ANNUAL REPORT 2018 CONTENTS 3 WELCOME FROM THE HOSTING INSTITUTION 4 OVERVIEW 6 HIGHLIGHTS 2018 7 OUR RESEARCH 8 THEME 1: MATERNAL AND PATERNAL AGE 10 THEME 2: FERTILITY PROBLEMS 12 THEME 3: FERTILITY AND FAMILY STRUCTURE 14 THEME 4: STATISTICAL METHODS 16 THEME 5: INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF HEALTH 17 KEY PROJECTS 20 ORGANISATION 21 CORE GROUP 22 PEOPLE 24 NEW TEAM MEMBERS 2018 25 THE GRO HARLEM BRUNDTLAND VISITING SCHOLARSHIP 26 SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE 28 KEY INDICATORS 2018 29 FINANCING 2018 29 FULL-TIME EQUIVALENTS 2018 30 PUBLICATIONS 2017-2018 34 SEMINARS 2017-2018 36 TEACHING Annual report 2018 3 WELCOME FROM THE HOSTING INSTITUTION CAMILLA STOLTENBERG DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH As Director-General of the Norwegian these fertility changes, using Norway’s expansion, and is active in applying Institute of Public Health, I am proud rich data from registers, health surveys for further funding from H2020, the to welcome the Centre for Fertility and and biobanks. The Centre will provide Research Council of Norway and other Health to our institute. The Centre is new knowledge in the scientific fore- sources. Such funding will provide new one out of ten Centres of Excellence front and be useful for decision makers opportunities, and I am certain that the awarded nationally by the Research and other stakeholders in policymaking. Centre will be a great inspiration for our Council of Norway in 2017 and the only The institute provides infrastructure research and make important scientific one hosted by an institution outside the and facilities for the Centre. Fruitful contributions over the coming years. university sector. synergies are reaped between the Centre It is a great privilege to host the Cen- The Norwegian Institute of Public and the other departments at our insti- tre at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health is a national institution under the tute in the fields of genetics, epidemiol- Health, and I am committed to secure its Ministry of Health and Care Services. ogy, mental health, toxicology and health success. Our vision is “Better health for all” and services, and several seminar series have we are responsible for generating new been established to promote scientific knowledge in order to improve health exchange. I am confident that the Centre in Norway and globally. To reach this will continue to develop strong collabo- goal we need rich national data and high rations with our other units and with sci- quality research. To prevent diseases and entists in Norway and abroad. To foster promote health, we need more insight the Centre as an international research regarding causal mechanisms in disease hub, we have provided the Centre with aetiology, and must develop cutting edge guest workspaces, where scientists can methods that move these fields forward. visit for shorter or longer periods to Our new Centre of Excellence is a great collaborate in ongoing projects and to Camilla Stoltenberg asset to the institute in all these domains. develop novel ideas. Director-General The marked changes in patterns of I have high expectations for the fertility and family structure observed Centre. Since its inception in 2017, the over the past decades have large impacts Centre has hired excellent researchers, on our societies. Some consequences some with professorships at leading of these changes are known, but most international universities, and attracted are unknown. The Centre has set out prominent international collaborators. to unravel the health consequences of The Centre has ambitious plans for 4 Centre for Fertility and Health OVERVIEW BY PER MAGNUS CENTRE DIRECTOR Dear friends, I am proud to present Staff and funding the first annual report from CeFH. By the end of 2018, 19 men and 16 The report sums up activities in women were formally associated with 2018. It has been a wonderful the Centre, including full-time research- experience to get started. ers, researchers in part-time positions and foreign researchers with whom we The first year have established collaboration agree- The Centre was established on Novem- ments, and administrative personnel. In ber 1, 2017. During the past year, we addition, the Centre collaborates closely have moved the themes in our appli- with several other researchers in Norway cation forward. In addition, valuable and abroad at a number of reputable spin-offs and new ideas have emerged. research institutions. In 2018, we hired One cannot put experienced and creative four new researchers, and we have ambi- people in one place and expect them to tious plans for continuos growth as new follow a narrow path. Our project port- external funding is obtained. folio has grown. In some projects, we use data sets that are already established, Scientific output whereas for others we are establishing The Centre has contributed in 62 scien- new data sets. In 2018, many efforts tific papers since it was established. 