Reference Ranges and Determinants of Thyroid Function and TSH Receptor Antibodies During Early Pregnancy in Nepal.

Objective: Different definitions of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy may lead to under or overtreatment. The aims of this study were to (1) define population-based pregnancy-specific reference ranges for thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy in Nepal and assess the impact of antibody positivity, (2) quantify the diagnostic impact of population-based reference ranges compared with current practice and (3) assess the determinants of thyroid function and antibody positivity.

Methods: A total of 800 healthy pregnant women aged 20-40 years in the Bhaktapur municipality were included.

Breastfeeding and biomarkers of folate and cobalamin status in Norwegian infants: a cross-sectional study.

Folate and vitamin B (cobalamin) are essential for growth and development. This cross-sectional study aims to describe folate and vitamin B status according to infant age and breastfeeding practices in Norwegian infants. Infants aged 0-12 months ( = 125) were recruited through public health clinics.

Trend analyses of persistent organic pollutants in human milk from first-time mothers in Norway between 2002 and 2021.

Introduction: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are stable compounds characterized by their resistance to degradation. From the 1960-70's organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), such as DDTs and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) raised concerns regarding health and environmental impacts. This has led to the banning of POPs in the USA and Europe including Norway in 1980 and worldwide under the 2004 Stockholm Convention.

Iodine Nutrition in Children ≤2 years of Age in Norway.

Background: As a component of the thyroid hormones (THs), iodine is vital for normal neurodevelopment during early life. However, both deficient and excess iodine may affect TH production, and data on iodine status in young children are scarce.

Objectives: To describe iodine nutrition (iodine status and intake) in children ≤2 y of age in Innlandet County (Norway) and to describe the associations with maternal iodine nutrition.

Births in freestanding midwifery-led units in Norway: What women view as important aspects of care.

Objective: To describe what women view as important aspects of care when giving birth in freestanding midwifery-led units in Norway.

Methods: Data from four open-ended questions in the Babies Born Better survey, Version 1, 2 and 3 was used. We performed inductive content analysis to explore and describe women's experiences with the care they received.

Inadequate Iodine Intake in Mothers of Young Children in Innlandet County, Norway.

Background: Iodine has an essential role in child growth and brain development. Thus, sufficient iodine intake is particularly important in women of childbearing age and lactating women.

Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to describe iodine intake in a large random sample of mothers of young children (aged ≤2 y) living in Innlandet County, Norway.

Vitamin B status in infancy and the effect of a vitamin B injection in infants with subclinical vitamin B deficiency: study protocol for a register-based randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Vitamin B (cobalamin) is crucial for optimal child development and growth, yet deficiency is common worldwide. The aim of this study is twofold; (1) to describe vitamin B status and the status of other micronutrients in Norwegian infants, and (2) in a randomised controlled trial (RCT), investigate the effect of vitamin B supplementation on neurodevelopment in infants with subclinical vitamin B deficiency.

Methods And Analysis: Infant blood samples, collected at public healthcare clinics, are analysed for plasma cobalamin levels.

Modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for obstetric anal sphincter injury in a Norwegian Region: a case-control study.

Background: Obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI) is a common and severe complication of vaginal delivery and may have short- and long-term consequences, including anal incontinence, sexual dysfunction and reduced quality of life. The rate of OASI varies substantially between studies and national birth statistics, and a recent meta-analysis concluded that there is a need to identify unrecognized risk factors. Our aim was therefore to explore both potential modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for OASI.

Antenatal thyroid hormone therapy and antithyroid drug use in Norway from 2004 to 2018.

Objective: Thyroid disease during pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and suboptimal fetal development. During the last decades, guidelines for diagnosing thyroid disease during pregnancy have changed considerably and there has been increased awareness. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of thyroid disease treatment over time among pregnant women in Norway.

Adequate Urinary Iodine Concentration among Infants in the Inland Area of Norway.

Considering the importance of iodine to support optimal growth and neurological development of the brain and central nervous system, this study aimed to assess and evaluate iodine status in Norwegian infants. We collected data on dietary intake of iodine, iodine knowledge in mothers, and assessed iodine concentration in mother's breast milk and in infant's urine in a cross-sectional study at two public healthcare clinics in the inland area of Norway. In the 130 mother-infant pairs, the estimated infant 24-h median iodine intake was 50 (IQR 31, 78) µg/day.

Health-Related Behaviors in Adolescents Mediate the Association between Subjective Social Status and Body Mass Index.

The aim of this study was to explore the association between adolescent subjective social status (SSS) and body mass index (BMI) at two different time points and to determine whether this association was mediated by health-related behaviors. In 2002 (n = 1596) and 2017 (n = 1534), tenth-grade students (15-16 years old) in schools in the District of Oppland, Norway, completed a survey. Four categories of perceived family economy were measured as SSS, and structural equation modeling was performed, including a latent variable for unhealthy behavior derived from cigarette smoking, snuff-use, and alcohol-drinking as well as dietary and exercise as mediators.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Relationship Between Mental Health Problems and Overweight and Obesity in Adolescents.

There is a suggested coexistence between obesity and mental health discomfort in adolescence. The objective of this study was to explore if mental health indices covaried with body mass index (BMI) in adolescence and if there were gender-related disparities. Data were collected in two cross-sectional surveys of 10th-grade students (15 to 16 years old) carried out in 2002 and 2017.

