Biomedical subjects

T Moum

Publications and source records attributed to T Moum.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Variable numbers of simple tandem repeats make birds of the order ciconiiformes heteroplasmic in their mitochondrial genomes.

We have analyzed a variable domain of the mitochondrial DNA control region of 18 avian species. Intra-individual length variation was identified and characterized in 15 species. The occurrence of heteroplasmy among species is phylogenetically consistent with a current classification of birds. Polymerase chain reaction amplifications, direct sequencing, and Southern analysis of mitochondrial DNA showed that the heteroplasmy is due to variable numbers of direct repeats in a tandem organization, located in the control region close to the tRNAPhe gene. The tandem repeats consist of short sequence motifs that vary in size from 4 to 32 base pairs between species. Sequence complexity of the repeat motifs was low, with almost exclusively Ts and Gs in the heavy-strand. Extensive variation in the copy number of the repeats was seen both intra-specifically and within individuals. This is the first report of mitochondrial heteroplasmy characterized at the sequence level in birds.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

The measurement of social support in the 'European Research on Incapacitating Diseases and Social Support': the development of the Social Support Questionnaire for Transactions (SSQT).

Social support is supposed to have a beneficial effect on the health and wellbeing of people. It is a central concept in the 'EUropean Research on Incapacitating DIseases and Social Support' (EURIDISS). In general, two main distinctions concerning social support are made in the literature, providing four basic dimensions or types of social support: a social-emotional vs an instrumental type of social support, and a 'crisis' or 'problem-oriented' vs 'everyday' or 'daily' type of social support. Based on these types of social support, a series of items were formulated to measure actual supportive interactions or exchanges of resources. The items were spread over five scales. The social-emotional type of social support comprised three scales: daily emotional support; problem-oriented emotional support; and social companionship, while the instrumental type of social support consisted of two scales: the daily instrumental support and the problem-oriented instrumental support. Together, these items and scales constitute the so-called 'Social Support Questionnaire for Transactions' (SSQT). The main objective of this paper is to investigate whether one and the same instrument, i.e. the SSQT, allows for meaningful comparisons between patients with rheumatoid arthritis from different countries. More specifically, the dimensionality and invariance of the dimensions across countries of the SSQT are explored. To this end, patients from four different European countries (France, Norway, The Netherlands and Sweden) were asked to fill in the SSQT. The analysis of the data using principal component analysis (PCA) and simultaneous component analysis (SCA), did yield the intended scales, although the internal consistency of one of them, the daily instrumental support scale, is questionable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

PubMed1995

The EORTC core quality of life questionnaire (QLQ-C30): validity and reliability when analysed with patients treated with palliative radiotherapy.

The EORTC Core Quality of Life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) is designed to measure cancer patients' physical, psychological and social functions. The questionnaire is composed of multi-item scales and single items. 247 patients completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 before palliative radiotherapy and 181 after palliative radiotherapy. The questionnaire was well accepted with a high completion rate in the present patient population consisting of advanced cancer patients with short life expectancy. In addition, the questionnaire was found to be useful to detect the effect of palliative radiotherapy over time. The scale reliability was excellent for all scales except the role functioning scale. Excellent criterion validity was found for the emotional functioning scale where it was correlated with GHQ-20. Performance of the questionnaire was improved after the second evaluation as compared with the first. The present study shows that the EORTC QLQ-C30 is found to be practical and valid in measuring quality of life in patients with advanced disease.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Is the higher postneonatal mortality in lower social status groups due to SIDS?

In order to study the influence of sociodemographic factors, postneonatal mortality of all live births surviving the neonatal period registered in the Norwegian Medical Birth Registry in 1978-1982 were examined (n = 209,030). Postneonatal deaths (n = 634) were divided into two categories; deaths due to the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (n = 359) and deaths due to other causes (non-SIDS) (n = 275). SIDS and non-SIDS deaths showed different relationships to sociodemographic factors, and the associations appeared to be different for first-born and later born children. SIDS mortality was highest for first-born offspring when the mother was young (adjusted relative risks (RR) 2.3) and had a low educational level (adjusted RR 4.9). For later-born offspring no association between maternal educational level and SIDS was found, while young maternal age (adjusted RR 4.4) and unmarried status (adjusted RR 2.3) were closely associated with SIDS. In the multivariate model, however, there were no statistically significant associations between non-SIDS and sociodemographic factors for first-born or later-born children. Thus it appears that the increased postneonatal mortality in lower social groups can be explained by an association with SIDS.

