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Background: This study investigates the use of health and dental care services in adults with intellectual disability in the last 12 months according to Norwegian recommendations and in relation to age and intellectual disability levels. Method: A cross-sectional community-based survey including 214 participants (56% men). POMONA health indicators were used for data collection. Results: Health checks and contact with general practitioners in the last year increased with age but were less frequent in those with more severe intellectual disability. Hospital admissions were age independent. Less than one-fifth of women had undergone cancer screening, with small variations according to intellectual disability severity levels. Few had an individual plan. More than one-third experienced poor dental health despite frequent controls. Conclusions: The use of health checks was lower than recommended, especially in individuals with more severe intellectual disability. Service access and individual plan use need to be enhanced, and dental care services should be improved.

Background: This study investigated the completion rates, scores and factors associated with non-completion and low scores on physical capability tests in a health survey administered to adults with intellectual disabilities. Method: Assessment comprised body mass index (BMI), the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the timed up-and-go (TUG) test, the one-legged stance (OLS) test; and gross motor, communication and behavioural functioning tests. Results: The completion rates among 93 participants (aged 17-78) were 46% for the SPPB, 42% for the TUG, and 31% for the OLS. More severe intellectual disability (OR = 3.12, p < 0.001) and lower BMI (OR = 0.859, p = 0.001) were related to test non-completion. The SPPB scores were below the reference values from the general population. Lower scores were associated with older age, motor disabilities and intellectual disability severity. Conclusions: Including physical capability tests in health surveys among adults with intellectual disabilities is important to monitor functional status and guide prevention strategies.

Background: The employment rate for people with intellectual disabilities is low. This study aims to increase the knowledge about the association between age, gender, diagnosis, functional level, educational level, and daily activities for adults with intellectual disabilities. Method: A multinomial logistic analysis was applied to registry data on 12,735 adults with intellectual disabilities from the Norwegian Information System for the Nursing and Care Sector (IPLOS) and Statistics Norway (SSB). Results: Higher likelihood of employment and day care participation were associated with younger age but differed between genders and diagnoses. High functional level and lack of a registered functional level decreased the likelihood for employment. Educational level was not associated with employment. Conclusions: The systematic differences in employment and day care participation among people with intellectual disabilities indicate that actions are needed to prevent inequalities. Improved individual assessment of personal resources and wishes might promote participation in employment and day care.

The aim of this study was twofold. The first intention was to examine the factorial validity of a work/family interaction in terms of the direction of influence (work-to-family vs. family-to-work) and type of effect (conflict vs. facilitation). Second, gender differences along these four dimensions of work/family interaction were explored. Data were obtained from eight different occupational groups in Norway: lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers, church ministers, bus drivers, and people working in advertising and information technology (IT; N = 3,313). Multigroup analysis indicated that the hypothesized four-factor model clearly has a better fit than the alternative one-factor and two-factor models. Latent mean comparisons revealed significant gender differences along all the dimensions. Women reported more conflict and facilitation in both directions compared to men. Although there were some occupational differences, this was indicative of a more fluid boundary between work and family among women. The findings are discussed in an identity perspective. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

The Maslach Burnout Inventory--General Survey (MBI-GS) is designed to measure the three subdimensions (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) of burnout in a wide range of occupations. This article examines the factorial validity of the MBI-GS across eight different occupational groups in Norway: lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers, church ministers, bus drivers, and people working within advertising and information technology (N = 5,024). Separate confirmatory factor analyses using LISREL showed that the hypothesized three-factor model had sufficient fit in all occupational groups except for the group of people working in advertising. In a multigroup analysis including all occupations but the latter one and in an analysis of all individuals combined into one sample, the three-factor model had a clearly better fit than the alternative one-factor and two-factor models. The results support that MBI-GS provides a suitable measurement to assess burnout across a diversity of professions. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

Background: The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and dementia is complex and controversial. This study investigates the association of weight change during midlife and later dementia-related mortality.Methods: Two BMI measurements (average of 9.0 years apart) were available for 43,721 participants in the Norwegian Counties Study (NCS), with mean age 42 years at first BMI measurement and 51 at the final measurement. NCS was linked with the Cause of Death Registry until year 2015 (mean follow-up time 25.9 years). Cox regression with a conditional growth model was used.Results: Our study comprised 1,205 dementia-related deaths. Weight loss was associated with increased dementia-related mortality, irrespectively of baseline BMI and confounders; those with 10% or more loss had hazard ratio (HR) = 1.52 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09, 2.12) compared to those being stable (0%-2.5% BMI gain), and those with 5%-10% loss had HR = 1.38 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.76). Gaining weigh was associated with reduced dementia-related mortality. Associations with BMI change did not vary by baseline BMI.Conclusions: Weight loss during midlife was associated with increased dementia-related mortality risk more than 3 decades later, while weight gain was associated with reduced risk. These associations held both for low and high baseline BMI. Weight loss was an independent risk factor for dementia-related mortality and more strongly related with dementia-related mortality than stable BMI (stable high or low). Overweight and obesity were associated with an increased risk for nondementia-related mortality, which was far more common than dementia-related mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]