarctic project and the MISA cohort, together with blood samples and questionnaire data that will be collected during the first year of the PhD.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: BSC. NURSING MSC. CLINICAL NUTRITION FROM COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

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NAME: MASHHOOD AHMED SHEIKH PROJECT TITLE: EFFECT OF DISADVANTAGES IN CHILDHOOD ON ADULT HEALTH AND WELLBEING INSTITUTION: UNIVERSITY OF TROMSØ PERSONAL INTERESTS: ENJOYING GOOD WHISKY CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: CONTINUE AS A

RESEARCHER

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NAME: MELANIE RAE SIMPSON PROJECT TITLE: PROPACT: A FOCUS ON BREAST MILK AND ATOPIC DERMATITIS INSTITUTION: NTNU PERSONAL INTERESTS: ORIENTEEING, MOUNTAIN BIKING, A COMBINATION OF THE TWO, «FRILUFTSLIV» AND SEWING. CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: THE SUPPORTIVE ROLE OF BREAST

MILK IN THE ONGOING MATURATION OF THE IMMUNE AND

GASTROINTESTINAL SYSTEMS OF NEWBORN INFANTS. MEDIATION

ANALYSIS IN RCTS.

CONTACT INFORMATION: MELANIE.SIMPSON(AT)NTNU.NO


THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF MY PHD PROJECT IS THE IMMUNOLOGICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL COMPONENTS

OF HUMAN BREAST MILK AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO MATERNAL PROBIOTIC INGESTION AND THE

DEVELOPMENT OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS IN OFFSPRING. THIS PROJECT SPANS BASIC SCIENCES, BIOINFORMATICS AND MEDIATION ANALYSIS IN RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) WHICH PRESENTS

CAUSAL INFERENCE CHALLENGES SIMILAR TO CLASSICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY RESEARCH. THE BREAST MILK

SAMPLES THAT I AM STUDYING WERE COLLECTED DURING THE PROBIOTICS IN THE PREVENTION OF ALLERGY

AMONG CHILDREN IN TRONDHEIM (PROPACT) TRIAL – A DOUBLE BLINDED, PLACEBO CONTROLLED RCT OF

MATERNAL PROBIOTIC SUPPLEMENTATION IN THE PERINATAL PERIOD. AT 2 YEARS, WE OBSERVED A 40%

REDUCTION IN THE CUMULATIVE INCIDENCE OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS (ECZEMA) AMONG THE CHILDREN OF

MOTHERS WHO RECEIVED THE PROBIOTIC SUPPLEMENTATION. WHILST A NUMBER OF OTHER STUDIES HAVE

OBSERVED THE SAME PREVENTATIVE BENEFIT OF PERINATAL PROBIOTICS, THE MECHANISMS BEHIND THIS

EFFECT ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN. THE ONGOING RESEARCH OF OUR GROUP IS DIRECTED AT USING THE

BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES COLLECTED DURING THE PROPACT TRIAL TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE

BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS AND HOW THE BENEFITS OF PROBIOTIC INGESTION BY A MOTHER

IS TRANSFERRED TO HER CHILD. FOR MY PART, THIS MEANS MEASURING AND ANALYSING LEVELS OF

CYTOKINES, MIRNAS AND BACTERIA IN BREAST MILK SAMPLES.

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NAME: MIE JAREID PROJECT TITLE: IDENTIFYING THE WHISTLEBLOWERS: EARLY CHANGES OF THE BLOOD TRANSCRIPTOME IN OVARIAN CANCER INSTITUTION: UIT, COMMUNITY MEDICINE PERSONAL INTERESTS: CULTURE AND NATURE CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: UNDERSTAND

EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ON

ORGANISMS


ABSTRACT

My PhD-project is part of the Norwegian Women and Cancer study (NOWAC), a prospective cohort study designed to examine relationships between risk factors and hormone-related cancers in postmenopausal women. The study has 170 000 participants across the country.

