<p><i>Introduction - </i>Symptoms occurring in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) such as heartburn, regurgitation, thoracic pain, epigastric pain, respiratory symptoms, and others can show a broad overlap with symptoms from other foregut disorders. The goal of this study is the accurate assessment of symptom presentation in GERD. <p><i>Methods - </i>Patients with foregut symptoms were ...

<i>Objective</i>: The aim of this study is to identify and analyse rural general practice patients’ experiences of hazards and harm that comprise adverse events, and their strategies for coping with them.<p> <p><i>Design</i>: Interview study using systematic text condensation and coping strategy theory in an abductive analysis process.<p> <p><i>Setting</i>: Nine rural general practice clinics ...

<p><i>Aims - </i>This study examined the association of leisure time physical activity, occupational physical activity, and resting heart rate with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in Sami and non-Sami populations. <p><i>Study design - </i>This was a longitudinal, observational population-based study. <p><i>Methods - </i>The Finnmark 3 study cohort was examined in 1987–1988 and ...

Several control conditions, such as penetrating sham acupuncture and non-penetrating placebo needles, have been used in clinical trials on acupuncture effects in chronic pain syndromes. All these control conditions are surprisingly effective with regard to their analgesic properties. These findings have fostered a discussion as to whether acupuncture is merely a placebo. Meta-analyses on the clinical ...

<i>Background</i> - Traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) is commonly used by cancer patients in Northern Norway, in particular spiritual forms like traditional healing. T&CM is mainly used complementary to conventional cancer treatment and is rarely discussed with the patient’s conventional health care providers, increasing the risk of negative interaction with conventional cancer care. The ...

<p><i>Background - </i>There is a need to deliver smoking cessation support at a population level, both in developed and developing countries. Studies on internet-based and mobile phone–based smoking cessation interventions have shown that these methods can be as effective as other methods of support, and they can have a wider reach at a lower cost. <p><i>Objective - </i>This randomized controlled ...

<i>Background</i> - Hypospadias is the most common congenital anomaly of the penis, but its causes are mainly unknown. Of the risk factors identified, the most plausible are hormonal and genetic. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for hypospadias in Northwest Russia based on registry data.<p> <p><i>Methods</i> - The study population included male infants registered in the Murmansk ...

Other than the influence of ionizing radiation and benign thyroid disease, little is known about the risk factors for differentiated thyroid cancer (TC) which is an increasing common cancer worldwide. Consistent evidence shows that body mass is positively associated with TC risk. As excess weight is a state of chronic inflammation, we investigated the relationship between concentrations of leptin, ...

<i>Background</i>: Despite the potential benefits of physician-staffed Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS), many dispatches to primary HEMS missions in Norway are cancelled before patient encounter. Information is sparse regarding the health consequences when medically indicated HEMS missions are cancelled and the patients are treated by a GP and ambulance staff only. We aimed to estimate ...

<p><i>Background - </i>We aimed to identify different eating habits among Finnish children and to evaluate their association with meal patterns, breakfast consumption, and socio-demographic characteristics in a large, nationwide cohort of children. <p><i>Methods - </i>We evaluated 10,569 children aged 9–14 years into the Finnish Health in Teens cohort in a cross-sectional design. The hierarchical ...