51 have gone into planning and establishing of these were published in 2018. They these new data sets. Our host insti- reflect our backgrounds in demogra- tute has provided us with office space, phy, genetics, statistical methods and including workspaces for guests and epidemiology. We are increasingly seeing collaborators. We have set up seminar manuscripts with authors from different series to foster scientific exchange. There disciplines. We have, among other things, has been more attention from public shown that the relationship between media than expected, as the decreasing marital status and life expectancy has fertility rate has sparked public debate. become stronger over the last decades; The government has given us the task to that investing in adolescents as the par- explain the causes of the decline during ents of the next generation is important the coming year - a daunting challenge. for the well-being of both current and future generations; that children’s age at the parents’ divorce can affect anti- Annual report 2018 5 depressant use in adulthood, and that ideas and to establish and consolidate children born after assisted reproduction collaborations. have an increased risk of asthma. We have also contributed to the discovery A promising future for the Centre of new genetic variants for ADHD. One challenge is to explain to some of Researchers at the Centre contributed to our surroundings that we cannot answer more than 70 news reports in Norway all difficult questions immediately. This in 2018, and have received international type of research takes time. We are, of press coverage on selected publications. course, harvesting some low-hanging We have presented our research to other fruits. But we are just taking the first researchers, decision makers and other steps on the paths into exciting research stakeholders at conferences and meet- areas. ings in Norway and abroad. Collaboration and networks We have established collaborations with prominent international researchers in the field, including Allen Wilcox, Emily Grundy, Wendy Sigle, Eric Bonsang, George Davey Smith, Abraham Aviv, Ezra Susser, Hans-Peter Kohler, Mikko Myrskylä. To increase the recruitment of younger international research- Per Magnus ers, we established “The Gro Harlem Centre Director Brundtland Visiting Scholarship”. This scholarship was announced and awarded to two young researchers from the University of Bristol, UK. Both use data from Norwegian registries and cohorts. In May 2018, the Centre organized an opening symposium. The aim of the symposium was to present the Centre’s research agenda, to foster new research 6 Centre for Fertility and Health HIGHLIGHTS 2018 Major publications Major events New offices The Centre personnel moved to new The increasing mortality advantage of Opening symposium office spaces in June 2018. the married: The role played by educa- The inaugural symposium of the Centre tion. Kravdal Ø, Grundy E, Keenan K. was arranged on May 8 and gathered We obtained funding for the projects: Demographic Research. 2018;38:471-512 over 100 participants. The conference “The intrauterine redox state and tel- was opened by Linda Hofstad Helle- omere length in the newborn”, led by Adolescence and the next generation. land, Minister of Children and Equality, Håkon Gjessing and Astanand Jugessur. Patton GC, Olsson CA, Skirbekk V, Camilla Stoltenberg, Director-General, Saffery R, Wlodek ME, Azzopardi PS, Norwegian Institute of Public Health “HEALTH-GAP. Health, maturity, and Stonawski M, Rasmussen B, Spry E, and Liv Furuberg, Research Council of the gender gap in education”, led by Francis K, Bhutta ZA, Kassebaum NJ, Norway. The aim of the symposium Camilla Stoltenberg, Fartein Ask Torvik Mokdad AH, Murray CJL, Prentice AM, was to present an overview of trends in and Martin Flatø. Reavley N, Sheehan P, Sweeny K, Viner fertility and family structure and good RM, Sawyer SM. Nature, 2018;554:458- examples of research within the Centre’s “International Pregnancy Drug Safety 466. area (from several disciplinary angles), Studies (InPreSS)”, led by Kari Furu. foster new research ideas and consoli- New evidence about effects of repro- date collaborations – within and between ductive variables on child mortality in disciplines. sub-Saharan Africa. Kravdal Ø. Popula- tion Studies 2018;72(2):139-156. The Gro Harlem Brundtland Visiting Scholarship Maternal history of miscarriages and The scholarship was announced in May measures of fertility in relation to child- 2018, and two researchers, Robyn Woot- hood asthma. Magnus MC, Karlstad Ø, ton and Gemma Sharp were awarded the Parr CL, Page CM, Nafstad P, Magnus grant for 2018 and 2019. P, London SJ, Wilcox AJ, Nystad W, Håberg SE. Thorax 2019;74(2):106-113. Recruitment We hired four new researchers - Jonas Discovery of the first genome-wide Minet Kinge, Maria Magnus, Fartein significant risk loci for attention deficit/ Ask Torvik and Martin Flatø - adding hyperactivity disorder. Demontis D et al. to the team described in the application. Nature Genetics. 2018;51:63-75. They have complementary expertise in economics, epidemiology, psychology Parent-of-origin-environment interac- and demography.