The NOWAC women are followed through repeated questionnaires, and diagnostic information is obtained from the cancer and cause of death registries. A sub-cohort of 50 000 women have donated blood to the NOWAC biobank. If a participant is diagnosed with cancer, her blood sample can be retrieved from the biobank and analyzed for differences in gene expression compared to similar women who did not develop any type of cancer. We want to know whether these blood samples reveal early signs of disease.

My project will focus on ovarian cancer, and my data consist of questionnaires on lifestyle and hormone exposure together with blood gene expression profiles from 96 cases and an equal number of nested controls.

The project has three parts: The first is a cross-sectional study in which I stratify the control samples by their reported exposure to positive and negative risk factors and analyze whether this exposure influences gene expression. The second part will be a prospective case-control study of differences in gene expression between ovarian cancer cases and the nested controls. In the third part I aim to compare gene expression in ovarian cancer to blood samples from breast and endometrial cancer that have been previously analyzed in the Systems Epidemiology research group.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: I AM YOUR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE IN TROMSØ. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, IDEAS AND OPINIONS

WITH ME!

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Abstract

Does regular exercise during pregnancy influence health-related quality of life in pregnant women?

Background: National guidelines recommend physical activity since it reduces health problems and prevents

physical and mental diseases. World Health Organization points out physical inactivity as the fourth leading risk

factor for global mortality. Furthermore women with uncomplicated pregnancies should be encouraged to

engage in regular exercise due to the positive effects both on the mother and the offspring. Although trials

have shown positive effects of regular exercise on physical health in pregnancy in both the mother and the

offspring, there is sparse research on possible benefits of exercise on health-related quality of life. Moreover

the results from the studies are discordant.

Aims: To assess whether regular exercise during pregnancy influence in health-related quality of life in late

pregnancy (pregnancy week 32-36).

Population: A total of 855 healthy Caucasian pregnant women.

Methods: A two-armed, two-centered randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2007-2010.

Pregnant women from Trondheim and Stavanger, booking appointment for routine ultrasound, were invited to

participate in the trial. A total of 855 women were randomized into two groups: Women in the intervention

group received a standardized exercise program including aerobic activity and strength training over 12 weeks.

Women were invited to participate in group training once a week. Furthermore women were encouraged to

follow a 45 minute exercise program twice a week (n=429). Women in the control group received standard

antenatal care and customary information given by a midwife or general practitioner (n=426). The

questionnaire Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI) was used to measure health-related quality of

life.

NAME: MIRIAM GUSTAFSSON PROJECT TITLE: Pregnancy and health-related quality of life INSTITUTION: NTNU PERSONAL INTERESTS: CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS:


[email protected]

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NAME: NILS ABEL AARS PROJECT TITLE: WEIGHT, WEIGHT DEVELOPMENT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THE FIT FUTURES COHORT STUDY. INSTITUTION: UNIVERSITY OF TROMSØ PERSONAL INTERESTS: SKIING, HUNTING, FISHING AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES. CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

AND OVERWEIGHT ON INDIVIDUAL AND POPULATION

LEVEL.


The aim of the project “Weight, weight development and physical activity in the Fit Futures cohort study” is to study the prevalence of overweight and obesity as well as the predictors for these conditions in a population of young people, 1. and 3. year of high school (videregående skole).

In 2010–2011, all first-year upper-secondary school students in the two neighboring municipalities Tromsø and Balsfjord were invited to participate in the cross-sectional study Fit Futures 1 (FF1), which is an expansion of the Tromsø study. The invited cohort included 1,117 participants aged 15–19 years, and 1,038 adolescents (508 girls and 530 boys) attended the survey providing an attendance rate of 93 %. In 2012-2013, Fit Futures 2 (FF2) a follow-up study was conducted. All upper-secondary school students in their third year were invited to a second screening. Altogether 870 met to FF2, providing an attendance rate of 77 %. A total of 688 adolescents (372 girls and 316 boys) attended both FF1 and FF2.

Three publications are planned, spanning both cross sectional- and longitudinal analyses of BMI and other measures of bodily composition, as well as the relationship between obesity/overweight and objective measures of physical activity (accelerometer data).

Supervisor: Prof. Sameline Grimsgaard, UiT.

Co-supervisor: Prof. Bjarne Koster Jacobsen, UiT.

