Does subsidized orthodontic treatment reduce inequalities in access? Evidence from Norway based on population register data.

Objective: An important part of Norwegian welfare policy is to provide subsidized orthodontic treatment for children and adolescents. The objective of this policy is that dental services should be allocated according to children's need for treatment, and not according to parents' ability to pay. The probability of receiving orthodontic treatment independent of parent's household income was examined.

Production losses from morbidity and mortality by disease, age and sex in Norway.

Aim: The inclusion of production losses in health care priority setting is extensively debated. However, few studies allow for a comparison of these losses across relevant clinical and demographic categories. Our objective was to provide comprehensive estimates of Norwegian production losses from morbidity and mortality by age, sex and disease category.

Disease-specific health spending by age, sex, and type of care in Norway: a national health registry study.

Background: Norway is a high-income nation with universal tax-financed health care and among the highest per person health spending in the world. This study estimates Norwegian health expenditures by health condition, age, and sex, and compares it with disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs).

Methods: Government budgets, reimbursement databases, patient registries, and prescription databases were combined to estimate spending for 144 health conditions, 38 age and sex groups, and eight types of care (GPs; physiotherapists & chiropractors; specialized outpatient; day patient; inpatient; prescription drugs; home-based care; and nursing homes) totaling 174,157,766 encounters.

Inequality in quality-adjusted life expectancy by educational attainment in Norway: an observational study.

Background: Health inequalities are often assessed in terms of life expectancy or health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Few studies combine both aspects into quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) to derive comprehensive estimates of lifetime health inequality. Furthermore, little is known about the sensitivity of estimated inequalities in QALE to different sources of HRQoL information.

Third dose mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 reduces medical complaints seen in primary care: a matched cohort study.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination has been associated with both side effects and a reduction in COVID-related complaints due to the decrease in COVID-19 incidence. We aimed to investigate if individuals who received three doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines had a lower incidence of (a) medical complaints and (b) COVID-19-related medical complaints, both as seen in primary care, when compared to individuals who received two doses.

Methods: We conducted a daily longitudinal exact one-to-one matching study based on a set of covariates.

Post-covid medical complaints following infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron vs Delta variants.

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.

Impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy-related healthcare utilisation: a prospective nationwide registry study.

Objective: To assess the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy-related healthcare utilisation and differences across social groups.

Design: Nationwide longitudinal prospective registry-based study.

Setting: Norway.

General practitioner visits after SARS-CoV-2 omicron compared with the delta variant in children in Norway: a prospective nationwide registry study.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is followed by an immediate increase in primary care utilisation. The difference in utilisation following infection with the delta and omicron virus variants is unknown.

Objectives: To study whether general practitioner (GP) contacts were different in children infected with the omicron versus delta variant for up to 4 weeks after the week testing positive.

The educational burden of disease: a cohort study.

Background: Students with health disorders might be at risk of disengaging from education, which can reinforce socioeconomic inequalities in health. We aimed to evaluate the associations between 176 diseases and injuries and later school performance in Norwegian adolescents and to estimate the importance of each disorder using a novel measure for the educational burden of disease (EBoD).

Methods: We used diagnostic information from government-funded health services for all Norwegian inhabitants who were born between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2002, were registered as living in Norway at age 11-16 years, and were participating in compulsory education.

Association of COVID-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy With Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Infants.

Importance: Pregnant women are recommended to receive COVID-19 vaccination to reduce risk of severe COVID-19. Whether vaccination during pregnancy also provides passive protection to infants after birth remains unclear.

Objective: To determine whether COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy was associated with reduced risk of COVID-19 in infants up to age 4 months during COVID-19 pandemic periods dominated by Delta and Omicron variants.

Body mass index and healthcare costs: using genetic variants from the HUNT study as instrumental variables.

Background: Past studies have found associations between obesity and healthcare costs, however, these studies have suffered from bias due to omitted variables, reverse causality, and measurement error.

Methods: We used genetic variants related to body mass index (BMI) as instruments for BMI; thereby exploiting the natural randomization of genetic variants that occurs at conception. We used data on measured height and weight, genetic information, and sociodemographic factors from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Studies (HUNT), and individual-level registry data on healthcare costs, educational level, registration status, and biological relatives.

Inequality in access to dental services in a market-based dental care system: A population study from Norway 1975-2018.

Objective: To examine income-related inequalities in access to dental services from 1975 to 2018. In Norway, dental care services for adults are privately financed. This may lead to income-related inequalities in access.

The impact of primary care physician density on perinatal health: Evidence from a natural experiment.

We examined the impact of primary care physician density on perinatal health outcomes in Norway. From 1992 and onwards, primary care physicians who chose to work in selected remote municipalities were given an annual reduction in their student loan. This reduction, combined with increased supply of physicians, led to an increase in the density of primary care physicians in these selected municipalities.

