Siri Naess

Genetic and environmental contributions to the variance of the body mass index in a Norwegian sample of first- and second-degree relatives

Height and weight were measured in a health screening of the population in Nord‐Trøndelag, Norway. Correlations for the body mass index were computed for 23,936 pairs of spouses, 43,586 pairs of parents and offspring, 19,151 pairs of siblings, 1,251 pairs of grandparents and grandchildren, 1,146 cognate avuncular pairs, 801 noncognate avuncular pairs, 168 pairs of same‐sexed twins, and smaller groups of other types of relatives. Correlations were largely independent of age and age difference within pairs of relatives, suggesting a stable effect of the same set of genes and familial environment throughout adulthood. No effect of convergence during marriage could be detected. Correlations were approximately .20 for parents and offspring, .26 for same‐sexed siblings, .20 for opposite‐sexed siblings, .58 for monozygotic twins, and close to zero for most second‐order relatives. Results from structural equation model‐fitting indicate a broad heritability of .4, much of which is due to genetic dominance or other genetic nonadditivity.

To measure quality of life: Relevance and use in the psychiatric domain

The expression “quality of life” has a strong positive connotation. The definition will be influenced by values and points of reference. Not at least in the psychiatric domain we need a precise and not to wide-ranging definition. If we are to investigate the relation between living conditions or different psychiatric diagnoses, and peoples subjective experience, we have to separate these sets of phenomena. Quality of life is related to individual feelings. It is subjective and includes a global assessment. It is seen as both a cognitive evaluation and some degree of positive and negative feelings. It correlates with depression but can be separated from it. Personality factors will influence quality of life, but it reacts to life changes and cannot be seen as synonymous with any particular trait. Quality of life measurements have shown that long-term psychiatric patients have lower well-being than others. They can also help us to weigh between different treatment programmes, and between patients and their...

Marital transitions and life satisfaction Evidence from longitudinal data from Norway

This article is based on three waves of data collected by the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), Norway. It investigates changes in life satisfaction associated with transition both into and out of marital unions (marriages and cohabitations). It provides longitudinal data on life satisfaction for a larger sample (N=57,446), a longer age span (19–101 years) and over a longer observation period (22 years) than previously published research on this topic. The large sample permits interaction analyses focusing on small gender/age categories. Results indicate that marriage and cohabitation does enhance life satisfaction, but more for some groups than for others. Cohabitation enhances life satisfaction no less than marriage. There is little difference in life satisfaction between the non-partnered statuses when adjusted for selection. Both men and women are more satisfied as married or cohabiting than as non-partnered. However, transition into widowhood is more harmful to men than to women, and divorce is much more harmful to young males (below 35) than to any other age or gender group.

Diabetes mellitus and psychological well-being. Change between 1984–1986 and 1995–1997. Results of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study

Previous research has documented that people with diabetes report lower psychological well-being than do people with no reported disease. In recent years, new treatment regimens for diabetes have been introduced, including improved insulin and tablet treatment, easier blood sugar tests, and transfer of responsibility from doctor to patient. Have these improved methods for controlling diabetes resulted in enhanced psychological well-being for this group of patients? In this paper, we analyze changes in psychological well-being between 1984-1986 and 1995-1997 among diabetic patients. On these two occasions, the entire adult population of one county in Norway was invited to a health screening (the Nord-Trøndelag Health Studies, HUNT 1 and HUNT 2). Participants reached 77,224 and 65,599 persons, respectively (90.7% in HUNT 1 and 71.0% in HUNT 2). The participants responded to questionnaires, including questions on several diseases and impairments, as well as self-assessed health and psychological well-being. People with diabetes reported significantly lower well-being than people with no reported diabetes in HUNT 1 as well as in HUNT 2. However, the relationship between diabetes and well-being was significantly weaker in HUNT 2 than in HUNT 1. Self-reported Subjective health, the feeling of being strong and fit, the use of Tranquilizers, and Psychological distress had improved between the two surveys, for people with diabetes compared to people with no reported diabetes. Other outcome variables - Calmness, Cheerfulness, and Life satisfaction - were only weakly related to diabetes, and the relationship did not change significantly from HUNT 1 to HUNT 2.

Diabetes mellitus and comorbidity. Change between 1984–1986 and 1995–1997: Results of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study

The prevention of diabetic complications is a challenge to the health services. A health survey was carried out in the Nord-Trøndelag county of Norway during the period 1984-1986 (77,224 respondents) and repeated in 1995-1997 (65,599 respondents). In this study, self-reports of diabetes and other diseases and impairments in the two screenings are compared. Did respondents report more or less morbidity in 1995-1997 than in 1984-1986? Comparisons between self-reports in the two surveys show higher morbidity among young people (below 40 years of age) in 1995-1997 than in 1984-1986, both among people with and without diabetes, but the change was not statistically significant. For the middle-aged (40-59 years of age), there were smaller changes. For older people (above 60 years of age) with diabetes, there was a decrease in some of the reported morbidity, namely for cerebral stroke, mobility impairment, and impairment due to other physical diseases, compared to older people without diabetes. There was a slight increase in reported vision impairment, but smaller than for people without diabetes. The changes in relative risk for people with stroke, mobility and vision impairment, and other physical disease are statistically significant. Splitting the sample according to gender, this trend was only significant among women.

Perceived change in life satisfaction following epilepsy diagnosis.

Aims: To study the development in perceived life satisfaction of people with epilepsy. Methods: In 2005, members of the Norwegian Epilepsy Association responded to a version of the Self-Anchoring Striving Scale (termed Cantril’s Ladder). In this article, we compare the answers given to two questions, one related to the person’s life satisfaction today, and the other related to the person’s life satisfaction 5 years ago. The same people were asked about time since epilepsy onset. Those who reported being diagnosed during the previous 5 years were compared with those who had been diagnosed earlier, with regard to reported life satisfaction, at the present and 5 years ago. The hypothesis to be tested was that people who have been diagnosed with epilepsy report their life satisfaction as being reduced in comparison to their life satisfaction before the diagnosis. Results: The hypothesis was confirmed. The respondents in our study who had been diagnosed less than 5 years ago perceived their life satisfaction to be reduced by almost a standard deviation as compared to their life satisfaction before the diagnosis. Conclusions: People diagnosed with epilepsy perceive their life satisfaction to be reduced as a consequence of the diagnosis, and should be supported in their coping with the disease. This conclusion should be drawn with caution, owing to a low response rate and difficulties related to retrospective self-reports. Prospective population-based studies are needed to explore the causal pathways.