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: I’M A LICENSED PHYSIOTHERAPIST WITH A MASTERS DEGREE IN PUBLIC HEALTH, BOTH FROM THE

UNIVERSITY OF TROMSØ. I LIVE IN BODØ AND CURRENTLY WORK AS A PHYSIOTHERAPIST IN FAUSKE

KOMMUNE, AND AS OF AUGUST 2015 I’M STARTING WORK ON MY PH.D.

MY MASTER THESIS FOCUSED ON WEIGHT CHANGE IN THE TROMSØ STUDY, OVER THE PERIOD FROM 1994

– 2007.

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NAME: Per-Jostein Samuelsen, MSc Pharm PROJECT TITLE: Long-term use of analgesic drugs in a general population. Prevalence and the significance of risk factors, contraindications and pain sensitivity. INSTITUTION: Regional medicines information and pharmacovigilance centre (RELIS), University hospital of North Norway & Department of community medicine, UiT PERSONAL INTERESTS: Hunting, training, chess, dad to the bone CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: Survive the PhD and live happily ever after

ABSTRACT

Long-term use of painkillers and chronic pain: Directed acyclic graphs

Per-Jostein Samuelsen1*, Kristian Svendsen, Christopher S. Nielsen, Audun Stubhaug, Anne Elise Eggen

1Regional Medicines Information and Pharmacovigilance Center (RELIS), University Hospital of North Norway & Department of Community Medicine, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø

Modeling an exposure-disease relationship and identifying independent risk factors is a challenging task. We present our modeling strategy in a pharmacoepidemiological study on painkillers. One of the aims is to determine the association of long-term use of painkillers with chronic pain and sociodemographic risk factors. The setting is The Tromsø Study (2007-8, N = 12,981) linked with the Norwegian Prescription Database. Painkillers were defined as either non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids or paracetamol. Long-term use was defined as a treatment duration ≥ 90 days and proportion of days covered ≥ 40%. We used directed acyclic graphs and a priori knowledge to select variables to be included. We then applied classical epidemiological methods with the aid of DAGs to identify confounders and mediators, the minimal adjustment set and the initial logistic regression model. Different subsets of the model were compared using information criteria, i.e. Akaike information criterion (AIC). The final decision to exclude or include variables were therefore based on DAGs, AIC and the theory on hierarchically well formulated models. DAGs is a useful tool for the selection of variables and visualization of proposed causal pathways. However, the use of DAGs is a qualitative approach and is just as vulnerable to the subjective considerations of the researchers as more classical approaches, and should be supported with empirical information from the data. Particularly difficult is working with potential bidirectional causal pathways and variables that can be treated both as confounders and mediators.

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NAME: RAGNA ELISE STØRE GOVATSMARK TITLE: WAS IT A MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION? CHALLENGES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION IN THE TROPONIN ERA. INSTITUTION: NTNU

CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: CARDIOVASCULAR

DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND REGISTER BASED RESEARCH


[email protected]

WAS IT A MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION? CHALLENGES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION IN THE TROPONIN ERA Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the leading diseases worldwide. Early and correct diagnosis is a key to optimal treatment and prognosis. Cardiac biomarkers together with clinical symptoms and ECG-abnormalities have been important features of the AMI diagnosis. The biomarker troponin is myocardial tissue-specific, and extra sensitive imaging techniques have made it possible to detect very small amounts of myocardial injury or necrosis. As the marker has become more sensitive, its specificity has become poorer and it will arise also in other conditions than AMI. This makes it more challenging to make accurate diagnoses, and threatens the usefulness of registers containing data about patients with myocardial infarction. The aim of the project was to investigate conditions for troponin elevation, the completeness and correctness of the myocardial diagnosis in Norwegian Myocardial Infarction Register (NorMI) and Norwegian Patients Register (NPR). We included all patients admitted to St. Olavs Hospital with measured values of troponin (n=6687) in the period 1.7.2012 -31.12.2012. From the patient journals we made a “gold standard for AMI” based on levels of troponin, clinical symptoms, and ECG/imaging abnormalities. We also included information on other conditions prior to troponin elevation, main and secondary diagnosis. The gold standard will be compared to NorMI and NPR. Final results will be published during 2015.

