Mortality and morbidity in patients with mental illness
This area covers different aspects of mortality and morbidity in persons with mental illness, with a main focus on severe mental illness. Some projects use national registry data on cardiovascular diseases and cancer, whereas others investigate tentative trajectories within the field of somatic and mental comorbidity using data from population-based studies, in particular The Tromsø Study. Furthermore, the thematic area includes clinical studies investigating different aspects of prevention and treatment of somatic diseases in patients with severe mental illness, as well as studies on implementation of guidelines and treatment for better somatic health care. User involvement is considered important within this thematic area, e.g. in the project “Groups for smoking cessation in persons with severe mental illness” where persons with mental illness experiences partake in a research project on implementation of a group program for smoking cessation. The projects included in the thematic area are financed by The North Norwegian Health Authority, University Hospital of North Norway, UiT The Arctic University of Norway and/or The Research Council of Norway.
Group members
Anne Høye, Professor, M.D., Ph.D. and specialist in psychiatry. She has a full-time position at the Department of Clinical Medicine, she also has 20 % position as Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at The Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, University Hospital of North Norway, and a 5 % position as researcher/Special Advisor at Center of Clinical Documentation and Evaluation, Regional Health Authority of North Norway.
Elisabeth Lund-Stenvold is a medical doctor and a 50% PhD student at UiT working on a national project on cardiovascular health in persons with severe mental illness, based on clinical data from “The Norwegian Healthy Heart Study”. She also works 50% as Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at The Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, University Hospital of North Norway.
Stine Larsen is a medical doctor and a 50% PhD student at UiT working on implementation of guidelines and evidence-based treatment for physical health care in patients with severe mental illness, based on data from the Norwegian multicenter study “A pairwise randomized study on implementation of guidelines and evidence-based treatments of psychoses”. She also works 50% as Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at The Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, University Hospital of North Norway.
Safak Caglayan is MSc in Molecular biology and Genetics, Ph.D., working as a Postdoc Candidate on a project investigating the role of lifestyle and polygenic factors in cardiovascular comorbidity in mental illness. The project includes data from the Tromsø Study; integrating genetic risk, lifestyle and environmental factors.
Ole Grønli is Associate Professor 20%, M.D., PhD. and specialist in psychiatry, working on comorbidity aspects and mental health with a special focus on the elderly. He is also working as a Senior Consultant Psychiatrist within geriatric psychiatry at The Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, University Hospital of North Norway. His projects include data from The Tromsø Study and clinically retrieved data.
Ina Heiberg is Cand. Polit., PhD, working 50% as researcher with a project on unwarranted variation in cancer care; investigating diagnosis, treatment and cancer mortality in persons with mental disorders and/or substance use disorders, using national registry data. She also works 50% as a senior advisor/researcher at Center of Clinical Documentation and Evaluation, Regional Health Authority of North Norway (SKDE).
Karina Sebergsen is a nurse, working 20% as Associate Professor in a project on smoking cessation in persons with severe mental illness. She also works as a nurse at The Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, University Hospital of North Norway.
Associate members
Jørgen Bramness is professor of psychiatry at Department of Clinical Medicine, UiT and is collaborating within this thematic area on subjects related to comorbidity with substance abuse and dependence.
Lise Balteskard is an oncology specialist at UNN and a senior researcher at SKDE, collaborating within this thematic area on the project on cancer care.
Bjarne Koster Jacobsen is professor of epidemiology at the Department of Community Medicine, UiT and a senior researcher at SKDE, collaborating within this thematic area on several projects on mortality and morbidity.
Elisabeth Klæbo Reitan is Cand. Psychol. and a PhD student working with a qualitative study on medication free treatment in patients with severe mental illness.