The aim of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Vertigo symptom scale – short form (VSS-SF), a condition-specific measure of dizziness, following translation of the scale into Norwegian.

Sense of coherence (SOC) is a strong determinant of positive health and successful coping. For older people living in the community or staying in a hospital, SOC has been shown to be associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Studies focusing on this aspect among nursing home (NH) residents have been limited. This study investigated the relationship between SOC and HRQOL among older people living in NHs in Bergen, Norway.

The majority of infants born before the last trimester now grow up. However, knowledge on subsequent health related quality of life (HRQoL) is scarce. We therefore aimed to compare HRQoL in children born extremely preterm with control children born at term. Furthermore, we assessed HRQoL in relation to perinatal and neonatal morbidity and to current clinical and sociodemographic characteristics.

To investigate the role of three distinct symptoms of heart-focused anxiety (cardio-protective avoidance, heart-focused attention, and fear about heart sensations) in relation to general anxiety, depression and physical health in patients referred to specialized cardio-genetics outpatient clinics in Norway for genetic investigation and counseling. Participants were 126 patients (mean age 45 years, 53.5% women). All patients were at higher risk than the average person for serious arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) because of a personal or a family history of an inherited cardiac disorder (familial long QT syndrome or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). Patients filled in, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Short-Form 36 Health Survey, and Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire, two weeks before the scheduled counseling session. The patients experienced higher levels of general anxiety than expected in the general population (mean difference 1.1 (p < 0.01)). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that avoidance and fear was independently related to general anxiety, depression, and physical health beyond relevant demographic covariates (age, gender, having children) and clinical variables (clinical diagnosis, and a recent SCD in the family). In addition to heart-focused anxiety, having a clinical diagnosis was of importance for physical health, whereas a recent SCD in the family was independently related to general anxiety and depression, regardless of disease status. Avoidance and fear may be potentially modifiable symptoms. Because these distinct symptoms may have important roles in determining general anxiety, depression and physical health in at-risk individuals of inherited cardiac disorders, the present findings may have implications for the further development of genetic counseling for this patient group.

The development of allergic sensitization and allergic disease may be related to factors during intrauterine life, but the role of maternal preeclampsia is not known.

A general methodology for visualizing attributable fractions in epidemiology is described. The methodology applies to the multifactorial exposure situation and embraces various types of attributable fractions including adjusted, sequential and average attributable fractions. The concept of the scaled Venn diagram plays a central role, illustrating total disease risk and excess disease risk attributable to the exposures as areas in a unit square. This forms the ground for making simple pie charts of attributable fractions summing to 1 (or 100%). The potential applications extend from cohort and cross-sectional data to data from case-control studies. The methodology is illustrated by theoretical as well as empirical examples including the risk of motor fatalities attributable to driver’s blood alcohol concentration and age, and the prevalence of chronic cough attributable to smoking habits, occupational exposure to dust or gas, and residence. A total of 40 figures illustrate the methodology.