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NAME: Rajesh Shigdel

PROJECT TITLE: CORTICAL POROSITY TARGET FOR FRACTURE PREVENTION:TROMSØ STUDY INSTITUTION: UiT The Artic University of Norway Department of Health and Care Sciences PERSONAL INTERESTS: Outdoor activities, Bowling, Music

CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: Post doc research

PROJECT SUMMARY

Relationship between Bone Architecture and Age, Height, Weight and Lifestyle Factors in Postmenopausal Women R Shigdel, LA Ahmed, R Joakimsen, EF Eriksen, Å Bjørnerem The effect of age, height, weight and lifestyle factors on bone architecture is not clearly understood. We therefore, wanted to examine the effect of age, height, weight and other lifestyle variables on bone architecture. In 211 postmenopausal women aged 54-94 years with non-vertebral fractures and 232 age-matched fracture-free controls from the Tromsø Study, Norway, femoral subtrochanteric bone architecture was quantified by using CT and Strax software. Information concerning life style, diseases, use of medication, all fractures after the age of 50 years was assessed by using self-administrated questionnaires. Each SD greater age, height and total CSA was associated with 0.22-0.68 SD lower total vBMD, and 0.12-0.16 SD relatively thinner cortices with 0.12-0.58 SD higher porosity (all p < 0.01.) However, each SD greater weight was associated with the 0.16 SD greater total vBMD, 0.22 SD greater cortical thicknesses in both absolute and relative terms, and 0.11 SD higher trabecular BV/TV (all p < 0.05). Each SD more time spent exercising was associated with 0.12 SD larger cortical CSA and 0.11 SD lower porosity of the inner transitional zone. Current smoking was associated with 0.12 SD greater total bones CSA, 0.13 SD greater medullary CSA and 0.12 SD relatively thinner cortex, and Each SD higher pack-year was associated with 0.12 SD higher porosity of the inner transitional zone (all p < 0.05). We conform increasing age, height, height and bone size increases the cortical porosity and decreases the cortical thickness. Increasing in weight is associated with higher total vBMD, larger total and cortical area and thicker cortices, higher trabecular vBMD and higher porosity. While, the PA improved cortical architecture, smoking had deteriorating effect on cortex, showing that important contribution in pathogenesis of bone fragility.

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NAME: REZA PROJECT TITLE: SUNSCREEN, SOLARIUM AND MELANOMA RISK INSTITUTION: DEPARTMENT OF BIOSTATISTICS, UNIVERSITY OF OSLO PERSONAL INTERESTS: CLIMBING CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: CANCER

EPIDEMIOLOGY, CAUSAL INFERENCE

PROJECT SUMMARY

WE STUDY THE EFFECT OF SUNSCREEN AND SOLARIUM USE AND RISK OF CUTANEOUS MALIGNANT

MELANOMA (CMM), USING DATA FROM THE NORWEGIAN WOMEN AND CANCER STUDY (NOWAC).

STUDY INCLUDING MORE THAN 170,000 WOMEN RECRUITED IN 1991-2006. THE STUDY AIMED TO

STUDY:

• CHARACTERISTICS OF USERS AND NON-USERS OF SUNSCREENS;

• THE EFFECTS OF SUNSCREEN USE ON CMM RISK;

• RISK OF CMM IN RELATION TO SOLARIUM EXPOSURE IN EVERY DECADE OF LIFE (0-60 YEARS) AS WELL

AS THE ACCUMULATED OVERALL EXPOSURE OVER SIX AGE DECADES.

THE MAIN STATISTICAL METHODS ARE MULTIVARIABLE COX AND POISSON REGRESSION (WITH TIME-DEPENDENT COVARIATES).

THE FIRST PAPER ENTITLED “PREVALENCE AND TRENDS OF SUNSCREEN USE AND SUNBURN AMONG

NORWEGIAN WOMEN” PUBLISHED IN BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY IN 2014. THE ANALYSIS OF

SECOND AIM IS IN PROGRESS.

