Tone Smith-Sivertsen - associate professor, MD PhD

Section for General Practice
Dept of Public Health and Primary Health Care
University of Bergen
Kalfarveien 31, N-5018 Bergen, Norway

Tel. 47-55 58 61 00
E-mail: Tone.Smith-Sivertsen@isf.uib.no

• 1981-1984: Laksevåg Gymnas, Bergen (High School).
• 1985-1992: Medical School, University of Bergen.
• 1996-2000: PhD-student (research fellow), University of Tromsø, Norway.

• 1984: English at Oxford Academy of English, 3 months.
• 1988: Sit in on Spanish classes at UC Berkely, 2 months.
• 1991: Teaching practice at Mutoko District Hospital, Zimbabwe, 3 months.
• 1994-2000: Several courses in medical statistics, epidemiology, environmental health and astma/allergic diseases. Attended courses at the Erasmus University Summer Programme, Rotterdam, in 1996 and 1997.
• 2000-2002: Completed education programme for the general practice speciality

• July 1992 - July 1993, Internship, medical and surgical departments, Kirkenes Hospital.
• July 1993 - January 1994, Internship, general practice, Vardø.
• January 1994 - February 1996, Principal Investigator, The Norwegian-Russian Health Study, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø.
• February 1996- September 2000: Research fellow, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø.
• September 2000 -July 2003: General practitioner, Ulriksdal Legesenter, Bergen.
• From September 2000: Associate Professor, Section for General Practice, Dept of Public Health and Primary Health Care, University of Bergen.
• From July 2004: General practitioner ("fastlege"), Fjellsiden legesenter, Bergen.
• 2006: Full clinical position at Solli Sykehus; psychiatric hospital.

• Medical students, pharmacology students and Master of Public Health candidates; University of Tromsø: Epidemiology and medical statistics.
• Medical students, University of Bergen: Obstructive lung diseases and communication skills.
• Medical doctors and other health personnel: Lectures on environmental health issues, biomarker research, asthma and allergic diseases.

• Environmental epidemiology, allergy and lung diseases, public health issues.

• Air pollution and health in the Norwegian-Russian border area. A cross-sectional population-based study of the impact of nickel and sulphur dioxide. Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø 2000.