Parental income gradients in adult health: a national cohort study.

Background: Disparities in health by adult income are well documented, but we know less about the childhood origins of health inequalities, and it remains unclear how the shape of the gradient varies across health conditions. This study examined the association between parental income in childhood and several measures of morbidity in adulthood.

Methods: We used administrative data on seven complete Norwegian birth cohorts born in 1967-1973 (N = 429,886) to estimate the association between parental income from birth to age 18, obtained from tax records available from 1967, linked with administrative registries on health.

Parental income and mental disorders in children and adolescents: prospective register-based study.

Background: Children with low-income parents have a higher risk of mental disorders, although it is unclear whether other parental characteristics or genetic confounding explain these associations and whether it is true for all mental disorders.

Methods: In this registry-based study of all children in Norway (n = 1 354 393) aged 5-17 years from 2008 to 2016, we examined whether parental income was associated with childhood diagnoses of mental disorders identified through national registries from primary healthcare, hospitalizations and specialist outpatient services.

Results: There were substantial differences in mental disorders by parental income, except for eating disorders in girls.

Alcohol-attributed disease burden in four Nordic countries between 2000 and 2017: Are the gender gaps narrowing? A comparison using the Global Burden of Disease, Injury and Risk Factor 2017 study.

Introduction And Aims: The gender difference in alcohol use seems to have narrowed in the Nordic countries, but it is not clear to what extent this may have affected differences in levels of harm. We compared gender differences in all-cause and cause-specific alcohol-attributed disease burden, as measured by disability-adjusted life-years (DALY), in four Nordic countries in 2000-2017, to find out if gender gaps in DALYs had narrowed.

Design And Methods: Alcohol-attributed disease burden by DALYs per 100 000 population with 95% uncertainty intervals were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease database.

Socioeconomic Gradients in Mortality Following HF Hospitalization in a Country With Universal Health Care Coverage.

Objectives: This study explored the association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and long-term mortality following first heart failure (HF) hospitalization.

Background: It is not clear to what extent education and income-individually or combined-influence mortality among patients with HF.

Methods: This study included 49,895 patients, age 35+ years, with a first HF hospitalization in Norway during 2000 to 2014 and followed them until death or December 31, 2014.

Body mass index and lifetime healthcare utilization.

Background: Overweight and obesity is a major global public health challenge, and understanding the implications for healthcare systems is essential for policy planning. Past studies have typically found positive associations between obesity and healthcare utilization, but these studies have not taken into consideration that obesity is also associated with early mortality. We examined associations between body mass index (BMI, reported as kg/m) and healthcare utilization with and without taking BMI-specific survival into consideration.

Association of Household Income With Life Expectancy and Cause-Specific Mortality in Norway, 2005-2015.

Importance: Examining causes of death and making comparisons across countries may increase understanding of the income-related differences in life expectancy.

Objectives: To describe income-related differences in life expectancy and causes of death in Norway and to compare those differences with US estimates.

Design And Setting: A registry-based study including all Norwegian residents aged at least 40 years from 2005 to 2015.

Body mass index and all cause mortality in HUNT and UK Biobank studies: linear and non-linear mendelian randomisation analyses.

Editor's Note: Please see the Editor's Note (doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.

Disease burden in Norway in 2016.

Bakgrunn: For å kunne møte helseutfordringer i befolkningen trenger vi oversikt over befolkningens helsetilstand. I Norge har vi tradisjonelt hatt god oversikt over dødsårsaker, men vi vet mindre om byrden fra tilstander som medfører sykelighet, såkalt ikke-dødelig helsetap. Vårt mål var å beskrive den totale sykdomsbyrden i Norge i 2016, utviklingen de siste ti årene samt kjønnsforskjeller i sykdomsbyrde.

The association between BMI and mortality using early adulthood BMI as an instrumental variable for midlife BMI.

The article aims to describe the association between midlife body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular disease (CVD)- and all-cause mortality, and to use early adulthood BMI as an instrumental variable for midlife BMI, in order to obtain an estimate less distorted by midlife confounders and reverse causality. Data from Norwegian health surveys (1974-2003) (midlife BMI, smoking, blood pressure, total cholesterol, heart rate), Military Conscription Records, National Tuberculosis Screenings (early adulthood BMI), National Educational Registry and Cause of Death Registry were linked. Participants with data on BMI in early adulthood and midlife were included (n = 148.

Do less populous countries receive more development assistance for health per capita? Longitudinal evidence for 143 countries, 1990-2014.

Background: Per capita allocation of overall development assistance has been shown to be biased towards countries with lower population size, meaning funders tend to provide proportionally less development assistance to countries with large populations. Individuals that happen to be part of large populations therefore tend to receive less assistance. However, no study has investigated whether this is also true regarding development assistance for health.