Abstract: OBJECTIVE: In a mortality follow-up of the HUNT Study, serum TSH within the reference range was positively associated with the risk of coronary death in women. We now aimed to confirm the association of high serum TSH with the risk of coronary heart disease, using hospital-based diagnoses of myocardial infarction. DESIGN: Prospective population-based study with linkage to hospital information on myocardial infarction and to the national Cause of Death Registry. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 26, 707 people without previously known thyroid or cardiovascular disease or diabetes at baseline. MEASUREMENTS: Hazard ratios (HR) of coronary death and HRs of hospitalization with a first-time acute myocardial infarction, by baseline thyroid function. RESULTS: During 12, years of follow-up, 960 (3.6%) participants had been hospitalized with first-time myocardial infarction and 558 (2.1%) had died from coronary heart disease. High TSH within the reference range was associated with increased risk of coronary death in women (P(trend) 0.005), but not in men. The risk of coronary death was also increased among women with subclinical hypothyroidism or subclinical hyperthyroidism, compared to women with TSH of 0.50-1.4 mU/l. However, thyroid function was not associated with the risk of being hospitalized with myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS: High serum TSH was associated with increased mortality from coronary heart disease in women, but we found no association of thyroid function with the risk of being hospitalized with myocardial infarction. Thus, the morbidity finding does not confirm the suggestion that low thyroid function within the clinically normal range is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease.

Abstract: AIMS: To examine the associations of self-reported visual impairment and physical activity (PA) with all-cause mortality. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included 65,236 Norwegians aged 20 years who had participated in the Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT2, 1995-1997). Of these participants, 11,074 (17.0%) had self-reported visual impairment (SRVI). The participants' data were linked to Norway's Cause of Death Registry and followed throughout 2012. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were assessed using Cox regression analyses with age as the time-scale. The Cox models were fitted for restricted age groups (<60, 60-84, 85 years). RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 14.5 years, 13,549 deaths were identified. Compared with adults with self-reported no visual impairment, the multivariable hazard ratios among adults with SRVI were 2.47 (95% CI 1.94-3.13) in those aged <60 years, 1.22 (95% CI 1.13-1.33) in those aged 60-84 years and 1.05 (95% CI 0.96-1.15) in those aged 85 years. The strength of the associations remained similar or stronger after additionally controlling for PA. When examining the joint associations, the all-cause mortality risk of SRVI was higher for those who reported no PA than for those who reported weekly hours of PA. We found a large, positive departure from additivity in adults aged <60 years, whereas the departure from additivity was small for the other age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Adults with SRVI reporting no PA were associated with an increased all-cause mortality risk. The associations attenuated with age.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Sedentary behaviour is a potential risk factor for chronic-ill health and mortality, that is, independent of health-enhancing physical activity. Few studies have investigated the risk of mortality associated with multiple contexts of sedentary behaviour. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prospective associations of total sitting time, TV-viewing time and occupational sitting with mortality from all causes and cardiometabolic diseases. METHODS: Data from 50,817 adults aged >/=20 years from the Nord-Trondelag Health Study 3 (HUNT3) in 2006-2008 were linked to the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry up to 31 December 2010. Cox proportional hazards models examined all-cause and cardiometabolic disease-related mortality associated with total sitting time, TV-viewing and occupational sitting, adjusting for multiple potential confounders including physical activity. RESULTS: After mean follow-up of 3.3 years (137,315.8 person-years), 1068 deaths were recorded of which 388 were related to cardiometabolic diseases. HRs for all-cause mortality associated with total sitting time were 1.12 (95% CI 0.89 to 1.42), 1.18 (95% CI 0.90 to 1.57) and 1.65 (95% CI 1.24 to 2.21) for total sitting time 4-

