We will host our 6th Annual Symposium on May 15-16th, in Oslo, Norway. The symposium gathers researchers from Norway and abroad with an interest in using our rich national data to understand causes and consequences of changing fertility and family patterns. We aim at arranging a symposium with good opportunities to connect and establish new collaborations.

Register for the Symposium here: Microsoft Forms

Registration deadline: Friday, April 28th at 12:00 (noon). 

Our Centre is a cross disciplinary Norwegian Centre of Excellence, established at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in 2017. We aim to create a research atmosphere that results in fruitful collaborations across disciplines and incentivise research that allows a better understanding of fertility patterns and health outcomes than what each discipline can do alone. Our research team consists of experts in disciplines such as epidemiology, demography, genetics, statistics, economics and medicine.

(Preliminary) Program:

Day 1, May 15^th

09:00-09:15        Opening - Siri Håberg

09:15-09:45        Testicular Cancer and Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome - Niels Erik Skakkebæk, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

09:45-10:00        Keynote discussion

10:00-10:30        BREAK

Session 1: Genetics and family relations

Chair: Yunsung Lee

10:30-10:50        Twins, fertility and childhood health - Dorret Boomsma, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

10:50-11:10        Assortative mating and genetic correlations between relatives - Hans Fredrik Sunde, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

11:10-11:30        The role of DNA methylation in gestational age - Kristine Haftorn, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

11:30-11:50        The genetics of placental growth: a sneak peek of the interface between mother and child during pregnancy - Marc Vaudel, University of Bergen, Norway

12:00-13:00        LUNCH

Session 2: Puberty, family and fertility

Chair: Jennifer Harris

13:00-13:20        Father absence in pregnancy or during childhood and pubertal development in girls and boys: a population-based cohort study - Anne Gaml-Sørensen, Aarhus University, Denmark

13:20-13:40        Age at menarche and fecundability in MoBa - Mari Warp, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

13:40-14:00        Menstrual disturbances after Covid-19 vaccination among adolescents and young adults - Ida Caspersen, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

14:00-14:30        BREAK

Session 3: Impacts of school starting age

Chair: Bjørn-Atle Reme

14:30-14:50        Relative age and psychotropic drug use in preterm and term-born children and young adults - Christine Bachmann, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

14:50-15:10        School starting age, family formation and fertility - Kate Beck, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

15:10-15:30        Ready for school? Effects on school starters of establishing school psychology offices in Norway - Martin Flatø, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

15:30-15:40        Closing remarks - Øystein Kravdal

18:00                   Dinner at Mirabel, Sørengkaia 163, 0194 Oslo, Norway

Day 2, May 16^th

09:00-09:10        Opening - Håkon Gjessing

Session 4: Drivers of fertility change

Chair: Rannveig K. Hart

09:10-09:30        The causal effects of education on age at marriage and marital fertility - Neil Cummins, London School of Economics, UK

09:30-09:50        Closing in the gender gap: The fertility consequences of job loss among women and men - a register-based study in Norway - Rishabh Tyagi, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

09:50-10:10        Metformin and malformations - the Paternal factor - Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen, University of Southern Denmark

10:10-10:30        Teen fertility trends globally - Vegard Skirbekk, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

10:30-11:00        BREAK

Session 5: Environment, lifestyle and fertility

Chair: Maria Magnus

11:00-11:20        Climate change and fertility - Risto Conte Keivabu, Max Planck Institute of Demographic Research, Germany

11:20-11:40        Early life exposure to environmental pollutants - and examples of associations to fertility related outcomes - Cathrine Thomsen, Norwegian Institute of Public Health

11:40-12:00        Food groups, diet quality and infertility - Alvaro Hernaez, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

12:00-12:20        CVD risk following specific pregnancy complications - Allen Wilcox, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, USA

12:30-13:30        LUNCH

Session 6: Mental health and families

Chair: Fartein Ask Torvik

13:30-13:50       Diminishing association between educational success and common adolescent mental disorders from 2006-2019 - Magnus Nordmo, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

13:50-14:10       Co-evolution of child and parental mental health problems - Jonathan Wörn, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

14:10-14:30       Risk of preterm birth associated with ADHD medication use in pregnancy - Chaitra Srinivas, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

14:30-14:50       Child penalty in mental health - Thang Dang, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norway

14:50-15:00        Closing remarks - Per Magnus