Population based study of health and living conditions in areas with both Sámi and Norwegian populations--the SAMINOR study.

Objectives: The overall aim of the SAMINOR project was to study health and diseases in relation to living conditions among the Sámi population and to compare these with the Norwegian population in the same area. This article provides an overview of the background of the study and a description of the methods employed for the data collection. We give sample characteristics and elaborate on different definitions of ethnicity.

Risk factors associated with body mass index increase in men at 28 years follow-up.

Background: Several studies have reported a general increase in body mass index (BMI).

Aim: To identify factors influencing BMI changes at 28 years follow-up.

Design: Prospective screening study.

[Is a healthy lifestyle worthwhile?].

Background: The men invited to participate in the Oslo Study in 1972/3 were invited again to participate in the Oslo II study in 2000. We examined whether self-reported lifestyle habits were associated with biological markers, a range of symptoms and several illnesses in 2000.

Material And Methods: In addition to data from Oslo II, were data from those men of the Oslo-cohort who participated in 5 other studies between 1998 and 2001.

[Changes in cardiovascular risk factors among men in Oslo during 28 years].

Background: The aim of the study was to measure changes in known risk factors for cardiovascular disease among men over a period of 28 years.

Material And Methods: The present cohort study comprises a selection of men previously included in the Oslo-study of 1972/73. The men selected, were either followed-up in the Oslo II study (n = 5,323), or were included in five other studies in the period 1996-2001 (n = 1,834).

Promoting physical activity in a multi-ethnic district - methods and baseline results of a pseudo-experimental intervention study.

Background And Design: A combined community and high-risk intervention study of three years duration started in one district in Oslo after a baseline health survey in two multi-ethnic and low socio-economic status (SES) districts, using a pseudo-experimental design with an age-matched sample from the other district as controls. The intervention focused on promoting physical activity to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: A total of 6140 subjects were invited to participate (age group: 31-67).

Serum lipids in postmenopausal or perimenopausal women using estrogen alone, estrogen with levonorgestrel, or estrogen with norethisterone, compared with nonusers: results from a cross-sectional study in two Norwegian counties 1985-1988.

The aim of this study was to compare, in a population setting of postmenopausal or perimenopausal women aged 40 to 54, the levels of serum lipids in women using different hormone replacement therapy (HRT) regimens with women using no sex hormones. There was no unequivocal tendency of a more healthy lifestyle among those using HRT than among nonusers. Any type of regimen was associated with a lower mean level of total and calculated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 0.

Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus in different ethnic groups: the Finnmark study.

The mortality from coronary and cerebrovascular diseases is higher in Finnmark County than in other Norwegian counties. In a population-based cohort study, we compared the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, and diabetes mellitus in different ethnic groups in Finnmark. A total of 10,622 subjects of Norse, Sami, and Finnish origin were followed for 14 years.

[Can we rely on self-reported smoking habits?].

The reliability of self-reporting on smoking habits has been evaluated by comparing the reported smoking habits with the concentration of serum thiocyanate, which is higher in smokers than in non-smokers and increases with increasing cigarette consumption. When a smoker stops smoking, the level of serum thiocyanate decreases and falls to the level observed in non-smokers after about one month. When the questions asked about smoking were neutral, the reported smoking habits were generally reliable.

Sex differences in risk factors for clinical diabetes mellitus in a general population: a 12-year follow-up of the Finnmark Study.

The associations among obesity, height, cardiovascular risk factors, and the incidence of clinical diabetes mellitus were investigated in the Norwegian population-based Finnmark Study of 11,654 men and women aged 35-52 years at baseline in 1977-1978. A total of 87 cases of diabetes among men and 75 cases among women were registered during 12 years of follow-up. The incidence of diabetes was 1.

Chronic consumers of boiled coffee have elevated serum levels of lipoprotein(a).

Objectives: Lipoprotein(a) consists of an LDL-particle attached to apolipoprotein(a), which is made by the liver. Diterpenes present in boiled coffee raise serum levels of LDL cholesterol and of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase in man. We investigated the association between intake of boiled coffee and serum levels of lipoprotein(a).

Body height, cardiovascular risk factors, and risk of stroke in middle-aged men and women. A 14-year follow-up of the Finnmark Study.

Background: Geographical differences in stroke mortality are not fully explained by population variations in blood pressure and antihypertensive treatment. Some studies have suggested that factors connected with health and nutrition in early life may be related to stroke morbidity and mortality. Body height is a sensitive marker for socioeconomic conditions, but results are conflicting as to whether height is associated with stroke.

Smoking, serum lipids, blood pressure, and sex differences in myocardial infarction. A 12-year follow-up of the Finnmark Study.

Background: Few epidemiological studies have investigated the relative importance of major coronary risk factors in the two sexes within the same study population. In particular, it is not clear whether smoking carries a similar risk of coronary heart disease in men and women.

Methods And Results: The associations between smoking, serum lipids, blood pressure, and myocardial infarction were examined in a population-based prospective study of 11,843 men and women aged 35 to 52 years at entry.

Experiences of the Janus Serum Bank in Norway.

