Background - Pakistani immigrants are the largest non-Western ethnic minority group in Norway. Traditional medicines (TM) are extensively used in Pakistan, and studies show that ethnic minorities also use them to recover from illness after migration to the Western world. This study aims to explore Pakistani immigrants’ experiences and perceptions of risk regarding the use of TM to treat illnesses. ...

Background - The primary objective of this investigation was to compare the nominal central ablation depth with the achieved central corneal stromal ablation depth after StreamLight transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (tPRK) for myopia with WaveLight® laser by Alcon Laboratories, TX, USA.<p> <p>Methods - This ambispective study encompassed a retrospective analysis of 40 eyes who underwent ...

Introduction: The Norwegian Government introduced in 2002 a reimbursement scheme for hormonal contraceptives to adolescents at the same time as public health nurses and midwives received authorization to prescribe hormonal contraceptives. This study examines the impact of increased accessibility and public funding on hormonal contraceptive use among adolescents.<p> <p>Material and Methods: ...

We examined changes in HIV testing and medical care among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Russia. Data come from the 2010 and 2017 waves of the European MSM Internet Survey. From 2010 to 2017 there was an increase in the proportion who had ever received an HIV test (+11.2%), had tested for HIV in the last year (+2.1%), had ever taken antiretroviral therapy (ART) (+31.9), were currently taking ...

Background - Patients with multiple chronic conditions, for example, musculoskeletal conditions and comorbidities, often receive inadequate and sometimes even contradictory care. Physiotherapists are well qualified to manage patients with musculoskeletal conditions and comorbidities due to their education and experience with rehabilitation; however, it is unknown which challenges they face when ...

Objectives Investigate associations between body height and cardiovascular disease risk factors at several time points in women and men across educational levels in Norway.<p> <p>Design Population-based longitudinal study. <p>Setting The Tromsø Study, a population-based study with six surveys conducted between 1979 and 2016 in the municipality of Tromsø, Norway. <p>Primary and Secondary ...

Despite important progress in modern medicine, widely regarded as an indispensable foundation of healthcare in all highly advanced nations and regions, not all patients respond well to available treatments in biomedicine alone. Additionally, there are concerns about side effects of many medications and interventions, the unsustainable cost of healthcare and the low resolution of chronic non-communicable ...

Background - Migraine is a common disorder, particularly affecting women during their reproductive years. This female preponderance has been linked to exposure to female sex hormones.<p> <p>Methods - We used self-reported data from women born in 1943–1965 enrolled in the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study to examine the differences between women with migraine and women without migraine in a prospective ...

This article addresses the limitations of existing statistical models in analyzing and interpreting highly skewed miRNA-seq raw read count data that can range from zero to millions. A heavy-tailed model using discrete stable distributions is proposed as a novel approach to better capture the heterogeneity and extreme values commonly observed in miRNA-seq data. Additionally, the parameters of the ...

Low intervention engagement is common in mental health and health behavior change interventions, but research on engagement is scattered, and heterogeneity in the definition and measurement of engagement is large. To aid future engagement research, we conducted an integrative review in which we 1) discuss definitions of engagement, 2) highlight four complementary models of engagement, and 3) ...