<b>Aim:</b> The combination of iron deficiency and anaemia is a major health problem, and adolescents are an at- risk group. The main aim of this study was to explore the mag-nitude of these conditions among adolescents aged 15–19 and identify possible as-sociated risk factors. <br><b>Methods:</b> This population- based longitudinal study of adolescents in North Norway was conducted in 2010–2011, ...

Background: Indications and optimal timing for surgical treatment of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) remain unclear, and data from daily clinical practice are warranted.<p> <p>Objective: To investigate clinical outcomes following decompressive surgery for DCM. Methods: Data were obtained from the Norwegian Registry for Spine Surgery. The primary outcome was change in the neck disability index ...

An active wound dressing should address the main goals in wound treatment, which are improved wound healing and reduced infection rates. We developed novel multifunctional nanofibrous wound dressings with three active ingredients: chloramphenicol (CAM), beta-glucan (βG) and chitosan (CHI), of which βG and CHI are active nanofiber-forming biopolymers isolated from the cell walls of Saccharomyces ...

Chronic pain increases the risk of sleep disturbances, depression and disability. Even though medical treatments have limited value, the use of prescription-based analgesics have increased over the recent years. It is therefore important to evaluate the effect of non-pharmacological treatments. A systematic search for studies evaluating the effect of relaxation techniques on chronic pain was ...

Objective - To explore how agenda navigation may be accomplished underway in consultations covering multiple topics, we identified and analyzed one GP’s communicative strategies.<p> <p>Design, setting, and subjects - A qualitative observational case study with linguistic microanalysis of an exemplary consultation between a female patient with diabetes and her male GP. We used speech act theory ...

Systemic inflammation markers have been linked to increased cancer risk and mortality in a number of studies. However, few studies have estimated pre-diagnostic associations of systemic inflammation markers and cancer risk. Such markers could serve as biomarkers of cancer risk and aid in earlier identification of the disease. This study estimated associations between pre-diagnostic systemic inflammation ...

The ubiquitous presence of legacy and emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environmental matrices poses a potential hazard to the humans and creating public health concerns. The present study aimed to evaluate dioxins, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and chlorinated paraffins (CPs) concentrations in serum of women (postpartum, pregnant ...

Millions of women are dependent on the use of oral contraceptives in order to have a more meaningful life and a general sense of well-being. These benefits make oral contraceptives one of the most prescribed medications among women. However, while there is established evidence on the short-term effects of oral contraceptive use, there are conflicting reports on the long-term risk of oral contraceptive ...

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are a heterogenous group of plasma molecules with a large variety in composition. There is a wide specter in lipid content and the number of different proteins that has been associated with HDL is approaching 100. Given this heterogeneity and the fact that the total amount of HDL is inversely related to the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), there has been ...

Background - Observational studies have consistently reported that postmenopausal hormone therapy use is associated with lower colon cancer risk, but epidemiologic studies examining the associations between circulating concentrations of endogenous estrogens and colorectal cancer have reported inconsistent results.<p> <p>Methods - We investigated the associations between circulating concentrations ...