COPD, chronic bronchitis and capacity for day-to-day activities: negative impact of illness on the health-related quality of life.

The aim of this study was to investigate the negative impact of illness on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or chronic bronchitis. The study population consisted of the participants (N = 8028) of a health examination survey conducted in Finland. The sample in the present substudy was composed of 4718 participants who had complete information about spirometry.

Coffee consumption and the risk of heart failure in Finnish men and women.

Objectives: To evaluate the association of coffee consumption with the risk of heart failure (HF) in the Finnish population.

Design: Prospective population-based cohort study.

Setting: This study, which is a part of FINRISK study, was carried out in Finland.

Body fat measured by a near-infrared interactance device as a predictor of cardiovascular events: the FINRISK'92 cohort.

We evaluated how body fat percentage, measured by a portable near-infrared interactance (NIR) device predicts cardiovascular (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD), and ischemic stroke events in a prospective population-based survey. The study population consisted of 2,842 men and 3,196 women, who participated in the FINRISK'92 survey. Obesity was assessed with BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and body fat percentage measured with an NIR.

Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index.

Obesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and ∼ 2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of 42 SNPs in up to 125,931 additional individuals.

Meta-analysis identifies 13 new loci associated with waist-hip ratio and reveals sexual dimorphism in the genetic basis of fat distribution.

Waist-hip ratio (WHR) is a measure of body fat distribution and a predictor of metabolic consequences independent of overall adiposity. WHR is heritable, but few genetic variants influencing this trait have been identified. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 genome-wide association studies for WHR adjusted for body mass index (comprising up to 77,167 participants), following up 16 loci in an additional 29 studies (comprising up to 113,636 subjects).

Occupational, commuting, and leisure-time physical activity in relation to heart failure among finnish men and women.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of different levels of occupational, commuting, and leisure-time physical activity and heart failure (HF) risk.

Background: The role of different types of physical activity in explaining the risk of HF is not properly established.

Methods: Study cohorts included 28,334 Finnish men and 29,874 women who were 25 to 74 years of age and free of HF at baseline.

An immune response network associated with blood lipid levels.

While recent scans for genetic variation associated with human disease have been immensely successful in uncovering large numbers of loci, far fewer studies have focused on the underlying pathways of disease pathogenesis. Many loci which are associated with disease and complex phenotypes map to non-coding, regulatory regions of the genome, indicating that modulation of gene transcription plays a key role. Thus, this study generated genome-wide profiles of both genetic and transcriptional variation from the total blood extracts of over 500 randomly-selected, unrelated individuals.

C-reactive protein-associated genetic variants and cancer risk: findings from FINRISK 1992, FINRISK 1997 and Health 2000 studies.

Background: Evidence from prospective observational studies suggests that elevated circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations are associated with cancer risk, but it is unclear whether this association is causal. In order to examine this, we investigated whether genetic variants that are associated with circulating CRP concentrations are associated with cancer risk.

Methods: We pooled data from three population-based prospective Finnish studies: FINRISK 1992 (n = 5289), FINRISK 1997 (n = 7160) and Health 2000 (n = 6299).

Cold-related respiratory symptoms in the general population.

Introduction: Cold-related respiratory symptoms are common among northern populations, especially among people suffering from respiratory diseases. However, the prevalence of such symptoms in the general population and the threshold temperatures at which the symptoms start to emerge are poorly known.

Objectives: The present study determined the prevalence and threshold temperatures of self-reported respiratory symptoms related to cold, separately for healthy people and those with respiratory disease.

Thirty-one novel biomarkers as predictors for clinically incident diabetes.

Background: The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in all industrialized countries and its prevention has become a public health priority. However, the predictors of diabetes risk are insufficiently understood. We evaluated, whether 31 novel biomarkers could help to predict the risk of incident diabetes.

Joint effects of physical activity, body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio on the risk of heart failure.

Background: Obesity increases heart failure (HF) risk; however, the independent effect of physical activity and the joint effect of physical activity and adiposity on HF risk are not established. We evaluated the single and joint associations of physical activity and different indicators of adiposity (body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio) with HF risk.

Methods And Results: Study cohorts included 59 178 Finnish participants who were 25 to 74 years of age and free of HF at baseline.

Thirty-five-year trends in cardiovascular risk factors in Finland.

Background: In the late 1960s, coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality among Finnish men was the highest in the world. From 1972 to 2007, risk factor surveys have been carried out to monitor risk factor trends and assess their contribution to declining mortality in Finland.

Methods: The first risk factor survey was carried out in the North Karelia and Kuopio provinces in 1972 as the basis for the evaluation of the North Karelia Project.

[Update on current care guidelines. Depression, current care guideline].

The treatment of depression is based on careful diagnostic evaluation. In the acute phase of treatment, brief psychotherapies (cognitive, interpersonal, psychodynamic or problem-solving) are effective in cases of mild to moderate depression. Antidepressants are also effective, their importance increasing alongside the level of severity.

