Results and presentations NCDNOR

Key Results

Our research findings are disseminated through publications in international and national scientific journals. Furthermore, the results are presented at national and international conferences, national and regional meetings with various user groups, and through popular science summaries and news articles on FHI.no.  

 Here are the key results from the NCDNOR project:  

• We have demonstrated how we can compile data from multiple national health registries to create new knowledge in the field of public health. The article highlights various challenges we face when using health registries to calculate the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the population. The requirement for a registration in one of the health registries is often not sufficient to illuminate morbidity. It is frequently necessary to utilize information from multiple registers.

• National health registries – a ‘goldmine’ for studying non-communicable disease occurrence in Norway – the NCDNOR project

• We have elucidated how different risk factors for NCD, including smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels, cluster in different ways within various population groups. There is a strong association between the harmful accumulation of risk factors and socioeconomic position. Simultaneously, socioeconomic position appears to significantly impact the relationship between the accumulation of risk factors in mid-life and the age of NCD death. Ongoing work also shows that among both those with a favorable and those with an unfavorable risk factor profile, individuals with lower education, on average, die several years earlier from an NCD than those with higher education. 

• Clustering and trajectories of key noncommunicable disease risk factors in Norway: the NCDNOR project (nature.com)

• We have investigated the proportion of those reporting anxiety and depression in two rounds of two regional health surveys who are registered in one or more central health registries. By using a compilation of data from national health registries, the Tromsø Study, and the Trøndelag Health Study, we found that among individuals who could be classified with anxiety or depression only about 12 percent were registered in national health registries. More individuals with depression than anxiety and more women than men were registered in a health registry. There was also a correlation between severity and registration, with most being registered in primary healthcare. The survey shows that, with some reservations, central health registries can be used to gain an impression of the prevalence of anxiety and depression in the population.

• The epidemiology of major depression among adults in Norway: an observational study on the concurrence between population surveys and registry data – a NCDNOR project

• Ongoing work shows that there is an association between socioeconomic position (level of education and income) and the risk of developing multimorbidity, meaning two or more simultaneous NCDs, mental disorders, and substance use disorders. Also, socioeconomic position in childhood (parents' level of education) is linked to the risk of multimorbidity in adulthood. For individuals with lower education, multimorbidity is more often due to COPD, diabetes, substance use disorders, and anxiety than for those with higher education.

• The 30th Norwegian Conference on Epidemiology, Oslo (2024). Supplement 1. Norsk Epidemiologi, 32(1).  

• We have mapped comorbidities among cancer patients: which and how many non-communicable diseases they have in addition to cancer, both at the time of cancer diagnosis and in the following years. This was done for various types of cancer and for groups based on age and gender. Between 35% and 83% of patients had at least one non-communicable disease in addition to cancer at the time of diagnosis. Cardiovascular diseases were the most common, often concurrent with mental disorders and COPD. Five years after the cancer diagnosis, between 53% and 99% of patients had either died or were living with at least one non-communicable disease in addition to cancer. Among those who survived five years after the cancer diagnosis, over 50% had at least one disease in addition to cancer.

• The 30th Norwegian Conference on Epidemiology, Oslo (2024). Supplement 1. Norsk Epidemiologi, 32(1).

• We have previously shown that immigrants from South Asia and the former Yugoslavia had a significantly higher risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared to Norwegian-born individuals, while, for instance, East Asians had a lower risk. Updated data from the NCDNOR project for the entire Norwegian population aged 35-79 up to 2019 showed that the difference in acute myocardial infarction between immigrant groups and Norwegian-born individuals mostly persists. Immigrants from South Asia still had twice the incidence of heart attacks compared to Norwegian-born individuals. Immigrants from the former Yugoslavia also had an increased risk, while East Asians and sub-Saharan Africans had a lower risk.

• 11th Nordic Conference of Epidemiology and Register-based Health Research (NordicEpi 2024)

Meetings and presentations

The project organizes an annual national open NCD meeting about the health status in Norway. The invitation is extended to all municipalities in the country. The meeting is held at the Literature House in Oslo and can also be attended digitally. The goal of the meeting is to present new knowledge in the field of public health. Additionally, regional user meetings and research meetings are organized.

• Open NCD meeting – link to presentations (in Norwegian)
• User meetings – relevant presentations and reports (Cristin) (in Norwegian)

Reports

• Indicators for non-communicable diseases (NCD)

• Public Health Report