Initiation of Antipsychotics During the First Year After First-Episode Psychosis: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Antipsychotics are recommended after first-episode psychosis. Knowledge on the current use patterns in real-world settings is thus important to inform clinical practice. We aimed to describe antipsychotic initiation during 1 year after first-episode psychosis and its associated factors.

National surveys of patient experiences with addiction services in Norway: do employees use the results in quality initiatives and are results improving over time?

Introduction: The experiences of patients receiving health care constitute an important aspect of health-care quality assessments. One of the purposes of the national program of patient-experience surveys in Norway is to support institutional and departmental improvements to the quality of local health-care services. This program includes national surveys of patients receiving interdisciplinary treatment for substance dependence performed four times between 2013 and 2017.

The association between benzodiazepine co-prescription, opioid agonist treatment and mortality: a systematic review.

Background: Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is the preferred treatment for opioid dependence due to benefits such as treatment retention, reduced opioid use and mortality. Benzodiazepine co-dependence is common in OAT patients and has been linked to increased mortality. Prescribing benzodiazepines during OAT has been tried to reduce the harms of extra-medical benzodiazepine use.

Are white matter hyperintensities associated with neuroborreliosis? The answer is twofold.

Purpose: Many consider white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) to be important imaging findings in neuroborreliosis. However, evidence regarding association with WMHs is of low quality. The objective was to investigate WMHs in neuroborreliosis visually and quantitatively.

Cross-cutting studies of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in Arctic wildlife and humans.

This cross-cutting review focuses on the presence and impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Arctic. Several PFAS undergo long-range transport via atmospheric (volatile polyfluorinated compounds) and oceanic pathways (perfluorinated alkyl acids, PFAAs), causing widespread contamination of the Arctic. Beyond targeting a few well-known PFAS, applying sum parameters, suspect and non-targeted screening are promising approaches to elucidate predominant sources, transport, and pathways of PFAS in the Arctic environment, wildlife, and humans, and establish their time-trends.

Conducting two evidence syntheses in six weeks - experiences with and evaluation of a pilot project.

Background: Evidence synthesis organisations are trying to meet commissioners' needs for rapid responses to their evidence synthesis commissions. In this project we piloted an intensive process, working to complete evidence syntheses within six-weeks, rather than the standard lead time of 4-6 months. Our objective was to explore how researchers experience working intensively, identify barriers and facilitators, and determine how a more intensive approach to evidence synthesis could be more systematically introduced in the future.

Socioeconomic position during pregnancy and pre-school exposome in children from eight European birth cohort studies.

Distribution of environmental hazards and vulnerability to their effects vary across socioeconomic groups. Our objective was to analyse the relationship between child socioeconomic position (SEP) at birth and the external exposome at pre-school age (0-4 years). This study included more than 60,000 children from eight cohorts in eleven European cities (Oslo, Copenhagen, Bristol, Bradford, Rotterdam, Nancy, Poitiers, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell, Valencia and Turin).

Identification of Enteric Pathogen Reservoirs and Transmission Pathways Associated with Short Childhood Stature in the Kolkata Indian Site of the Global Enteric Multicenter Study.

Age-stratified path analyses modeled associations between enteric pathogen reservoirs, transmission pathways and height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) to identify determinants of childhood growth in the Kolkata, India site of the Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS). Models tested direct associations of potential pathogen reservoirs with HAZ at 60-day follow-up in separate moderate and severe diarrhea (MSD) case and control cohorts or indirectly when mediated by enteric infections. In the MSD cohort, rotavirus and typical EPEC (tEPEC) infections among children 0-11 months of age and ST-ETEC infections among children 12-23 months of age were associated with lower HAZ.

The risk of long-term opioid use among immigrants: a national registry-linkage study.

Aims: We aimed to investigate the association between being an immigrant and long-term prescription opioid use in Norway in 2010-2019.

Methods: Nested case-control study. The cases were all persons 18 years of age or older with long-term opioid use - that is, the use of prescription opioids longer than 3 months (=215,642).

Initial interpretation scores of screening mammograms and cancer detection in BreastScreen Norway.

Purpose: To explore the association between radiologists' interpretation scores, early performance measures and cumulative reading volume in mammographic screening.

Method: We analyzed 1,689,731 screening examinations (3,379,462 breasts) from BreastScreen Norway 2012-2020, all breasts scored 1-5 by two independent radiologists. Score 1 was considered negative/benign and score ≥2 positive in this scoring system.