Re-evaluating the Rose approach: comparative benefits of the population and high-risk preventive strategies.

Background: Options for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, the greatest global cause of death, include population preventive measures (the Rose approach), or specifically seeking out and managing high-risk cases. However, the likely benefit of a population approach has been recently questioned.

Objective: To compare the estimated effects of population strategies at varying levels of population-wide risk factor reduction and high-risk strategies at varying rates of screening uptake on cardiovascular disease mortality.

Occurrence of frostbite in the general population--work-related and individual factors.

Objective: To examine the occurrence of frostbite in the general population and the related risk factors.

Methods: We analyzed two national FINRISK studies (1997 and 2002) and their cold sub-studies (N=2624 and N=6951, respectively), consisting of questionnaires administered to men and women aged 25-74 years.

Results: A total of 697 frostbites were reported, 425 of which had occurred during the past year and 272 over a lifetime according to the respondents.

How much does HDL cholesterol add to risk estimation? A report from the SCORE Investigators.

Background: Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), the risk estimation system recommended by the European guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention, estimates 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease mortality based on age, sex, country of origin, systolic blood pressure, smoking status and either total cholesterol (TC) or TC/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio. As, counterintuitively, these two systems perform very similarly, we have investigated whether incorporating HDL-C and TC as separate variables improves risk estimation.

Methods: The study consisted of 57,302 men and 47,659 women.

Relative risks for stroke by age, sex, and population based on follow-up of 18 European populations in the MORGAM Project.

Background And Purpose: Within the framework of the MOnica Risk, Genetics, Archiving and Monograph (MORGAM) Project, the variations in impact of classical risk factors of stroke by population, sex, and age were analyzed.

Methods: Follow-up data were collected in 43 cohorts in 18 populations in 8 European countries surveyed for cardiovascular risk factors. In 93 695 persons aged 19 to 77 years and free of major cardiovascular disease at baseline, total observation years were 1 234 252 and the number of stroke events analyzed was 3142.

Eating styles, self-control and obesity indicators. The moderating role of obesity status and dieting history on restrained eating.

We examined whether obesity status and dieting history affected the associations of eating styles with measured obesity indicators and self-control among Finnish men (n = 2325) and women (n = 2699) aged 25-75 years. Uncontrolled and emotional eating were positively associated with obesity and reversely with self-control. Among obese subjects and current/past dieters, higher restrained eating was related to lower adiposity, uncontrolled and emotional eating, and higher self-control while these associations were opposite among normal weight subjects and never dieters.

Genome-wide association study identifies eight loci associated with blood pressure.

Elevated blood pressure is a common, heritable cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. To date, identification of common genetic variants influencing blood pressure has proven challenging. We tested 2.

Prevalence, awareness and treatment of hypertension in Finland during 1982-2007.

Objectives: To assess the trends in prevalence and in control of hypertension in various parts of Finland during 1982-2007.

Methods: Three independent cross-sectional population surveys were conducted in 1982, 2002 and 2007 with age-stratified samples of men and women aged 25-64 years from the national population register. The total number of participants with complete blood pressure (BP) measurements was 16 775.

Association of serum C-reactive protein level with sex-specific type 2 diabetes risk: a prospective finnish study.

Objective: Our objective was to assess whether the association of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) with type 2 diabetes risk is modified by sex.

Design And Subjects: We prospectively followed 12,861 Finnish men and women who were 35-74 yr of age, and free of diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer at baseline. Hazard ratios of type 2 diabetes were estimated for different levels of serum CRP.

Comparison of definitions of metabolic syndrome in relation to the risk of developing stroke and coronary heart disease in Finnish and Swedish cohorts.

Background And Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare definitions of metabolic syndrome with regard to their prediction of stroke and coronary heart disease incidence.

Methods: The study comprises 4041 men and 3812 women of 6 Finnish and Swedish cohorts aged 25 to 74 years at baseline. Hazard ratio was estimated applying Cox regression analyses adjusting for cohort, cholesterol, and smoking and using age as a time scale.

Six new loci associated with body mass index highlight a neuronal influence on body weight regulation.

Common variants at only two loci, FTO and MC4R, have been reproducibly associated with body mass index (BMI) in humans. To identify additional loci, we conducted meta-analysis of 15 genome-wide association studies for BMI (n > 32,000) and followed up top signals in 14 additional cohorts (n > 59,000). We strongly confirm FTO and MC4R and identify six additional loci (P < 5 x 10(-8)): TMEM18, KCTD15, GNPDA2, SH2B1, MTCH2 and NEGR1 (where a 45-kb deletion polymorphism is a candidate causal variant).

Gender differences in genetic risk profiles for cardiovascular disease.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence, complications and burden differ markedly between women and men. Although there is variation in the distribution of lifestyle factors between the genders, they do not fully explain the differences in CVD incidence and suggest the existence of gender-specific genetic risk factors. We aimed to estimate whether the genetic risk profiles of coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic stroke and the composite end-point of CVD differ between the genders.