The ongoing JANUS project was started in 1973. The serum bank comprises 424,938 serum samples consolidated from 293,692 donors. The specimens are stored at -25 degrees C.

Asbestos-related radiographic changes by ILO classification of 10 x 10 cm chest X-rays in a screening of the general population.

A sample of 1388 10 x 10 cm chest X-rays from a previous population screening of males aged 40+ years were reevaluated by use of the ILO classification. There were 1036 films of subjects from an industrialized town, and 352 from a rural community. The observed rates of parenchymal changes (profusion > or = 1/0) at the reevaluation were 1.

[Is blood pressure treatment as effective in a population setting as in controlled studies?].

Baseline (1974-76) and repeat (1977-81) cardiovascular screenings of 21,314 men aged 35-49 years brought to light 840 men who had started treatment between screenings. These were compared with men who had remained untreated. The effects of treatment on blood pressure were small, and normal target blood pressures rare.

Is blood pressure treatment as effective in a population setting as in controlled trials? Results from a prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of treatment in situations in which general practitioners and patients use medication according to their own judgement, and where selection, compliance and follow-up varies. This prospective population study differs from the efficacy of treatment studied in randomized trials.

Design: Baseline (1974-1976) and repeat (1977-1981) cardiovascular screenings of all males aged 35-49 years in three counties in Norway, with mortality follow-up from the second screening until 1990.

Identity of the cholesterol-raising factor from boiled coffee and its effects on liver function enzymes.

Boiled coffee contains an unidentified lipid that raises serum cholesterol. We studied the effects of the ingestion of coffee oil fractions of increasing purity in volunteers in order to identify the cholesterol-raising factor. In 15 volunteers who ingested 0.

The JANUS serum bank.

The on-going JANUS project was initiated by the Norwegian Cancer Society in 1973. The serum bank comprises close to 0.5 million serum samples collected from 170,000 donors.

Age-specific genetic effects for blood pressure.

Correlations between relatives were determined for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The correlations decrease as age differences between relatives increase in a Norwegian sample with 43,751 parent-offspring pairs, 19,140 pairs of siblings, and 169 pairs of twins. A simple biometric model specifying only age-specific genetic additive effects and environmental effects fitted well to correlations between cotwins, pairs of siblings, and parent-offspring dyads in subsets of relatives grouped by age differences.

[Social network, alcohol drinking habits and injuries caused by violence among women and men in the county of Akershus. Results from anonymous questionnaires among persons aged 40-42 years. 1990-91].

All residents aged 40-42 in Akershus county were invited to screening for cardiovascular risk factors in 1990-91 as part of a prevention programme. Of the 13,607 attendants, 8,960 answered an anonymous questionnaire about social network, drinking habits, and injuries due to violence. Compared with data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, our material included a high percentage of persons with a higher education, a high percentage of married persons, and a low percentage of persons living alone.

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and coronary, cardiovascular and all cause mortality among middle-aged Norwegian men and women.

From 1977 to 1982 screening for cardiovascular disease was performed in three Norwegian counties. All those aged between 40 and 54 years were invited, of whom 23,690 men and 23,425 women (90%) attended. Smoking habits and previous cardiovascular disease were recorded; total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol), triglycerides and blood pressure were measured.

Genetic and environmental contributions to the variance of body height in a sample of first and second degree relatives.

Height was measured in a health screening of the population in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Correlations were computed for 24,281 pairs of spouses, 43,613 pairs of parents and offspring, 19,168 pairs of siblings, 1,318 pairs of grandparents and grandchildren, 1,218 cognate avuncular pairs, 849 noncognate avuncular pairs, 175 pairs of same-sexed twins, and smaller groups of other types of relatives. Fitting of structural equation models showed proportions of additive genetic variance of approximately 0.

[Cardiovascular screenings in Norwegian counties. Trends in risk pattern during the period 1985-90 among persons aged 40-42 in 4 counties].

In 1985-90, two screenings for cardiovascular disease risk factors were carried out with an interval of three years in four Norwegian counties. All residents aged 40-42 were invited to both screening rounds, and certain subgroups from the first round were re-invited to the second round. Compared with the score attained by the first generation, the total mean risk score for myocardial infarction achieved by the second generation was 19% lower in males, and 15.

[Cardiovascular screenings in Norwegian counties. Background and implementation. Status of risk pattern during the period 1986-90 among persons aged 40-42 years in 14 counties].

Screening for cardiovascular disease risk factors was carried out in 14 of Norway's 19 counties in 1986-1990 as part of a prevention programme. All residents aged 40-42 were invited. The attendance was 73.

Genetic and environmental contributions to the variance of the body mass index in a Norwegian sample of first- and second-degree relatives.

Height and weight were measured in a health screening of the population in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Correlations for the body mass index were computed for 23,936 pairs of spouses, 43,586 pairs of parents and offspring, 19,151 pairs of siblings, 1,251 pairs of grandparents and grandchildren, 1,146 cognate avuncular pairs, 801 noncognate avuncular pairs, 168 pairs of same-sexed twins, and smaller groups of other types of relatives. Correlations were largely independent of age and age difference within pairs of relatives, suggesting a stable effect of the same set of genes and familial environment throughout adulthood.