Cause of Death↗

PubMed1995

Diabetes mellitus and psychological well-being. Results of the Nord-Trøndelag health survey.

The present study relies on questionnaire data from a diabetes and hypertension screening carried out on the entire adult population of a medium-sized Norwegian county (total number of participants = 74,977). Self-reported diabetic patients were compared with non-diabetics, and with patients with self-reported angina pectoris, previous cardiac infarction, and stroke. The psychological well-being of the known diabetic patients was found to be significantly poorer than that of those without diabetes, but better than that of those with angina and stroke. HbAl level was found to be significantly related to well-being, the low levels of HbAl (below 7.5%) scoring low on well-being and the high levels (above 15%) scoring high. Because of its special design, the present study allowed comparisons between diabetic patients undergoing treatment and newly detected patients who had not yet been treated. Treatment-related interpretations therefore could be rejected.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

The relationship between self-reported pain and sociodemographic variables, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Self-reported pain is one of the core endpoint measures in RA. The objective of this cross sectional study of 238 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was to examine the relationship between self-reported pain intensity, sociodemographic variables, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. METHODS: A weighted sum score of pain intensity was constructed by combining a visual analog pain scale with items from the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS) and the Nottingham Health Profile. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured by subscales of AIMS RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses showed no significant effects of age, sex, income, or level of education on self-reported pain intensity, whereas there was a significant association between the pain index and anxiety and depressive symptoms. The correlation between the pain index and anxiety, and the pain index and depression, was 0.46 for both. Controlling for sociodemographic variables, the Ritchie index, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein, the standardized regression coefficients were 0.33 and 0.31 of the pain index on the AIMS anxiety and depression subscale, respectively. Furthermore, the results indicate that the effect of inflammation on mental distress is mediated by pain. CONCLUSION: Self-reported pain in RA is not significantly influenced by sex, age, level of education, or income. Even when controlling for disease activity, there was a considerable correlation between self-reported pain and mental distress. Furthermore, our study lends support to the hypothesis that mental distress is mainly secondary to pain rather than vice versa.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Life events, psychosocial factors, and demographic variables in early rheumatoid arthritis: relations to one-year changes in functional disability.

OBJECTIVE: To explore how life events, psychosocial factors, and demographic variables are related to one-year changes in disability in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: A sample of 238 patients with RA of 48 mo duration or less was examined at baseline and after 12 mo (n = 227; 95%). Data on life events and psychosocial variables were collected by structured interviews, and functional disability was measured by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). Analyses of variance and forward stepwise linear regression analyses were used as statistical procedures. RESULTS: Mean functional disability measured by the HAQ was relatively low at baseline and remained stable during one year. Positive life events experienced during the past year were significantly related to improved physical ability, whereas female sex was significantly related to reduction in ability. Neither age, income, education, number of network members, symptoms of mental distress, nor negative life events in the past year significantly predicted one-year changes in functional limitations. CONCLUSION: The experience of positive life events during the past year was significantly related to a reduction in disability in this prospective study of 238 patients with early RA. This finding adds to our knowledge regarding the relationship between psychosocial factors and disease progression in RA.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Phylogeny and evolution of the auks (subfamily Alcinae) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences.

