Background: Norway and Sweden are similar countries in terms of socioeconomics and health care. Norway implemented extensive COVID-19 measures, such as school closures and lockdowns, whereas Sweden did not. Aims: To compare mortality in Norway and Sweden, two similar countries with very different mitigation measures against COVID-19. <p> <p>Methods: Using real-world data from national registries, ...

Background - At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, guidance was needed more than ever to direct frontline healthcare and national containment strategies. Rigorous guidance based on robust research was compromised by the emergence of the pandemic and the urgency of need for guidance. Rather than aiming to “get guidance right”, guidance developers needed to “get guidance right now”.<p> <p>Aim - ...

Some ecological studies have shown that areas with higher use of cannabis may have lower opioid use and fewer opioid-related problems. Newer studies are questioning this finding. Few individually based studies have been performed. Using data from the Norwegian Prescription Database, this study investigated the individual level effect of prescribed cannabis extract (Sativex®) in prescription opioid ...

Based on my own experiences with having one foot in academia and the other in construction, I reflect on how the tendential form of work among the working class affects their ontology and epistemology, and discuss what this may mean for teaching and learning in higher education. I attempt to write from both a working-class and middle-class perspective. This I do because it was the clashing of my ...

During the last glacial–interglacial cycle, Arctic biotas experienced substantial climatic changes, yet the nature, extent and rate of their responses are not fully understood1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Here we report a large-scale environmental DNA metagenomic study of ancient plant and mammal communities, analysing 535 permafrost and lake sediment samples from across the Arctic spanning the past 50,000 years. ...

Objective - This study examined the relationship between parental obesity polygenic risk and children’s BMI throughout adolescence. Additionally, from a smaller subsample, the objective was to assess whether parental polygenic risk score (PRS) may act as a proxy for offspring PRS in studies lacking offspring genetic data.<p> <p>Methods - A total of 8,561 parent-offspring (age 13-19 years) trios ...

Background - There is evidence of increased low grade inflammation (LGI) in schizophrenia patients. However, the inter-individual variation is large and the association with demographic, somatic and psychiatric factors remains unclear. Our aim was to explore whether levels of the novel LGI marker soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) were associated with clinical factors in ...

Hvordan kan utdanningene bidra til å sikre likeverdige tjenester for ulike grupper? Den nye rammeplanen for helse- og sosialfagutdanningene setter krav om at kandidater skal ha kunnskap om integrering, likestilling og ikke-diskriminering med utgangspunkt i blant annet kjønn, kjønnsidentitet, kjønnsuttrykk og seksuell orientering. Kan likeverdige tjenester sikres gjennom utdanningene ved å ha fokus ...

A national strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been subject to cyclic processes in Norway since 1998. In 2020, a renewed process cycle was launched. Here, we describe the process and the approach of the process. In addition, we describe two concepts from philosophy of science that may help to frame the process: AMR is an example of a super wicked problem, and post-normal science ...