Abstract: We wanted to study mortality after hip fractures among elderly women in Norway. We found that excess mortality was highest short time after hip fracture, but persisted for several years after the fracture. The excess mortality was not explained by pre-fracture medical conditions. INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present study was to investigate short and long term mortality after hip fracture, and to evaluate how comorbidity, bone mineral density, and lifestyle factors affect the survival after hip fractures. METHODS: The study cohort emerges from a population-based health survey in the county of Nord-Trondelag, Norway. Women aged 65 or more at participation at the health survey who sustained a hip fracture after attending the health survey are cases in this study (n = 781). A comparison cohort was constructed based on participants at HUNT 2 with no history of hip fractures (n = 3, 142). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to evaluate crude survival, and Cox regression analyses were used to study age-adjusted hazard ratios for mortality and for multivariable analyses involving relevant covariates. RESULTS: Mean length of follow-up after fracture was 2.8 years. Within the first 3 months of follow-up, 78 (10.0%) of the hip fracture patients died, compared to only 39 (1.7%) in the control group. HR for mortality 3 months after hip fracture was 6.5 (95% CI 4.2-9.6). For the entire follow-up period women who sustained a hip fracture had an HR for mortality of 1.9 (95% CI 1.6-2.3), compared with women without a hip fracture. CONCLUSIONS: We found that elderly women who sustained a hip fracture had increased mortality risk. The excess mortality was highest short time after the fracture, but persisted for several years after the fracture, and was not explained by pre-fracture medical conditions.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: People with a lower socioeconomic position have a higher the prevalence of most self-rated health problems. In this article we ask whether this may be attributed to self-rated health not reflecting actual health, understood as mortality, in different socioeconomic groups. MATERIAL AND METHOD: For the study we used data from the Nord-Trondelag Health Study 1984-86 (HUNT1), in which the county's entire adult population aged 20 years and above were invited to participate. The association between self-rated health and mortality in different occupational classes and income groups was analysed. The analysis corrected for age, chronic disease, functional impairment and lifestyle factors. RESULTS: The association between self-rated health and mortality was of the same order of magnitude for the occupational classes and income groups, but persons without work/income and with poor self-rated health stood out. Compared with persons in the highest socioeconomic class, unemployed men had a hazard ratio for death that was three times higher in the follow-up period. For women with no income, the ratio was twice as high. INTERPRETATION Self-rated health and mortality largely conform to the different socioeconomic strata. This supports the perception that socioeconomic differences in health are a reality and represent a significant challenge nationally. Our results also increase the credibility of findings from other studies that use self-reported health in surveys to measure differences and identify the mechanisms that create them.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) is a novel activity metric that translates heart rate variations during exercise into a weekly score. Weekly PAI scores assessed at a single point in time were found to associate with lower risk of premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in the general healthy population. However, to date, the associations between long-term longitudinal changes in weekly PAI scores and mortality have not been explored. PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to prospectively examine the association between change in weekly PAI scores estimated 10years apart, and risk of mortality from CVD and all-causes. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study of 11,870 men and 13,010 women without known CVD in Norway. By using data from the Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT), PAI was estimated twice, ten years apart (HUNT1 1984-86 and HUNT2 1995-97). Mortality was followed-up until December 31, 2015. Adjusted hazard ratios (AHR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for death from CVD and all-causes related to temporal changes in PAI were estimated using Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: During a mean (SD) of 18 (4) years of follow-up, there were 4782 deaths, including 1560 deaths caused by CVD. Multi-adjusted analyses demonstrated that participants achieving a score of >/=100 PAI at both time points had 32% lower risk of CVD mortality (AHR 0.68; CI: 0.54-0.86) for CVD mortality and 20% lower risk of all-cause mortality (AHR 0.80; CI: 71-0.91) compared with participants obtaining <100 weekly PAI at both measurements. For participants having <100 PAI in HUNT1 but >/=100 PAI in HUNT2, the AHRs were 0.87 (CI: 0.74-1.03) for CVD mortality, and 0.86 (CI: 0.79-0.95) for all-cause mortality. We also found an inverse linear relationship between change in PAI and risk of CVD mortality among participants with 0 PAI (P<0.01), and </=50 PAI (P=0.04) in HUNT1, indicating that an increase in PAI over time is associated with lower risk of mortality. Excluding the first three years of follow-up did not substantially alter the findings. Increasing PAI score from <100 PAI in HUNT1 to >/=100 PAI in HUNT2 was associated with 6.6years gained lifespan. CONCLUSION: Among men and women without known CVD, an increase in PAI score and sustained high PAI score over a 10-year period was associated with lower risk of mortality.