Frequently Asked Questions

26,000 Norwegian women aged 18 to 45 years were invited to participate in the study on lifestyle and prevention of cervical cancer. Your name and address were randomly drawn from the National Registry. The age group 18-45 years was chosen because it is frequently exposed to HPV infections and precancerous lesions of the cervix. Similar studies are being conducted in Denmark and Sweden

We will investigate how different lifestyle habits can affect the risk of getting cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases. We will also investigate the extent to which the introduction of the HPV vaccine may have affected women's lifestyle and health. The results will be compared with a similar study conducted in 2004-2005. The knowledge can be used to prevent cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases more effectively and to improve health services for women.

Women have different experiences and attitudes to lifestyle and health. The more people who participated in the study, the more certain we can be that we get an accurate picture of lifestyle and health among Norwegian women aged 18 to 45 years. In order for the study's results to reflect the reality of the population , it was therefore important that as many people as possible participated. We will use the results to research the causes and prevention of cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases

HPV infection is usually harmless and without symptoms, but in some people it causes cell changes that over several years can lead to cervical cancer. HPV can also cause genital warts. Since HPV infections that can cause cancer or genital warts are sexually transmitted, we need information about sexual habits to gain knowledge about what affects the risk of developing HPV-related diseases. 

The Scandinavian countries have very good health registries. The health registries provide a good overview of the prevention and incidence of disease in the population, and also provide the opportunity to follow individual trajectories over time. The high quality of our health records is important for this study. The Scandinavian countries were also relatively early adopters of the HPV vaccine. There are also certain differences between the Scandinavian countries, both in HPV-related disease incidence and in the use of HPV vaccine. Overall, this provides a very good basis for research on the causes and prevention of HPV-related diseases.

The study is carried out by the Cancer Registry of Norway in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Kræftens Bekæmpelse in Denmark. The vaccine manufacturer MSD/Merck is funding the study. The study was approved by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics. Oslo University Hospital, represented by the CEO, is the data controller.

The Cancer Registry's research must maintain a high ethical standard. Even if the research results prove not to be of benefit to the pharmaceutical industry, they must be published and published. The study was approved by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics, a body that assesses all ethical aspects of research projects before they can be implemented.

All information will be treated strictly confidentially and will be used exclusively in statistical tables where it will be impossible to identify participants. In our data files, responses from participants will only be linked to an anonymized study number, and all recognizable information about participants (name, address, etc.) will be deleted. The vast majority of people who work with the data will only have access to anonymised data, and everyone working on the study also has a duty of confidentiality. Only a few authorised, confidential data processors at the Cancer Registry of Norway have access to the code that can link the participants' study number to personal data.

Answering the questionnaire does not entail any more work for you. The results of the study will be used for research to be published in scientific articles and reports.

Yes, you can withdraw from the study at any time and without giving a reason without this having consequences for you. If you choose to participate, you may later withdraw by contacting us in writing. Information about you will then be deleted (this does not apply if results are already included in analyses or have been published). You have full right of access to what information is registered about you in the study and you have the right to have any errors in the information we have registered corrected.