Health Journey
About the project
The study "Health Journey – Icelandic 1988 Cohort Study" will be one of the first studies in Iceland to examine in detail the long-term development of health-related factors during the formative years from adolescence to adulthood.
The aim of the study is to examine changes and sustainability in the mental, social, and physical health of Icelanders born in 1988 from adolescence (15 years old), through young adulthood (23 years old), to full adulthood (at 36 years old in the planned study). The study plans to assess the mental and physical health, as well as the social support of participants who have now reached adulthood, and to explore cross-sectional relationships between symptoms of depression, loneliness, stress, sleep, fitness, physical activity, and body composition. Additionally, the study will investigate the long-term effects and sustainability of fitness and physical activity during adolescence and young adulthood on depression, anxiety, self-esteem, body image, and life satisfaction in adulthood. Mental and physical health will be assessed using questionnaires, and fitness, physical activity and sleep will be measured using objective methods. By bridging the gap between adolescence and adulthood, this study offers a unique opportunity to understand how mental well-being, social support, fitness, exercise, and sleep are interconnected and shape health in adulthood.
Members
- Dr. Erlingur Sigurður Jóhannsson. Professor at the University of Iceland (Principal investigator and project leader)
- Dr. G. Sunna Gestsdóttir. Associate Professor at the University of Iceland (Project leader)
- Dr. Nanna Ýr Arnardóttir. Assistant Professor at the University of Akureyri (Project leader)
- Dr. Ársæll Már Arnarson. Professor at the University of Iceland
- Guðrún Carstensdóttir. PhD student at the University of Iceland
- Kristrún María Björnsdóttir. PhD student at the University of Akureyri
Collaborators
- Dr. Hege Randi Eriksen, Professor, Department of Sport, Food and Natural Sciences at Western Norway Univ. of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
- Dr. Jorge Mota, Professor, Faculty of Sports Sciences and Director of the Research Center in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure, at Porto University, Portugal
- Dr. Kong Chen, Senior Clinical Investigator and Director of the Metabolic Clinical Research Unit at the NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Dr. Mari Hysing, Professor, Faculty of Psychology, Univ. of Bergen, Norway
- Dr. Robert Brychta, Staff Scientist at the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, NIH, Maryland, USA
Related Studies
Health behaviour of the Icelandic youth - Study at the University of Iceland