• Smith-Sivertsen T, Lund E, Thomassen Y, Norseth T. Human nickel exposure in an area polluted by nickel refining. The Sør-Varanger Study. Arch Environ Health 1997;52:464-471.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, TchachtchineV, Lund E, Norseth T, Bykov V. The Norwegian-Russian Health Study 1994/95. A population-based study of pollution and health in the border area. Report. ISM skriftserie No 42, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø 1997.
• Hansen V, Lund E, Smith-Sivertsen T. Self-reported mental distress under the shifting daylight in the high north. Psychological Medicine 1998;28:447-452.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Tchachtchine V, Lund E, Bykov V, Thomassen Y, Norseth T. Urinary nickel excretion in populations living in the proximity of two Russian nickel refineries. A Norwegian-Russian population-based study. Environ Health Perspect 1998; 106:503-511.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Dotterud LK, Lund E. Nickel allergy and its relationship with local nickel pollution, ear piercing and atopic dermatitis. J Am Acad Dermatol 1999; 40:726-35.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Tchachtchine V, Lund E. Self-reported airway symptoms in a population exposed to heavy industrial pollution; what is the role of public awareness? Epidemiology 2000;11:739-740.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Bykov V, Melbye H, Tchachtchine V, Selnes A, Lund E. Sulfur dioxide exposure and lung function in a Norwegian and Russian population living close to a nickel smelter. Int J Circumpolar Health 2001;60:342-359.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Schei E, Schei M. Global barnehelse - tiltak som virker (Global child health - effective measures). Letter. J Nor Med Assoc 2001;121:3111.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Tchachtchine V, Lund E. Environmental nickel pollution: Does it protect against nickel allergy? J Am Acad Dermatol 2002; 46:460-2.
• Smith-Sivertsen T. Allergi og forurensning, er det noen sammenheng? (Allergy and air pollution, is there a connection?) Book chapter. Medicinsk Årbog 2002; 25-34. Almind G, Hjortdahl P (Eds). Munksgaard, Copenhagen.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Tchachtchine V, Lund E. Atopy among Norwegian and Russian adults. A population-based study from the common border area. Allergy 2003;58:357-362.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Rortveit G. Should general practitioners screen smokers for COPD? Scand J Prim Health Care 2004;22(4):196-201.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Díaz E, Bruce N, Díaz A, Khalakdina A, Schei MA, McCracken J, Arana B, Klein R, Thompson L, Smith KR. Reducing indoor air pollution with a randomised intervention design - A presentation of the Stove Intervention Study in the Guatemalan Highlands. Nor Epidemiol 2004;14(2):137-143.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Rortveit G, Gulsvik A, Bakke P, Skadberg B. An interdisciplinary educational program about pulmonary obstructive disease in family practice (in Norwegian). Et tverrfaglig undervisningsopplegg om obstruktiv lungesykdom i allmenn praksis. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2005;125(4):465.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Rortveit G, Gulsvik A, Bakke P, Skadberg B. Obstruktiv lungesykdom hos barn og voksne - Presentasjon av et integrert undervisningsopplegg i allmennmedisin. Uniped 2006;29:24-30.
• Bondevik GT, Smith-Sivertsen T, Bærheim A. Bruk av skuespiller i undervisningen av medisinstudenter (Use of actors to train medical students in communication skills).Tidsskr Nor Lægeforen 2006; 126: 2118-21
• Díaz E, Smith-Sivertsen T, Pope D, Lie RT, Díaz A, McCracken J, Arana B, Smith KR, Bruce N. Eye Discomfort, Headache and Back Pain among Mayan Guatemalan Women. RESPIRE Guatemala - Randomised Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects - Guatemala. J Epidemiol Community Health 2007;61:74-79.
• Broderstad AR, Smith-Sivertsen T, Dahl IMS, Ingebretsen OC, Lund E. Iron exposure in an iron smelting community in Northern Norway. Int J Circumpolar Health 2006:65;432-442.
• Dotterud LK, Smith-Sivertsen T. Contact allergy in a general adult population: A patch test study from northern Norway. Contact Dermatitis 2007:56;10-15.