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The impact of body mass index (BMI; kg/m(2)) and waist circumference (WC) on mortality in elderly individuals is controversial and previous research has largely focused on obesity. METHODS: With special attention to the lower BMI categories, associations between BMI and both total and cause-specific mortality were explored in 7604 men and 9107 women aged >/= 65 years who participated in the Tromso Study (1994-1995) or the North-Trondelag Health Study (1995-1997). A Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for age, marital status, education and smoking was used to estimate HRs for mortality in different BMI categories using the BMI range of 25-27.5 as a reference. The impact of each 2.5 kg/m(2) difference in BMI on mortality in individuals with BMI < 25.0 and BMI >/= 25.0 was also explored. Furthermore, the relations between WC and mortality were assessed. RESULTS: We identified 7474 deaths during a mean follow-up of 9.3 years. The lowest mortality was found in the BMI range 25-29.9 and 25-32.4 in men and women, respectively. Mortality was increased in all BMI categories below 25 and was moderately increased in obese individuals. U-shaped relationships were also found between WC and total mortality. About 40% of the excess mortality in the lower BMI range in men was explained by mortality from respiratory diseases. CONCLUSIONS: BMI below 25 in elderly men and women was associated with increased mortality. A modest increase in mortality was found with increasing BMI among obese men and women. Overweight individuals (BMI 25-29.9) had the lowest mortality.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To assess fatal coronary artery disease (CAD) by gender and glucose regulation status. DESIGN: 47,951 people were followed up according to fatal CAD identified in the National Cause of Death Registry. Gender-effects of fatal CAD in people with impaired glucose regulation (IGR), newly diagnosed diabetes (NDM) or known diabetes (KDM) compared with people with normal glucose regulation (NGR) were calculated using Cox regression. RESULTS: Using NGR as reference, the hazard ratios (HR, 95% confidence intervals) associated with IGR was 1.2 (0.8-1.9) for women and 1.2 (0.9-1.6) for men. The corresponding HRs were 1.6 (1.2-2.2) and 1.4 (1.1.-1.9) for NDM, and 2.5 (2.1-2.8) and 1.8 (1.6-2.1) for KDM. The gender-difference in mortality varied by category (P(interaction) = 0.003). Using women as the reference, the HRs for men were 2.1 (2.0-2.3) for NGR, 1.8 (1.0-3.3) for IGR, 1.6 (1.0-2.5) for NDM, and 1.2 (1.0-1.5) for KDM. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes mellitus, but not IGR, was associated with fatal CAD in both genders. The known gender-difference in CAD mortality was attenuated in people with abnormal glucose regulation, evident already in people with IGR.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine if leisure-time physical activity could cancel out the adverse effect of diabetes on cardiovascular mortality. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study prospectively examined the combined effect of clinical diabetes and reported leisure-time physical activity on cardiovascular mortality. Data on 53,587 Norwegian men and women participating in the population-based Nord-Trondelag Health (HUNT) Study (1995-1997) were linked with the Cause of Death Registry at Statistics Norway. RESULTS: Overall, 1,716 people died of cardiovascular disease during follow-up through 2008. Compared with the reference group of 3,077 physically inactive people without diabetes, 121 inactive people with diabetes had an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 2.81 (95% CI 1.93-4.07). The HR (95% CI) among people who reported >/=3 h of light activity per week was 0.89 (0.48-1.63) if they had diabetes (n = 403) and 0.78 (0.63-0.96) if they did not (n = 17,714). Analyses stratified by total activity level showed a gradually weaker association of diabetes with mortality with increasing activity level (P(interaction) = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that even modest physical activity may cancel out the adverse impact of diabetes on cardiovascular mortality.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) are recommended to be physically active and to maintain a healthy weight. There is a lack of data on how long-term changes in body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) relate to mortality in this population. