High or hazardous alcohol use is a major health problem for the individual, for the family and for society in general. Several factors can be related to the development of hazardous alcohol use. One such factor is sleep problems. Chronic disturbances in sleep and wake rhythms after alcohol use represent a serious additional burden by significantly disrupting daily functioning.
About a third of the adult population report having sleep problems and about 10-11% have insomnia requiring treatment. But exactly how alcohol use and sleep problems are related is not clear. Some studies find that higher alcohol consumption is related to an increased risk of sleep problems, while other studies find no connection between alcohol use and sleep problems. In this project, the relationship between hazardous alcohol use and sleep problems will be explored, as well as the prevalence of sleep problems among individuals classified as having a high alcohol consumption. Another factor that may be related to heavy alcohol use is having experiences of a potentially traumatic nature in childhood or adulthood. For instance, sexual abuse, childhood maltreatment, bullying or having received painful medical treatments. Previous studies vary greatly in terms of which potentially traumatic events have been examined, in addition, the focus has often been on individual events, instead of examining a larger selection of potentially traumatic events. In this project, the relationship between 11 different potentially traumatic events and hazardous alcohol use will be explored. Finally, the transition from work to retirement can be both a positive and negative experience, which in turn can be related to changes in alcohol use. This has not previously been investigated in a Norwegian sample and will also be explored in this project. This study uses data from the last four waves of the Tromsø study (Tromsø4: 1994-95; Tromsø5: 2001-02; Tromsø6: 2007-08, Tromsø7 2015-16), which makes our study the first of its kind in a Norwegian context.
Vendela Husberg-Bru's PhD project is based on data from the present project.
Kamilla Rognmo write scientific papers based on data from the project.
Collaborators: Laila Hopstock, Oddgeir Friborg, Svein Bergvik, Jan Rosenvinge, Sarah Cook, Gustavsson, and Geraldine Mabille
See also about the project in Cristin.
The project period is 2013-2024.
Northern Norway Regional Health Authority