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NAME: Ruby Del Risco Kollerud PROJECT TITLE: Risk of leukaemia or cancer in the central nervous system among children living in an area with high indoor radon concentrations: results from a cohort study in Norway INSTITUTION: Universitet I Oslo/Oslo kommune PERSONAL INTERESTS: Photography, art, fashion

CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: Population studies, Statistics, Teaching, Epigenetic.


Abstract R Del Risco Kollerud, K G Blaasaas and B Claussen Background: Over the past few years, there has been growing interest in assessing the relationship between exposure to radon at home and the risk of childhood cancer. Previous studies have produced conflicting results, probably because of limitations assessing radon exposure, too few cancer cases and poorly documented health statistics. Methods: We used a cohort approach of 0–15-year-old children to examine whether residential radon exposure was associated with childhood leukaemia and cancer in the central nervous system in the Oslo region. The study was based on Norwegian population registers and identified cancer cases from The Cancer Registry of Norway. The residence of every child was geo-coded and assigned a radon exposure. Results: In all, 712 674 children were followed from 1967 to 2009 from birth to date of cancer diagnosis, death, emigration or 15 years of age. A total of 864 cancer cases were identified, 437 children got leukaemia and 427 got cancer in the central nervous system. Conclusions: No association was found for childhood leukaemia. An elevated nonsignificant risk for cancer in the central nervous system was observed. This association should be interpreted with caution owing to the crude exposure assessment and possibilities of confounding.

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NAME: SAIJA MIKKILÄ PROJECT TITLE: “Physical activity and osteoporosis –fracture, bone mineral density and bone structure”

INSTITUTION: School of sport sciences/Department of Community Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway PERSONAL INTERESTS: Sports, travelling CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: Research


Osteoporosis is a systemic disease characterized by low bone mineral density and increased risk

of fracture. Norway has high prevalence of osteoporosis as well as high frequency of osteoporotic

hip, forearm and vertebral fractures. In Tromsø, one of two women and one of four men in can

expect a fracture. Consequently, osteoporosis constitutes to substantial health problems such as

reduced physical disability and quality of life, as well as mortality. Furthermore, osteoporotic

fractures generate significant costs for the health care, which raises the focus on the prevention.

Physical activity is a central factor in preventing osteoporosis. It can delay the age-related bone

loss, and improve muscle strength, neuromuscular control, balance and functional mobility that

can prevent the fracture causing falls. Although, it is a well-known fact that physical activity can

prevent osteoporosis and fracture, some areas still lack knowledge of the preventive properties of

physical activity. One of these areas is physical activity related to vertebral fracture; another is

effects of physical activity on the bone structure. Effects of type, intensity, duration and

frequency of physical activity on the bone mass and fracture risk are still unclear.

Therefore, purpose of the PhD-project is to gain new knowledge in these areas by

investigating long-term associations between self-reported physical activity (duration,

intensity and frequency) and fracture, bone mineral density and bone structure in the

population-based Tromsø Study cohorts.

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NAME: SOLBJØRG MAKALANI MYRTVEIT PROJECT TITLE: RISK FACTORS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF CHRONIC WHIPLASH INSTITUTION: UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN AND NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH PERSONAL INTERESTS: SKIING, DANCING, RUNNING, KNITTING, HIKING CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: POST.DOC.