• Smith-Sivertsen T, Lund E. Prevalence of nickel allergy in a North-Norwegian municipality close to a nickel smelter. International conference on human health and pollutants in the arctic, Tromsø, Norway, September 23-24, 1995.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Lund E, Thomassen Y, Norseth T. Individual nickel exposure in Sør-Varanger municipality elucidated by measurements of nickel in urine. Abstract. 3rd International Barents Symposium: Environment in the Barents Region, Kirkenes, 12-15 Sept., 1996.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Lund E. Human nickel exposure in the Norwegian/Russian border area. AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution of the Arctic, Tromsø, Norway, June 1-5, 1997.
• Hessen JO, Smith-Sivertsen T, Schei MA, Lund E. Is the use of bronchodilators a confounder in studies of relation between sulphur dioxide and lung function? Lancet Conference 1997: The challenge of asthma. Tours, France, October 9-10, 1997.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Dotterud LK, Lund E. Nickel allergy in Sør-Varanger, a North-Norwegian municipality situated close to two Russian nickel refineries. 28th Nordic Congress of Dermatology. Bergen, Norway, June 4-7, 1998. Awarded price for best poster.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Tchachtchine V, Lund E. Allergic disorders in an area polluted by nickel refining. A Norwegian-Russian population-based study. The 1st Nordic Conference in Epidemiology. Bergen, Norway, June 12-15, 2000. Norsk Epidemiologi 2000;10 Suppl 2:P38.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Tchachtchine V, Lund E. Airway symptoms and lung function in Russian and Norwegian adults. Poster (P1986). The 12th European Respiratory Society Annual Congress. Stockholm, Sweden, Sept 14-18, 2002. Eur Respir J 2002;20 Suppl 38:317s.
• Schei MA, Bruce N, Smith-Sivertsen T, et al. Pre-intervention prevalence and risk factors for asthma and atopic disease in a community with high indoor air pollution. The 15th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. Perth, Western Australia, 23-26 Sept 2003. ISEE-552. Epidemiology 2003;14:S109.
• Bruce N, Smith-Sivertsen T, Diaz A, et al. Burns to children in wood fuel using homes in rural Guatemala. The 16th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, New York August 1-4 2004. ISEE-189. Epidemiology 2004;15:S86.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Bruce N, Diaz A, et al. Eye Discomfort, Headache And Back Pain Among Women In Guatemala Using Open Fires For Cooking And Heating. The 16th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, New York August 1-4 2004. ISEE-168. Epidemiology 2004;15:S78.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Bruce N, Diaz A, et al. Chronic Airway Symptoms And Lung Function Among Women In A Rural Community In Guatemala With High Indoor Air Pollution Levels. The 16th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, New York August 1-4 2004. ISEE-170. Epidemiology 2004;15:S79-S80.
• Schei MA, Bruce N, Smith-Sivertsen T, et al Risk Factors for Atopic Disease among the Mam Speaking Native-American People of Highland Guatemala. The 16th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, New York August 1-4 2004. ISEE-435. Epidemiology 2004;15:S172.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Bruce N, Pope D, et al. Indoor Air Pollution From Biomass Fuel Use and Lung Health in Young Guatemalan Women: Preliminary Analysis of a Randomised Controlled Trial. Oral presentation at The 17th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, Johannesburg September 13-16 2005. ISEE-267. Epidemiology 2005;16:S104-105.
• Diaz E, Smith-Sivertsen T, Bruce N, et al. Eye discomfort, Headache and Back Pain Among Guatemalan Women Taking Part in a Randomised Stove Intervention Trial. Oral presentation at The 17th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, Johannesburg September 13-16 2005. ISEE-110. Epidemiology 2005;16:S49.
• Smith-Sivertsen T, Diaz E, Pope D, et al. Impact of a chimney stove on women's lung health in a rural wood-using community: challenges in assessment and preliminary results. The 18th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, Paris 2006. Epidemiology 2006;17: S45-S46
• Diaz E, Smith-Sivertsen T, Pope D, et al. Self Perceived Health after a Randomised Intervention Trial Reducing Indoor Air Pollution (IAP). RESPIRE Guatemala. The 18th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, Paris 2006. Epidemiology 2006;17:S226.

The Norwegian-Russian Health Study 1994/1995: A cross-sectional population-based study of pollution-related health in the Norwegian-Russian border area, an area severely polluted by nickel refining. The project was a result of close co-operation between Norwegian (University of Tromsø) and Russian scientists (Kola Research Laboratory for Occupational Health in Kirovsk). About 8000 adults participated, half Norwegian and half Russian. Control groups were sampled in less polluted areas in both countries. The screening included urine and blood sampling (for measurements of nickel, IgE and Phadiatop), spirometry and nickel allergy testing. I was the principal investigator of this study, and my PhD (2000) was based on the collected data. The study was funded by the Norwegian Ministries of the Environment, Health and Social Affairs and Foreign Affairs, the Russian Ministry of Health and the Murmansk Regional Health Care Committee.

The Guatemala Stove Intervention Study 2002-2004: In the first randomised controlled trial ever performed on health effects of biomass smoke, indoor pollution was reduced by installing improved stoves in households with pregnant women or children under 6 months, in a Maya-Indian community in highland Guatemala. Around half of the world's population rely on biomass fuels for their everyday energy needs, and when burned in open fires, this causes very high indoor particle pollution. The stove intervention study was implemented through a collaboration between the University of California Berkeley, the University of Liverpool and Universidad del Valle Guatemala, mainly funded by a grant from US National Institutes of Health (NIH), and focuses on the prevention of pneumonia in infants.

The Bergen initiative was an expansion of the main study focusing on respiratory health of the mothers of the infants enrolled (n=504). The women receive the greatest pollution exposures due to their activities in the home and kitchen. Observational studies have shown that indoor particle pollution is related to chronic respiratory symptoms and reduced lung function. We investigate whether the lung health of women of child-bearing age can be improved by reducing their indoor particle exposure with new stoves. The investigation included repeated questionnaires, spirometry and measurements of exposure. The fieldwork ended January 2004, and we are now in the phase of analysis and write up, see publication list above. The fieldwork was funded by a NOK 1 mill grant from the Norwegian Research Council.

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Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care, last updated 07.02.07