The genetic divergence and phylogeny of the auks was assessed by mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons in a study using 19 of the 22 auk species and two outgroup representatives. We compared more than 500 nucleotides from each of two mitochondrial genes encoding 12S rRNA and the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6. Divergence times were estimated from transversional substitutions. The dovekie (Alle alle) is related to the razorbill (Alca torda) and the murres (Uria spp). Furthermore, the Xantus's murrelet (Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) and the ancient (Synthliboramphus antiquus) and Japanese murrelets (Synthliboramphus wumizusume) are genetically distinct members of the same main lineage, whereas brachyramphine and synthliboramphine murrelets are not closely related. An early adaptive radiation of six main species groups of auks seems to trace back to Middle Miocene. Later speciation probably involved ecological differentiations and geographical isolations.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

[A new teaching program in behavioral sciences in Oslo].

The Department of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine at the University of Oslo was established in 1977. The teaching programme followed the same main principles until 1992, and took place in the third and fourth terms. Since 1992, however, several changes have taken place. The teaching is now given together with medical history during ten weeks at the end of the preclinical term. Teaching practical skills in doctor-patient communication is introduced in this term, and is continued in the first clinical year. The students work together in plenary seminars on the main topics presented in the lectures. The teaching is still concentrated on four main topics: Psychobiology, medical psychology, medical sociology and the doctor-patient relationship and communication. We conclude that the changes have improved the teaching. Written evaluation by the students strongly supports this conclusion.

Behavioral Sciences↗

PubMed1994

Intragenic rearrangements in the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 gene of vertebrates.

We have sequenced the mitochondrial-encoded NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 gene from 19 species of birds. Comparison of the derived amino-acid sequences in 22 avian species, six mammals, and two fishes, reveals an intragenic rearrangement in mammals. The C-terminal half of the mammalian protein includes an internal insertion of 10-15 amino acids and a C-terminal deletion of 8-9 amino acids. Based on comparative sequence alignments and hydropathy profile analysis, five hydrophobic segments (designated I to V) corresponding to transmembrane regions are proposed. In this structural model of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6, the mammalian insertion is found in a variable loop region between transmembrane segments IV and V.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1994

The Groningen Activity Restriction Scale for measuring disability: its utility in international comparisons.

OBJECTIVES: The Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS) is a non-disease-specific instrument to measure disability in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). It was developed in studies of Dutch samples consisting of elderly or chronically ill people. The psychometric properties of the GARS demonstrated in these studies were highly satisfactory. This paper addresses the psychometric properties of the GARS across countries. METHODS: Data of 623 patients with recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis from four European countries were analyzed by means of a principal components analysis and a Mokken scale analysis for polychotomous items. RESULTS: The results of the analyses were highly satisfactory: there was one strong and reliable general factor representing one underlying dimension of disability in ADL and IADL, and there was a clear hierarchical ordering of the items included in the GARS. The validity of the GARS was strongly suggested by the pattern of associations of the GARS with age, sex, and other existing health status measures. CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric characteristics of the GARS, which measures disability in ADL and IADL simultaneously, make this instrument very useful for comparative research across countries.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1993

Low genetic effect and age-specific family effect for symptoms of anxiety and depression in nuclear families, halfsibs and twins.

Questionnaire information on symptoms of anxiety/depression was obtained from 61,286 persons, most of whom could be grouped in families as spouses, parents, offspring, siblings, halfsibs and twins. The correlations between mental health in relatives, varying somewhat by sex, were: 0.27 for 18,768 pairs of spouses, 0.12 to 0.17 for 30,888 pairs of parents and offspring, 0.11 to 0.18 for 13,134 pairs of siblings, 0.27 to 0.35 for 57 pairs of MS twins, -0.06 to 0.10 for 60 pairs of DZ twins, 0.30 for 88 pairs of halfsibs reared together, and 0.16 for 40 pairs of halfsibs reared apart. The heritability was estimated to be between 0 and 0.20. There was a significant effect of environmental transmission from mother, but not from father, to offspring. The effect of environmental factors shared by sisters was substantial, the corresponding effect was lower in brothers, and zero in siblings of opposite sex. The correlations decreased with increasing age differences between relatives, implying effects of age-specific genes or environmental factors in the family.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Psychological distress in cancer patients with advanced disease.

