Spiritual well-being and quality of life among Icelanders receiving palliative care: data from Icelandic pilot-testing of a provisional measure of spiritual well-being from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

Palliative care focuses on improving quality of life (QoL). This study examined the feasibility of the Icelandic version of a provisional European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) measure of spiritual well-being (SWB), and explored the relationship between SWB and QoL for palliative care patients in Iceland. Instruments from the EORTC were used: the provisional measure of SWB, which was undergoing pilot-testing in Iceland, and the EORTC QLQ C15-PAL.

Psychometric Properties of the Icelandic Version of the Revised Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale.

Context: The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) is a symptom assessment tool commonly used in both research and clinical practice. A revised version of the tool (ESAS-r) was published in 2011.

Objectives: To evaluate the psychometric properties and feasibility of the Icelandic version of ESAS-r.

Association between healthy maternal dietary pattern and risk for gestational diabetes mellitus.

Background/objectives: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with negative health effects for mother and child. The aim was to investigate the association between maternal dietary patterns and GDM.

Subjects/methods: Prospective observational study including 168 pregnant women aged 18-40 years, recruited at routine 20-week ultrasound.

Cod liver oil consumption at different periods of life and bone mineral density in old age.

Cod liver oil is a traditional source of vitamin D in Iceland, and regular intake is recommended partly for the sake of bone health. However, the association between lifelong consumption of cod liver oil and bone mineral density (BMD) in old age is unclear. The present study attempted to assess the associations between intake of cod liver oil in adolescence, midlife, and old age, and hip BMD in old age, as well as associations between cod liver oil intake in old age and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration.

Energy- and protein intake of surgical patients after the implementation of energy dense hospital menus.

Background And Aims: Malnutrition is common among hospitalized patients and is associated with negative health consequences. Oral nutrition supplements (ONS) have been used to improve nutritional status of malnourished patients. Considering the costs and the sometimes poor acceptance of ONS, the present study investigated the effects of changing hospital food composition on patients' energy- and protein intake.

[Eating Disorder Treatment in Iceland - Treatment adherence, psychiatric co-morbidities and factors influencing drop-out].

Objective: Treatment adherence in patients with eating disorders (ED) in Iceland is unknown. The aim of the study was to investigate treatment drop-out and explore factors that influence premature termination of treatment in a specialized ED treatment unit, at the University Hospital of Iceland, during the period of September 1, 2008 - May 1, 2012.

Material And Methods: The study is retrospective and naturalistic.

Symptoms and functional status of palliative care patients in Iceland.

Background: Palliative care patients experience many debilitating symptoms and functional loss, but few longitudinal studies on the subject are available.

Aims: To assess the symptoms and functional status of patients admitted to specialised palliative care, to investigate whether changes occur over the admission period, and to establish whether symptoms and physical and cognitive function differ, based on the service setting. In addition, to participate in the development of the interRAI Palliative Care instrument (interRAI PC).

Associations between parents' subjective time pressure and mental health problems among children in the Nordic countries: a population based study.

Background: The home, the family and the parents represent a context of everyday life that is important for child health and development, with parent-child relationships highlighted as crucial for children's mental health. Time pressure is an emerging feature of modern societies and previous studies indicates that parents with children living at home experience time pressure to a greater extent than people with no children living at home. Previous studies of children's mental health in relation to parents' time pressure are lacking.

The Y-chromosome point mutation rate in humans.

Mutations are the fundamental source of biological variation, and their rate is a crucial parameter for evolutionary and medical studies. Here we used whole-genome sequence data from 753 Icelandic males, grouped into 274 patrilines, to estimate the point mutation rate for 21.3 Mb of male-specific Y chromosome (MSY) sequence, on the basis of 1,365 meioses (47,123 years).

[Urban-rural differences in diet, BMI and education of men and women in Iceland].

Introduction: Previous Icelandic studies have reported higher prevalence of obesity among women residing outside the capital area but no comparable information is available for men. The aim of this study was to assess diet and body mass index (BMI) of adult men and women residing within and outside the capital area.

Material And Methods: Participants were 1312 men and women,18-80 years, from a random sample of the national registry, response rate 68.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in children: a population-based study from iceland, 1999-2010.

Aim: The aim of this study was to review the indications and the results of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) procedures in Icelandic children.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective review of all pediatric PEG procedures performed in Iceland in 1999-2010 was conducted. Diagnosis, demographics, complications, and body mass index were recorded.

Acoustic behavior of porous ceiling absorbers based on local and extended reaction.

The acoustic behavior of ceiling absorbers can be predicted under different surface reaction assumptions: Local and extended reaction. This study aims to experimentally validate acoustic transfer functions near a ceiling absorber in an anechoic chamber based on the two surface reaction models. First, a ceiling absorber with two mounting conditions is modeled by equivalent fluid models, such as Delany-Bazley's, Miki's, and Komatsu's model, in various ways: (1) Local vs extended reaction and (2) plane-wave vs spherical-wave incidence.