AND THE EVERLASTING ACADEMIA

POSTER ABSTRACT

Chronic pain and whiplash; is causal attribution associated with work and benefit status? Background: Though most individuals who experience whiplash recover rapidly, some develop chronic whiplash, a condition characterized by pain and reduced ability to work. Aim: We aimed to investigate whether attributing pain (neck pain or any chronic pain) to whiplash is associated with full time work and receipt of disability pension. Any such association would further be investigated in relation to differences in reported pain and psychological complaints between those attributing pain to whiplash and those not. Method: Data from the sixth wave of the Tromsø Study (2007-08, n=12,981) were analyzed. Using logistic regression analyses, the odds ratio (OR) of working full time and of receiving disability pension was computed for individuals attributing their chronic neck pain to whiplash compared to individuals reporting chronic neck pain due to other causes (reference category). Analyses were adjusted for socio-demographics, pain characteristics and psychological distress. These same analyses were run, comparing individuals attributing any chronic pain to whiplash compared to individuals reporting any chronic pain due to other causes. Results: In individuals reporting chronic neck pain and in individuals reporting any chronic pain, the odds of working full time was significantly lower (crude OR= 0.73 (95%CI: 0.55-0.97) and OR=0.61 (95%CI: 0.47-0.80) respectively) and the odds of receiving disability pension significantly higher (crude OR= 1.58 (95%CI: 1.18-2.12) and OR= 2.02 (95%CI: 1.53-2.66) respectively) in individuals attributing their pain to whiplash. For both chronic neck pain and any chronic pain the association between pain attribution and work and benefit status remained significant after adjusting for pain and psychological distress. Conclusion: Individuals attributing their chronic pain to whiplash are less likely to work full time and more likely to receive disability pension than individuals not attributing their pain to whiplash. This association remains after adjusting for pain characteristics and psychological distress.

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Photo: Colourbox

NAME: TORIL BAKKEN PROJECT TITLE: DIET AND INCIDENCE OF COLORECTAL CANCER

AMONG NORWEGIAN WOMEN

INSTITUTION: UIT INTERESTS: PREVENTION CONTACT INFORMATION: [email protected]

Introduction

Globally colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cancer in women. The CRC incidence

among Norwegian women is one of the highest in the world.

According to World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research

(WCRF/AICR) there is convincing evidence that intake of foods containing dietary fiber decreases

the risk of CRC. Studies indicate that there may be an association between wholegrain consumption

and risk of CRC. The general intake of wholegrain bread is high in Norway, and whole grain bread

is the most important source of whole grain in the country.

Milk and milk products have also had central role in the Norwegian diet. According to

WCRF/AICR there is probable evidence that intake of milk and calcium decreases the risk of CRC.

Objectives

Our objective is to investigate associations between consumption of wholegrain bread and dairy

products and CRC incidence in the Norwegian Women and Cancer study (NOWAC).

Method

The NOWAC study is a nationwide prospective cohort study consisting of approximately 172,000

women.

Self-reported data from questionnaires will be used in the analyses, except information on

age, vital status and cancer diagnosis which will be extracted from national registries. The

questionnaire includes a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire where participants have

reported their average intake of food items during the last year. The food frequency questionnaire

has been validated and a test-retest reproducibility study has been conducted.

The associations between food consumption and CRC will be investigated in multivariable

Cox proportional-hazards regression models adjusting for common CRC risk factors.

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NAME: TORUNN VARMDAL PROJECT TITLE: An evaluation of the quality

of stroke data in the Norwegian Stroke

Register and the Norwegian Patient

Register

INSTITUTION: NTNU

CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: STROKE

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND REGISTER BASED RESEARCH

POSTER ABSTRACT

INTER-RATER RELIABILITY OF A NATIONAL ACUTE STROKE REGISTER

Medical quality registers are useful sources of knowledge about diseases and the health services. However, there are challenges in obtaining valid and reliable data. This study aims to assess the reliability in The Norwegian Stroke Register, as well as to identify problem areas and suggest improvement strategies.

We randomly selected 111 patients having had a stroke in 2012. An experienced stroke nurse completed the Norwegian Stroke Register paper forms for all 111 patients by review of the medical records. We then extracted all registered data on the same patients from the Norwegian Stroke Register and calculated Kappa statistics with 95% confidence intervals for nominal variables. For two time variables, we calculated the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient.

Substantial to excellent reliability (kappa>0.60) was observed for all variables related to past medical history, functional status, stroke subtype and discharge destination. Although excellent reliability was observed for time of stroke onset, this variable was hampered with a substantial amount of missing values. Some variables related to treatment and examinations in hospital displayed low levels of agreement (kappa <0.20). This applies to heart rhythm monitoring, swallowing test performed and mobilized out of bed within 24 hours after admission.

A majority of the variables in The Norwegian Stroke Register have substantial to excellent reliability. The problem areas seem to be the lack of completeness in the time variable indicating stroke onset and poor reliability in some variables concerning examinations and treatment received in hospital.