The objective of this study is to explore the nature and extent of the cognitive behavioral response to treatment, and the accompanying anxiety and/or depression in cancer patients with advanced disease. In a multicenter study, 247 patients treated with palliative radiotherapy filled out a questionnaire before start of treatment. The questionnaire consisted of Impact of Event Scale (IES), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-20), and two questions assessing pain intensity. Seventy percent of the patients reported a high level of psychological distress. The mean score of the patient population on the IES was 14.4 (IES intrusion) and 15.3 (IES avoidance). The mean Likert score on the GHQ-20 was 27.3. Patients with poor performance status and pain were most distressed. In order to improve patients' care and support, cases at risk must be identified. In the present population, psychological distress is related to pain and reduced performance status.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

How well can a few questionnaire items indicate anxiety and depression?

There is a need for a short form questionnaire with known psychometric characteristics that may be used as an indicator of level of global mental distress. A weighted sum of 5 questions from the Symptom Check List (SCL) anxiety and depression subscales (SCL-25) correlates at r = 0.92 with the global SCL-25 score. The alpha reliability for the (5-item) short form questionnaire was 0.85%. Age differences seemed to be trivial, and sex differences were moderate. Descriptive statistics for short form scores in a large, representative sample are given.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Age-specific genetic effects for blood pressure.

Correlations between relatives were determined for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The correlations decrease as age differences between relatives increase in a Norwegian sample with 43,751 parent-offspring pairs, 19,140 pairs of siblings, and 169 pairs of twins. A simple biometric model specifying only age-specific genetic additive effects and environmental effects fitted well to correlations between cotwins, pairs of siblings, and parent-offspring dyads in subsets of relatives grouped by age differences. None of the environmental effects appeared to be due to environmental factors that are shared by family members. Models that excluded a parameter for the age-specific genetic influence did not fit the data. The results may partly explain what seems to be a discrepancy between relatively low parent-offspring correlations from previous nuclear family studies and high correlations from twin studies, especially in identical twins.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

[Does diagnosed hypertension change quality of life? Results from a medical population study in Nord-Trøndelag].

The authors report results from medical screening for hypertension carried out on the entire adult population (aged greater than 20 years) of the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Previously undiagnosed hypertensives in need of medical treatment (n = 173), false positives (n = 233) and patients in need of continued blood pressure monitoring (n = 474) were followed up 10 to 36 months after the screening. This group was compared with a random population sample of known hypertensives (n = 206), patients previously treated for hypertension (n = 118) and normotensives (n = 2,326). No significant differences in changes in quality of life (subjective well-being) were observed between the two groups from screening to follow-up. However, negative events in life and chronic stresses other than the fact of becoming sick induced a deterioration of quality of life. Positive events induced an improvement in quality of life.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

[The diagnosis of hypertension--psychosocial consequences. A literature review of blood pressure examinations].

Several studies have shown higher rates of absenteeism from work among hypertensives who are aware of their condition than among hypertensives who have no such knowledge or among normotensives. This seems to be the result of labelling rather than of the hypertension itself. The results of studies of the effect of labelling and awareness on quality of life are ambiguous. Follow-up by health professionals in terms of reassurance and support often seems to alleviate adverse psychosocial effects of labelling.

Humans↗

PubMed1992

Genetic and environmental contributions to the variance of body height in a sample of first and second degree relatives.

Height was measured in a health screening of the population in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Correlations were computed for 24,281 pairs of spouses, 43,613 pairs of parents and offspring, 19,168 pairs of siblings, 1,318 pairs of grandparents and grandchildren, 1,218 cognate avuncular pairs, 849 noncognate avuncular pairs, 175 pairs of same-sexed twins, and smaller groups of other types of relatives. Fitting of structural equation models showed proportions of additive genetic variance of approximately 0.8 for both sexes and small sex-specific effects that probably reflect genetic dominance or environmental sibling effects. The correlations between parents and offspring were significantly lower in old than young cohorts, seeming to imply some kind of interaction effect between genes and environment.

Age Factors↗