VID Colloquium
Religious Living and Chronic Diseases - The Danish Religious Societies Health Study
Christoffer Johansen, University of Copenhagen
Lau Caspar Thygesen, National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark
Date: Fri, 5 Apr. 2013, Time: 2:00-3:00 pm
Introductory remarks about Danish psychooncological research by Professor Christoffer Johansen.
Mind has been associated with an increased risk for major chronic diseases including cancer. During a 15-year long effort we have investigated this hypothesis with data originating from administrative, population based and nationwide data sources completely free from bias (recall, selection or information bias) and we have not been able to confirm this idea. A short introductory presentation of this research agenda will be given.
Seventh-day Adventists and Baptists are religious minorities in the secular Danish state and are characterized by low or no consumption of tobacco and alcohol and Adventists do not consume pork and many adhere to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian lifestyle. We have constructed a cohort of Danish Adventists and Baptists with long-term follow-up in Danish registers on health-related outcomes. In this presentation our main findings on mortality, cause-specific mortality and incidence of cancer, cardiovascular and psychiatric disease in this cohort compared to the general Danish population will be presented. Our general findings point to the benefits of compliance with public health recommendations with respect to major chronic diseases and mortality.
About the presenter
Christoffer Johansen is Professor in Cancer Late Effect Research at the University of Copenhagen. He has established and developed a group of researchers engaged in three dimensions of cancer research: to what extent is the mind a risk factor for cancer, what are the psychosocial and physiological effects of cancer treatment and is it possible to establish new treatments of these effects. He published 306 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 10 book chapters, edited 4 books and 54 other publications including letters to peer-reviewed journals.
Lau Caspar Thygesen is Associate Professor at the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark. His research interests focus on epidemiological research using register-based information and methodological developments in register-based research