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the associations among changes in BMI, PA, and mortality in individuals with CHD. METHODS: The authors studied 3,307 individuals (1,038 women) with CHD from the HUNT (Nord-Trondelag Health Study) with examinations in 1985, 1996, and 2007, followed until the end of 2014. They calculated the hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality according to changes in BMI and PA, and estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for age, smoking, blood pressure, diabetes, alcohol, and self-reported health. RESULTS: There were 1,493 deaths during 30 years of follow-up (55% from CVD, median 15.7 years). Weight loss, classified as change in BMI <-0.10 kg/m(2)/year, associated with increased all-cause mortality (adjusted HR: 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12 to 1.50). Weight gain, classified as change in BMI >/=0.10 kg/m(2)/year, was not associated with increased mortality (adjusted HR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.87 to 1.09). Weight loss only associated with increased risk in those who were normal weight at baseline (adjusted HR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.72). There was a lower risk for all-cause mortality in participants who maintained low PA (adjusted HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.67 to 0.97) or high PA (adjusted HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.50 to 0.83), compared with participants who were inactive over time. CVD mortality associations were similar as for all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The study observed no mortality risk reductions associated with weight loss in individuals with CHD, and reduced mortality risk associated with weight gain in individuals who were normal weight at baseline. Sustained PA, however, was associated with substantial risk reduction.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: This study sought to investigate whether obesity in the absence of metabolic abnormalities might be a relatively benign condition in relation to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF). BACKGROUND: The results of previous studies are conflicting for AMI and largely unknown for HF, and the role of the duration of obesity has not been investigated. METHODS: In a population-based prospective cohort study, a total of 61,299 men and women free of cardiovascular disease were classified according to body mass index (BMI) and metabolic status at baseline. BMI also was measured 10 and 30 years before baseline for 27,196 participants. RESULTS: During 12 years of follow-up, 2,547 participants had a first AMI, and 1,201 participants had a first HF. Compared with being normal weight (BMI <25 kg/m(2)) and metabolically healthy, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for AMI was 1.1 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.9 to 1.4) among obese (BMI >/=30 kg/m(2)) and metabolically healthy participants and 2.0 (95% CI: 1.7 to 2.3) among obese and metabolically unhealthy participants. We found similar results for severe (BMI >/=35 kg/m(2)), long-lasting (>30 years), and abdominal obesity stratified for metabolic status. For HF, the HRs associated with obesity were 1.7 (95% CI: 1.3 to 2.3) and 1.7 (95% CI: 1.4 to 2.2) for metabolically healthy and unhealthy participants, respectively. Severe and long-lasting obesity were particularly harmful in relation to HF, regardless of metabolic status. CONCLUSIONS: In relation to AMI, obesity without metabolic abnormalities did not confer substantial excess risk, not even for severe or long-lasting obesity. For HF, even metabolically healthy obesity was associated with increased risk, particularly for long-lasting or severe obesity.

Abstract: PURPOSE: To derive and validate a single metric of activity tracking that associates with lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. METHODS: We derived an algorithm, Personalized Activity Intelligence (PAI), using the HUNT Fitness Study (n = 4631), and validated it in the general HUNT population (n = 39,298) aged 20-74 years. The PAI was divided into three sex-specific groups (</=50, 51-99, and >/=100), and the inactive group (0 PAI) was used as the referent. Hazard ratios for all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality were estimated using Cox proportional hazard regressions. RESULTS: After >1 million person-years of observations during a mean follow-up time of 26.2 (SD 5.9) years, there were 10,062 deaths, including 3867 deaths (2207 men and 1660 women) from cardiovascular disease. Men and women with a PAI level >/=100 had 17% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7%-27%) and 23% (95% CI, 4%-38%) reduced risk of cardiovascular disease mortality, respectively, compared with the inactive groups. Obtaining >/=100 PAI was associated with significantly lower risk for cardiovascular disease mortality in all prespecified age groups, and in participants with known cardiovascular disease risk factors (all P-trends <.01). Participants who did not obtain >/=100 PAI had increased risk of dying regardless of meeting the physical activity recommendations. CONCLUSION: PAI may have a huge potential to motivate people to become and stay physically active, as it is an easily understandable and scientifically proven metric that could inform potential users of how much physical activity is needed to reduce the risk of premature cardiovascular disease death.