|
|
Breidablik HJ, M. E., Lydersen S. (2008). Self-rated health during adolescence: stability and predictors of change (Young-HUNT study, Norway). The European Journal of Public Health 2008, 1-6.
|
|
|
|
Helvik, A. - S., Krokstad, S., & Tambs, K. (2013). Hearing loss and risk of early retirement. The HUNT study. Eur J Public Health, 23(4), 617–622.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: We explore the possible consequences of measured hearing impairment (HI) and perceived hearing difficulties for early retirement in a large population-based study. Furthermore, we study whether having a part-time position was associated with measured HI and perceived hearing difficulties in the same population. METHODS: This study included 25,740 persons from the Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT) aged 20-54 years at baseline in HUNT1 (1984-1986) who also participated in the follow up, HUNT2, including a hearing examination 11 years later. Logistic regression analysis was conducted for men and women separately and in two age strata. Effects of low-, middle- and high-frequency hearing levels were explored, adjusting for each other. Further adjustment was made for socio-economic class and general health in HUNT1. RESULTS: The risk of early retirement increased with degree of loss of low-frequency hearing in young and middle-aged men and middle-aged women. The middle-aged men and women experiencing hearing disability had an increased risk of early retirement. Degree of hearing level was not associated with part-time work, but in middle-aged men, awareness of having a hearing loss was associated with part-time employment. CONCLUSIONS: Degree of low-frequency hearing loss was associated with early retirement but not with part-time work. Perceived hearing disability increased the risk of early retirement in middle-aged men and women and also the risk of part-time work in middle-aged men.
|
|
|
|
Mork, P. J., Vik, K. L., Moe, B., Lier, R., Bardal, E. M., & Nilsen, T. I. L. (2013). Sleep problems, exercise and obesity and risk of chronic musculoskeletal pain: The Norwegian HUNT study. Eur J Public Health, .
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The objective was to investigate the association between self-reported sleep problems and risk of chronic pain in the low back and neck/shoulders, and whether physical exercise and body mass index (BMI) alter this association. METHODS: The study comprised data on 26 896 women and men in the Nord-Trondelag Health Study (Norway) without chronic pain or physical impairment at baseline in 1984-86. Occurrence of chronic pain was assessed at follow-up in 1995-97. A generalized linear model was used to calculate adjusted risk ratios. RESULTS: Sleep problems were dose-dependently associated with risk of pain in the low back and neck/shoulders in both women and men (P < 0.001 both genders). Women and men who reported sleep problems 'sometimes' and 'often/always' had a higher risk of chronic pain of 23-32% and 51-66%, respectively, than those who reported sleep problems 'never'. Combined analyses showed that persons with sleep problems 'sometimes' and who exercised >/=1 hour per week had lower risk of chronic pain in the low back (P < 0.04) and neck/shoulders (P < 0.001) than inactive persons with a similar level of sleep problems (P < 0.04). Likewise, persons with BMI <25 kg/cm2 and sleep problems 'sometimes' had lower risk of chronic pain in the low back (P < 0.001) and neck/shoulders (P < 0.001) than persons with BMI >/=25 kg/cm2 and a similar level of sleep problems. CONCLUSION: Sleep problems are associated with an increased risk of chronic pain in the low back and neck/shoulders. Regular exercise and maintenance of normal body weight may reduce the adverse effect of mild sleep problems on risk of chronic pain.
|
|
|
|
Vie, G. A., Pape, K., Krokstad, S., Johnsen, R., & Bjorngaard, J. H. (2017). Temporal changes in health within 5 years before and after disability pension-the HUNT Study. Eur J Public Health, 27(4), 653–659.
Abstract: Background: Health status has been reported to change before, during and after disability pension receipt. These associations might be subject to temporal changes according to changes in policy, incidence of disability pensions and other contextual factors. We compared the perceived health around time of disability retirement among persons receiving disability pension in the 1990 s and 2000 s in Norway. Methods: We linked data from two consecutive cross-sectional population based Norwegian health surveys, HUNT2 (1995-97) and HUNT3 (2006-08), to national registries, identifying those who received disability pension within 5 years before or after participation in the survey (HUNT2: n = 5362, HUNT3: n = 4649). We used logistic regression to assess associations of time from receiving a disability pension with self-rated health, insomnia, depression and anxiety symptoms and subsequently estimated adjusted prevalence over time. Results: Prevalence of poor self-rated health peaked around time of receiving disability pension in both decades. For those aged 50+, prevalence the year before disability pension was slightly lower in 2006-08 (74%, 95% CI 70-79%) than in 1995-97 (83%, 95% CI 79-87%), whereas peak prevalence was similar between surveys for those younger than 50. Depression symptoms peaked more pronouncedly in 1995-97 than in 2006-08, whereas prevalence of anxiety symptoms was similar at time of receiving disability pension between surveys. Conclusions: We found no strong evidence of differences in health selection to disability pension in the 2000 s compared to the 1990 s. However, we found indication of less depression symptoms around time of disability pension in the 2000 s compared to the 1990 s.
|
|
|
|
Vikum, E., Bjorngaard, J. H., Westin, S., & Krokstad, S. (2013). Socio-economic inequalities in Norwegian health care utilization over 3 decades: the HUNT Study. Eur J Public Health, 23(6), 1003–1010.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate socio-economic inequalities in health care utilization from the 1980s and through the last 3 decades in a Norwegian county population. METHODS: Altogether, 166 758 observations of 97 251 individuals during surveys in 1984-86 (83% eligible responses), 1995-97 (51% eligible responses) and 2006-08 (50% eligible responses) of the total population of adults (>/= 20 years) from Nord-Trondelag county in Norway were included. Health care utilization was measured as at least one visit to general practitioner (GP), hospital outpatient services and inpatient care in the past year. Socio-economy was measured by both education and income and rescaled to measure relative indexes of inequality (RII). Relative and absolute inequalities were estimated from multilevel logistic regression. Estimates were adjusted for age, sex, municipality size and self-reported health. Results: GP utilization was higher among individuals with higher education in 1984-86. Among men the RII was 0.54 (CI: 0.48-0.62), and among women RII was 0.67 (CI: 0.58-0.77). In 2006-08, the corresponding RII was 1.31 (CI: 1.13-1.52) for men and 1.00 (CI: 0.85-1.18) for women, indicating higher or equal GP utilization among those with lower education, respectively. The corresponding RIIs for outpatient consultations were 0.58 (CI: 0.49-0.68) for men and 0.40 (CI: 0.34-0.46) for women in 1984-86, and 0.53 (CI: 0.46-0.62) for men and 0.47 (CI: 0.41-0.53) for women in 2006-08. Conclusion: Through the last 3 decades, the previous socio-economic differences in GP utilization have diminished. Despite this, highly educated people were more prone to utilize hospital outpatient consultations throughout the period 1984-2008.
|
|