Mild to Moderate Iodine Deficiency and Inadequate Iodine Intake in Lactating Women in the Inland Area of Norway.

Breastfed infants are dependent on an adequate supply of iodine in human milk for the production of thyroid hormones, necessary for development of the brain. Despite the importance of iodine for infant health, data on Norwegian lactating women are scarce. We measured iodine intake and evaluated iodine status and iodine knowledge among lactating women.

The Reliability of Iodine Concentration in Diaper-Retrieved Infant Urine Using Urine Collection Pads, and in Their Mothers' Breastmilk.

Mild to moderate iodine deficiency is common among women of childbearing age. Data on iodine status in infants are sparse, partly due to the challenges in collecting urine. Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) is considered a good marker for recent dietary iodine intake and status in populations.

Emergency cesarean section among women in Robson groups one and three: A comparison study of immigrant and Norwegian women giving birth in a low-risk maternity hospital in Norway.

Researchers have shown that some immigrant groups have an increased risk of emergency cesarean section. The authors' aim was to examine the differences in emergency cesarean section rates among immigrant women in Norway with low obstetric risks by using the Robson classification system. We performed secondary analysis on a Norwegian cohort study, where 10,125 women were classified in Robson groups one and three.

Obstetric Outcomes of First- and Second-Generation Pakistani Immigrants: A Comparison Study at a Low-Risk Maternity Ward in Norway.

This population-based study compares obstetric outcomes of first- and second-generation Pakistani immigrants and ethnic Norwegians who gave birth at the low-risk maternity ward in Baerum Hospital in Norway from 2006 to 2013. We hypothesized that second-generation Pakistani immigrants are more similar to the ethnic Norwegians because of increased acculturation. Outcome measures were labor onset, epidural analgesia, labor dystocia, episiotomy, vaginal/operative delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, preterm birth, birth weight, transfer to a neonatal intensive care unit, and neonatal jaundice.

Immigrants from conflict-zone countries: an observational comparison study of obstetric outcomes in a low-risk maternity ward in Norway.

Background: Immigrants have higher risks for some adverse obstetric outcomes. Furthermore, refugees are reported to be the most vulnerable group. This study compared obstetric outcomes between immigrant women originating from conflict-zone countries and ethnic Norwegians who gave birth in a low-risk setting.

Higher risk for adverse obstetric outcomes among immigrants of African and Asian descent: a comparison study at a low-risk maternity hospital in Norway.

Background: Immigrants have higher risks for some adverse obstetric outcomes, and 40 percent of women giving birth at the low-risk maternity ward in Baerum Hospital, Norway, are immigrants. This study compared obstetric outcomes between immigrants and ethnic Norwegians giving birth in a low-risk setting.

Methods: This was a population-based study linking the Medical Birth Registry of Norway to Statistics Norway.

GPs' prescription routines and cooperation with other healthcare personnel before and after implementation of multidose drug dispensing.

Background: This study addresses GPs' attitudes towards multidose drug dispensing before and after implementation and their perceived experience of how multidose drug dispensing affects prescription and communication routines for patients in the home care services. This study contributes to a method triangulation with two other studies on the introduction of multidose drug dispensing in Trondheim.

Methods: A controlled before-and-after study carried out in Trondheim (intervention) and Tromsø (control).

The risk of breast cancer linked to menopausal hormone therapy.

Background: The Norwegian "Women and cancer" study has shown that when combination hormone replacement products were used for more than five years the relative risk of breast cancer was almost tripled. The population attributable risk was 27 %. In a nested case-control study we have updated the risk estimates for hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women since 2002.

Understanding recent trends in incidence of invasive breast cancer in Norway: age-period-cohort analysis based on registry data on mammography screening and hormone treatment use.

Objective: To quantify the separate contributions of menopausal hormone treatment and mammography screening activities on trends in incidence of invasive breast cancer between 1987 and 2008.

Design: Population study using aggregated data analysed by an extended age-period-cohort model.

Setting: Norway.

Endogenous sex steroids and risk of cervical carcinoma: results from the EPIC study.

Background: Epidemiologic data and animal models suggest that, despite the predominant role of human papillomavirus infection, sex steroid hormones are also involved in the etiology of invasive cervical carcinoma (ICC).

Methods: Ninety-nine ICC cases, 121 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) cases and 2 control women matched with each case for center, age, menopausal status and blood collection-related variables, were identified in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Circulating levels of testosterone (T) and estradiol (E(2)); dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS); progesterone (premenopausal women); and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured using immunoassays.

Menopausal hormone therapy and risk of ovarian cancer in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition.

The association between menopausal hormone therapy (HT) and risk of ovarian cancer was assessed among 126,920 post-menopausal women recruited into the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. After an average of 9-year follow-up, 424 incident ovarian cancers were diagnosed. Cox models adjusted for body mass index, smoking status, unilateral ovariectomy, simple hysterectomy, age at menarche, number of full-term pregnancies, and duration of oral contraceptives were used.

Menstrual and reproductive factors, exogenous hormone use, and gastric cancer risk in a cohort of women from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition.

The worldwide incidence of gastric adenocarcinoma (GC) is lower in women than in men. Furthermore, cancer patients treated with estrogens have been reported to have a lower subsequent risk of GC. The authors conducted a prospective analysis of menstrual and reproductive factors, exogenous hormone use, and GC in 335,216 women from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition, a cohort study of individuals aged 35-70 years from 10 European countries.