Opioid use after surgical treatment in the Danish population-Protocol for a register-based cohort study.

Background: Over the past 25 years, global opioid consumption has increased. Denmark ranks fifth in opioid use globally, exceeding other Scandinavian countries. Postsurgical pain is a common reason for opioid prescriptions, but opioid use patterns after patient discharge from the hospital are unclear.

Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in self-rated health and mental distress during four decades in a Norwegian population: a HUNT Study.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities constitute an important focus area for public health, and it has long been established that higher educational level and longer lifespan are correlated. Little is known about decennial time trends in poor self-rated health and mental distress.

Methods: This study linked decennial cross-sectional survey data on self-rated health and mental distress from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) from 1984 to 2019 with educational registry data using personal identification numbers.

Stress and anxiety during pregnancy and length of gestation: a federated study using data from five Canadian and European birth cohorts.

While its etiology is not fully elucidated, preterm birth represents a major public health concern as it is the leading cause of child mortality and morbidity. Stress is one of the most common perinatal conditions and may increase the risk of preterm birth. In this paper we aimed to investigate the association of maternal perceived stress and anxiety with length of gestation.

Increased cancer incidence and mortality among people with opioid use-related disorders: A nation-wide cohort study.

Background And Aims: Studies on cancer incidence and mortality among people with opioid use-related disorders are lacking. We aimed to measure cancer-specific incidence, mortality and survival among people diagnosed with opioid use-related disorders in Norway during 2010-18.

Design And Setting: This was a cohort study conducted in Norway during 2010-18.

Occupation and tongue cancer in Nordic countries.

Purpose: Almost 200,000 tongue cancers were diagnosed worldwide in 2020. The aim of this study was to describe occupational risk variation in this malignancy.

Methods: The data are based on the Nordic Occupational Cancer (NOCCA) study containing 14.

Sex differences in cognitive decline among middle-aged and older adults: a cohort study in Europe.

Objectives: Previous studies on sex differences in cognitive decline provide inconsistent findings, with many European countries being underrepresented. We determined the association between sex and cognitive decline in a sample of Europeans and explored differences across birth cohorts and regions.

Methods: Participants 50+ years old enrolled in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe had their cognition measured by tests of immediate recall, delayed recall and verbal fluency biennially up to 17 years of follow-up (median 6, interquartile range 3-9 years).

Survival trends for patients diagnosed with cutaneous malignant melanoma in the Nordic countries 1990-2016: The NORDCAN survival studies.

Background: The survival in patients diagnosed with cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) has improved in the Nordic countries in the last decades. It is of interest to know if these improvements are observed in all ages and for both women and men.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with CMM in the Nordic countries in 1990-2016 were identified in the NORDCAN database.

Serum neurofilament light chain associates with symptom burden in Lyme neuroborreliosis patients: a longitudinal cohort study from Norway.

Objectives: Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL), an indicator of neuronal damage, is increasingly recognized as a potential biomarker for disease activity in neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we wanted to investigate sNfL as a prognostic marker in a large, well-defined population of 90 patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). In addition, we sought to explore associations between symptoms and sNfL levels during the acute phase of LNB.

Acceptability, values, and preferences of older people for chronic low back pain management; a qualitative evidence synthesis.

Background: Chronic primary low back pain (CPLBP) and other musculoskeletal conditions represent a sizable attribution to the global burden of disability, with rates greatest in older age. There are multiple and varied interventions for CPLBP, delivered by a wide range of health and care workers. However, it is not known if these are acceptable to or align with the values and preferences of care recipients.

ST waveform analysis vs cardiotocography alone for intrapartum fetal monitoring: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Introduction: ST waveform analysis (STAN) was introduced as an adjunct to cardiotocography (CTG) to improve neonatal and maternal outcomes. The aim of the present study was to quantify the efficacy of STAN vs CTG and assess the quality of the evidence using GRADE.

Material And Methods: We performed systematic literature searches to identify randomized controlled trials and assessed included studies for risk of bias.

Prevalence and predictors of post-COVID-19 symptoms in general practice - a registry-based nationwide study.

Background: With Norwegian national registry data, we assessed the prevalence of post-COVID-19 symptoms at least 3 months after confirmed infection, and whether sociodemographic factors and pre-pandemic health problems were risk factors for these symptoms.

Methods: All persons with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test from February 2020 to February 2021 (exposed) were compared to a group without a positive test (unexposed) matched on age, sex, and country of origin. We used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for 18 outcome symptoms commonly described as post-COVID-19 related, registered by GPs.