High rates of cesarean section are associated with increased mortality and morbidity. To decrease cesarean sections without medical indication is complex and requires in-depth knowledge of local context and which groups to target for possible interventions. Our aim was to assess the role of maternal risk factors in relation to cesarean section in Georgia and Norway, two countries with diverging rates ...

<p><i>Background/Aims:</i> Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer among men in Norway as well as world-wide, and a major cause of health loss and death with 1.4 million new cases and 375 000 deaths world-wide in 2020. Biological mechanisms involved in PCa development are mainly unknown, but chronic inflammation, one hallmark of cancer development, has been questioned to play a key role in ...

This thesis springs from 3 different papers: Paper 1 A randomised controlled study in rats to investigate whether an infusion of crystalloids or colloids during rewarming from hypothermia could alleviate the alterations in cardiovascular function seen in untreated control animals. Paper 2 A randomised controlled study in pigs, examining normothermic vs hypothermic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). ...

The levels of sickness absenteeism in Norway are extraordinarily high. One of three employees reports that work is partly or fully the reason why they are absent. Regardless of a clear and explicit political goal to reduce sickness absence, previous reforms in Norway have not had much success. In this dissertation, we collected self-report data from thousands of jobholders and performed cross-sectional ...

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Approximately 85% of strokes are ischaemic strokes caused by blockage of a brain artery. Recanalisation therapies with thrombolysis (injection of drugs that dissolve the blood clot) and thrombectomy (mechanical removal of the blood clot) have revolutionised acute ischaemic stroke treatment during the last 25 years. Thrombolysis within ...

Chronic pain is a major health challenge, and musculoskeletal pain is among the main contributors to years lived with disability worldwide. Earlier research found an association between cold exposure at work and musculoskeletal pain. However, the literature is scarce, especially regarding chronic pain. It is a common belief that weather affects pain experience, but the literature on this topic is ...

Risk and uncertainty characterise most human endeavours. Whether judging risk when buying a house, making a career change, considering marriage, or simply ordering food at an unfamiliar restaurant, each decision involves evaluating the available evidence to infer the likelihood of negative outcomes. Such decisions are often marked by uncertainty, the condition of incomplete knowledge about the ...

<p><i>Background:</i> Simultaneously with the growing obesity epidemic, cardiometabolic risk have decreased in high-income countries. Do the most frequently used general and abdominal obesity measures (BMI and waist circumference) fail to represent actual obesity and obesity-related health risk? <p><i>Aims:</i> 1) present reference- and threshold values for DXA-derived visceral adipose tissue (VAT) ...

Selective autophagy is responsible for the lysosomal degradation of damaged and surplus cytoplasmic components, including misfolded proteins and dysfunctional organelles. Selective autophagy is required for protein and organelle quality control basally and upon stress. For the autophagic process to be precise, selective autophagy receptors (SARs) like SQSTM1/p62 are required. Autophagic substrates ...

<p><i>Background:</i> The Circle of Willis (CoW) is a circular structure of arteries in which most of the blood flowing to our brains pass through. The structure has primarily been regarded as important for its ability to redistribute blood flow in case of acute arterial occlusion, but may also have a role in dampening the pressure gradient in cerebral blood flow. The CoW anatomy also varies ...