Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Senior Consultant Frida Sundberg, Örebro University, Sweden
- Second opponent: Senior Consultant Agnies van Eeghen, Emma Kinderziekenhuis, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate Professor Hans Christian Erichsen Landsverk, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor II Sara Salehi Hammerstad, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor II Torild Skrivarhaug, University of Oslo
Summary
Comorbidity of neurodevelopmental disorders and somatic conditions is challenging.
In the thesis Interactions between neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and somatic conditions, Kristin A Bakke and colleagues have studied examples of how NDDs (e.g. ADHD and autism) and somatic conditions (e.g. type 1 diabetes (T1D) and epilepsy) may interact.
The first article, a Norwegian nationwide registry study, reports that children and adolescents with T1D and comorbid ADHD have higher long-term blood glucose (HbA1c), and a higher risk of long-term complications than those with T1D only. Functional impairments of ADHD, e.g. planning and organizational difficulties, may contribute to suboptimal diabetes management. Conversely, both high and low blood glucose can cause ADHD-like symptoms. It can be challenging to recognize and diagnose ADHD in individuals with T1D.
Use of ADHD medication was slightly more frequent in the diabetes group than in the general paediatric population. Other studies have reported an increased risk of ADHD in T1D. Fewer girls than boys received ADHD medications. Maybe under recognition of ADHD is more common in girls?
The thesis includes two articles on epilepsy and functional impairments in people with intellectual disability and a rare genetic syndrome named Angelman. Epilepsy, autism symptoms, hyperactivity and sleep problems are common in Angelman.
The articles combine answers to parent-reported questionnaires with data on epilepsy and genetics from medical records. Findings suggest that epilepsy itself causes greater functional impairment (more autism symptoms and hyperactivity) in Angelman syndrome than can be explained by the underlying genetic cause alone. Also, sleep problems and hyperactivity were correlated, which illustrates the importance of assessing and treating symptoms in context. Sleep problems can cause hyperactivity, but the reverse may also be true: restlessness can make it hard to fall asleep.
Additional information
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