Healthy Nordic diet downregulates the expression of genes involved in inflammation in subcutaneous adipose tissue in individuals with features of the metabolic syndrome.

Background: Previously, a healthy Nordic diet (ND) has been shown to have beneficial health effects close to those of Mediterranean diets.

Objective: The objective was to explore whether the ND has an impact on gene expression in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and whether changes in gene expression are associated with clinical and biochemical effects.

Design: Obese adults with features of the metabolic syndrome underwent an 18- to 24-wk randomized intervention study comparing the ND with the control diet (CD) (the SYSDIET study, carried out within Nordic Centre of Excellence of the Systems Biology in Controlled Dietary Interventions and Cohort Studies).

[National nutrition surveys and dietary changes in Iceland. Economic differences in healthy eating].

Introduction: Here we compare results on food and nutrient intake from the two most recent Icelandic national nutrition surveys from 2010/11 and 2002 and compare intake of energy giving nutrients from 1990. Finally we assess associations beween a healthy diet and difficulties people have in making ends meet.

Materials And Methods: Participants were selected by a random sample from the national register.

"Spinning one's wheels": Nonimproved patients view their psychotherapy.

Objective: To explore psychotherapy experiences among nonimproved young adults in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

Method: A two-stage, mixed-method design was used. Twenty patients in the clinical range at pretreatment were identified as either with reliable deterioration or with no reliable change at termination.

A population-based cohort study on adherence to practice guidelines for adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

Background: The value of adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer is well studied, and guidelines have been established. Little is known about how treatment guidelines are implemented in the everyday clinical setting.

Methods: This national population-based study on nearly 34,000 patients with colorectal cancer evaluates the adherence to present clinical guidelines for adjuvant chemotherapy.

Survival of patients with alcohol use disorders discharged from an emergency department: a population-based cohort study.

Objectives: The aim was to study the cause-specific mortality of users of the emergency department (ED) who received a diagnosis of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in comparison with mortality of other users of the department.

Design: A population-based prospective cohort study.

Participants: All patients aged 18 years and above who were subsequently discharged home from the ED during the years 2002-2008.

Major neonatal surgery under local anesthesia: a cohort study from Bangladesh.

Background: Surgeons and anesthetists must respond to the perioperative mortality associated with general anesthesia in developing countries. The safety of performing major neonatal surgery under local anesthesia is one pragmatic response. This study describes and evaluates such practice in a tertiary pediatric surgery center in Bangladesh.

Quality pain management practices in a university hospital.

Despite available guidelines and efforts to improve pain management, pain remains prevalent in hospitals. The aim of this study was to explore whether pain management practices in a university hospital were in line with guidelines on acute, geriatric, and cancer pain. This was a descriptive, correlational, and point-prevalence study conducted at a university hospital with 282 adults, who were hospitalized for 24 hours and were alert and able to participate.

Developing a national framework for safe drinking water--case study from Iceland.

Safe drinking water is one of the fundaments of society and experience has shown that a holistic national framework is needed for its effective provision. A national framework should include legal requirements on water protection, surveillance on drinking water quality and performance of the water supply system, and systematic preventive management. Iceland has implemented these requirements into legislation.

Whole grain rye intake, reflected by a biomarker, is associated with favorable blood lipid outcomes in subjects with the metabolic syndrome--a randomized study.

Background And Aim: Few studies have explored the possible plasma cholesterol lowering effects of rye consumption. The aim of this secondary analysis in the SYSDIET study was to investigate the association between plasma alkylresorcinols (AR), a biomarker for whole grain wheat and rye intake, and blood lipid concentrations in a population with metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, we analyzed the associations between the AR C17:0/C21:0 ratio, a suggested marker of the relative intake of whole grain/bran rye, and blood lipid concentrations.

In the shadow of death: existential and spiritual concerns among persons receiving palliative care.

This study explores existential and spiritual concerns from the perspective of people receiving palliative care. It examines the meaning of these concerns, their influence on people's lives and investigates the connections between them. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with ten persons.

Birth size and brain function 75 years later.

Background: There are several lines of evidence pointing to fetal and other early origins of diseases of the aging brain, but there are no data directly addressing the hypotheses in an older population. We investigated the association of fetal size to late-age measures of brain structure and function in a large cohort of older men and women and explored the modifying effect of education on these associations.

Methods: Within the AGES (Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility)-Reykjavik population-based cohort (born between 1907 and 1935), archived birth records were abstracted for 1254 men and women who ∼75 years later underwent an examination that included brain MRI and extensive cognitive assessment.