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Over the last decade, there has been a sharp increase in young people seeking medical treatment for gender dysphoria/gender incongruence (GD/GI). The aims of this study were to calculate yearly population-adjusted numbers of children and adolescents referred to the Norwegian National Center for Gender Incongruence (NCGI) at Oslo University Hospital (OUS) from 2000 to 2022; to describe the demographic characteristics and prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses, self-harm and suicide attempts among the referred from 2000 to 2020; and to investigate time trends. The study used data from the Gender Incongruence Registry for Children and Adolescents (GIRCA) in Norway. All persons under 18 years (n = 1258) referred to the NCGI between 2000 and 2020 were included: 68.4% assigned female gender at birth (AFAB) and 31.6% assigned male gender at birth (AMAB). We found a sharp increase in referrals to the NCGI favouring AFAB over AMAB. Nearly two in three (64.5%) had one or more registered psychiatric diagnoses. Self-harm was registered among 35.5%, and 12.7% had attempted suicide. Registered psychiatric diagnoses were significantly (p ≤ 0.001) more prevalent among AFAB (67.8%) than AMAB (57.4%). The number of registered diagnoses per person decreased significantly over time, with an average reduction of 0.02 diagnoses per person per year. Although there was a downward time trend in registered diagnoses per person, the total mental health burden among children and adolescents with GI emphasizes the need for a holistic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the longitudinal Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, the aims of the current study were to examine associations between postnatal maternal heavy alcohol use and toddler behavior problems, taking both observed and unobserved confounding factors into account by employing fixed effects regression models. Postnatal maternal heavy alcohol use (defined as drinking alcohol 4 or more times a week, or drinking 7 units or more per alcohol use episode) and toddler internalizing and externalizing behavior problems were assessed when the toddlers were aged 18 and 36 months. Maternal psychopathology, civil status and negative life events last year were included as time-variant covariates. Maternal heavy alcohol use was associated with toddler internalizing and externalizing behavior problems ( p < 0.001) in the population when examined with generalized estimating equation models. The associations disappeared when observed and unobserved sources of confounding were taken into account in the fixed effects models [( p = 0.909 for externalizing behaviors ( b = 0.002, SE = 0.021), p = 0.928 for internalizing behaviors ( b = 0.002, SE = 0.023)], with an even further reduction of the estimates with the inclusion of time-variant confounders. No causal effect was found between postnatal maternal heavy alcohol use and toddler behavior problems. Increased levels of behavior problems among toddlers of heavy drinking mothers should therefore be attributed to other adverse characteristics associated with these mothers, toddlers and families. This should be taken into account when interventions aimed at at-risk families identified by maternal heavy alcohol use are planned and conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the developmental trajectories of postpartum weight from 0.5 to 3 years after childbirth, and aimed to determine the associations between postpartum weight trajectories and prepregnancy body mass index and adequacy of gestational weight gain (GWG). Data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study were used, following 49,528 mothers 0.5, 1.5, and 3 years after childbirth. Analyses were performed using latent growth mixture modeling. Three groups of developmental trajectories of postpartum weight were found, with most women (85.9 %) having a low level of weight retention initially and slight gain over 3 years, whereas 5.6 % of women started at a high postpartum weight retention (on average 7.56 kg) at 0.5 years but followed by a marked weight loss over time (2.63 kg per year on average), and the third trajectory represented women (8.5 %) who had high weight retention high initially (on average 4.67 kg at 0.5 years) and increasing weight over time (1.43 kg per year on average). Prepregnancy overweight and obesity and excessive GWG significantly predicted a high postpartum weight trend. Women had substantial variability in postpartum weight development-both initially after birth and in their weight trajectories over time. Early preventive interventions may be designed to assist women with prepregnancy overweight and obesity and excessive GWG, which helps to reduce the increasing trend for postpartum weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal risk drinking may be a risk factor for child behavior problems even if the mother has discontinued this behavior. Whether pre-pregnancy risk drinking is an independent predictor of child behavior problems, or whether a potential effect may be explained by maternal alcohol use during and after pregnancy or other adverse maternal characteristics, is not known. Employing data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), longitudinal associations between maternal pre-pregnancy risk drinking and behavior problems in toddlers aged 18 and 36 months were examined. Included in the study was mothers answering MoBa questionnaires when the child was 18 ( N = 56,682) and 36 months ( N = 46,756), and who had responded to questions regarding pre-pregnancy risk drinking at gestation week 17/18, using the screening instrument T-ACE. Toddler behavior problems were measured with items from Child Behavior Checklist. Associations were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression, controlling for pre and postnatal alcohol use, as well as other relevant covariates. Pre-pregnancy risk drinking was associated with child behavior problems at 18 and 36 months, even after controlling for pre and postnatal alcohol use. Maternal ADHD and anxiety and depression were the only covariates that had any substantial impact on the associations. When all covariates were included in the model, the associations were weak for internalizing behavior problems and non-significant for externalizing behavior problems. Pre-pregnancy risk drinking may predict early development of behavior problems in the offspring. This increased risk may be due to other adverse maternal characteristics associated with risk drinking, in particular co-occurring maternal psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]