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NAME: VITALY POSTOEV PROJECT TITLE: MAIN CAUSES OF INFANT DEATHS: PRETERM BIRTH, SMALL FOR GESTATIONAL AGE INFANTS AND CONGENITAL BIRTH DEFECTS IN MONCHEGORSK IN 1973-2012: A REGISTER-BASED STUDY INSTITUTION: UIT THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY, TROMSØ, NORWAY PERSONAL INTERESTS: PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS, BIRTH REGISTRY CAREER AMBITIONS/INTERESTS: FIELD OF PUBLIC

HEALTH RESEARCH CONTACT INFORMATION: [email protected]

Effect of prenatal screening’s implementation on perinatal mortality in Monchegorsk (North-West Russia): birth registries study Vitaly A. Postoev, Andrej M. Grjibovski, Evert Niboer, Jon Øyvind Odland Introduction Prenatal diagnostic allows detecting more than 50% а birth defects prior to delivery. It was established in Russia, as a routine method of screening for birth defects (BD), in year 2000.The aim of this study is to assess changes in perinatal mortality after perinatal screening establishing in Monchegorsk (Murmansk County, North-West Russia). Methods The Murmansk County Birth Registry and the Kola Birth Registry were the primary sources of information, covering 30448 pregnancy outcomes in Monchegorsk during 1973-2011. The data from registries were supplemented with data about pregnancy terminations in 2000-2007. Results The perinatal mortality among newborns with any kind of malformation decreased from 107.7 per 1000 newborns with BD (95%CI = 86.3-129.1) up to 21.2 (95%CI = 4.3-38.1), whereas the perinatal mortality for all newborns and newborns without BD decreased two-fold during 2001-2011). After inclusion data of pregnancy terminations due to birth defects in 2000-2007, the perinatal mortality was 17.7/1000 (95%I = 14.7-22.0) instead of 12.4/1000 (95%CI = 9.2-15.6). The logistic regression analysis indicated that mothers who had undergone at least one ultrasound examination during pregnancy (n = 9883), had a lower chance of having a newborn die during the perinatal period [adjusted OR = 0.49 (95% CI: 0.27-0.89)]. Conclusion Improved detection of severe malformations with subsequent termination is likely to have been the main contributor to the decrease in perinatal mortality in Murmansk County, Russia.

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NAME: YLVA HIVAND HIORTH PROJECT TITLE: FALLS IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE INSTITUTION: THE NORWEGIAN CENTRE FOR MOVEMENT DISORDERS, STAVANGER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a slowly progressive movement disorder usually presenting in people after the mid-sixties. Onset of motor symptoms in PD is typically asymmetric, but over time postural instability and gait difficulty become more prominent. Non-motor symptoms are common and include cognitive, psychiatric, sleep and autonomic dysfunctions. Long-term population-based studies in PD are scarce. Some prospective studies have reported higher fall rates in PD patients compared with normal controls, but prevalence rates of falling in PD differ between studies.

The overall aim of the thesis is to describe the epidemiological aspects of falls in PD in terms of occurrence, risk factors, and the relation between falls and physical activity behavior.

The specific aims of the different studies are:

To determine the frequency of falls, and identify associated clinical and demographic features at different stages of PD (paper 1).

To describe the development of falls during 8 years follow-up in a population-based cohort of patients with PD, and explore risk factors in previous non-falling patients with PD (paper 2).

To describe the development of falls during 7 years of follow-up in a cohort of newly diagnosed patients with PD and a matched control group, and explore risk factors of incident falls in non-falling patients with PD at study entry (paper 3).

To examine the relationship between objectively measured sedentary behaviour, standing and ambulatory activity and falls and associated factors in patients with PD (paper 4).

OTHER INFORMATION YOU WANT TO SHARE: PHYSIOTHERAPIST. MASTER DEGREE IN CLINICAL NEUROLOGICAL PHYSICAL THERAPY. WORKING PART

TIME ON THE PHD PROJECT “A LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDY OF FALLS IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON’S

DISEASE: THE NORWEGIAN PARKWEST STUDY AND THE STAVANGER PARKINSON PROJECT”.

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