Utilization and outcomes of tracheostomies in the intensive care unit in Iceland in 2007-2020: A descriptive study.

Background: Tracheostomies are commonly utilized in ICU patients due to prolonged mechanical ventilation, upper airway obstruction, or surgery in the face/neck region. However, practices regarding the timing of placement and utilization vary. This study provides a nationwide overview of tracheostomy utilization and outcomes in the ICU over a 14-year period.

Association of Genetically Predicted Lipid Levels With the Extent of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Icelandic Adults.

Importance: Genetic studies have evaluated the influence of blood lipid levels on the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), but less is known about how they are associated with the extent of coronary atherosclerosis.

Objective: To estimate the contributions of genetically predicted blood lipid levels on the extent of coronary atherosclerosis.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This genetic study included Icelandic adults who had undergone coronary angiography or assessment of coronary artery calcium using cardiac computed tomography.

Co-regulatory networks of human serum proteins link genetics to disease.

Proteins circulating in the blood are critical for age-related disease processes; however, the serum proteome has remained largely unexplored. To this end, 4137 proteins covering most predicted extracellular proteins were measured in the serum of 5457 Icelanders over 65 years of age. Pairwise correlation between proteins as they varied across individuals revealed 27 different network modules of serum proteins, many of which were associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disease states, as well as overall survival.

[Heart failure among elderly Icelanders: Incidence, prevalence, underlying diseases and long-term survival].

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a common and a serious condition that predominantly affects elderly people. On the basis of the left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) it can be divided into HF with reduced or preserved ejection fraction (HFrEF and HFpEF, respectively). The goal of this study was to investigate the prevalence and incidence of HF among elderly Icelanders, explore underlying diseases and estimate the effect of HF on overall survival.

Prevalence of heart failure in the elderly and future projections: the AGES-Reykjavík study.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of heart failure (HF) in a randomly selected study population of elderly individuals representing the general population of Iceland. Furthermore, to project the number of individuals likely to have HF in the future.

Design: Baseline characteristics and clinical data from 5706 individuals who participated in the population based AGES-Reykjavik Study and gave their informed consent were used.

Airflow obstruction, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk factors in the AGES Reykjavik study.

Background And Aims: Airflow limitation, i.e. reduced forced expiratory volume in 1-s (FEV1), is associated with increased prevalence of atherosclerosis, however, causal mechanisms remain elusive.

Oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer risk: a cohort study of 16 928 women 48 years and older.

Background: Findings on potential interactive effects of oral contraceptives (OCs) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on breast cancer risk have been inconsistent. We aimed to use population-based cohort data to determine whether former use of OCs affects breast cancer risk among HRT users, taking into account regimens of HRT, duration and currency of use.

Methods: The cohort consisted of 16 928 Icelandic women who visited the Icelandic Cancer Detection Clinic in 1979-2006 and provided information on use of OCs and HRT when they were 48 years or older.

Association of air pollution and use of glyceryl trinitrate against angina pectoris: a population-based case-crossover study.

Background: Ambient air pollution has been associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In Reykjavik, Iceland, air pollutant concentrations exceed official health limits several times every year. The aim was to study the association of concentrations of NO2, O3, PM10, and H2S in the Reykjavik capital area with the dispensing of anti-angina pectoris medication, glyceryl trinitrate to the inhabitants.

Consumption of fish products across the lifespan and prostate cancer risk.

Objective: To examine whether fish and fish oil consumption across the lifespan is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer.

Design: The study was nested among 2268 men aged 67-96 years in the AGES-Reykjavik cohort study. In 2002 to 2006, dietary habits were assessed, for early life, midlife and later life using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Increased stress among women following an economic collapse--a prospective cohort study.

There is a scarcity of data on mental health effects of the global economic recession. In this study, we investigated potential change in self-reported levels of psychological stress in the Icelandic population as a result of the major national economic collapse that occurred in 2008. We used a national cohort of 3,755 persons who responded to a survey administered in 2007 and 2009, including demographic questions and a stress measure (the 4-item Perceived Stress Scale).

[Cardiac arrest in a teenager - a case report].

Cardiac arrest is rarely seen in children and teenagers. We present a 12-year old girl with cardiac arrest following myocardial infarction, that required prolonged cardiac massage and extracorporeal-membranous-oxygenation (ECMO). At coronary angiography the left main coronary artery (LMCA) was stented for a suspected coronary dissection.

A population-based study of stimulant drug treatment of ADHD and academic progress in children.

Objective: We evaluated the hypothesis that later start of stimulant treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder adversely affects academic progress in mathematics and language arts among 9- to 12-year-old children.

Methods: We linked nationwide data from the Icelandic Medicines Registry and the Database of National Scholastic Examinations. The study population comprised 11,872 children born in 1994-1996 who took standardized tests in both fourth and seventh grade.

Rye bread consumption in early life and reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer.

Objective: To determine whether consumption of whole-grain rye bread, oatmeal, and whole-wheat bread, during different periods of life, is associated with risk of prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: From 2002 to 2006, 2,268 men, aged 67-96 years, reported their dietary habits in the AGES-Reykjavik cohort study. Dietary habits were assessed for early life, midlife, and current life using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Milk intake in early life and risk of advanced prostate cancer.

The authors investigated whether early-life residency in certain areas of Iceland marked by distinct differences in milk intake was associated with risk of prostate cancer in a population-based cohort of 8,894 men born between 1907 and 1935. Through linkage to cancer and mortality registers, the men were followed for prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality from study entry (in waves from 1967 to 1987) through 2009. In 2002-2006, a subgroup of 2,268 participants reported their milk intake in early, mid-, and current life.

Immediate surge in female visits to the cardiac emergency department following the economic collapse in Iceland: an observational study.

Objective: To study potential changes in attendance at emergency departments (ED) in Reykjavík immediately following the swift economic meltdown in Iceland in October 2008.

Methods: Using electronic medical records of the National University Hospital in Reykjavík, a population-based register study was conducted contrasting weekly attendance rates at Reykjavík ED (cardiac and general ED) during 10-week periods in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The weekly number of all ED visits (major track), with discharge diagnoses, per total population at risk were used to estimate RR and 95% CI of ED attendance in weeks 41-46 (after the 2008 economic collapse) with the weekly average number of visits during weeks 37-40 (before the collapse) as reference.

Surveillance of influenza in Iceland during the 2009 pandemic.

In a pandemic setting, surveillance is essential to monitor the spread of the disease and assess its impact. Appropriate mitigation and healthcare preparedness strategies depend on fast and accurate epidemic surveillance data. During the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic, rapid improvements in influenza surveillance were made in Iceland.

[Homocysteine, folate and cobalamin in Icelandic men and women.].

Objective: To determine reference intervals and interquartile ranges for total homocysteine (Hcy) folate and cobalamin in Icelandic men and women and to evaluate the correlation of Hcy to serum levels of the vitamins folate and cobalamin.

Material And Methods: Blood samples were collected from 449 individuals over a period of three months, 291 men (mean age 48.3 years) and 158 women (mean age 49.

[Trends in overweight and obesity in 45-64 year old men and women in Reykjavik 1975-1994.].

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess possible changes in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Iceland during the last decades. Furthermore, the possible effect of dietary changes on the observed trend in obesity prevalence was evaluated.

Material And Methods: Participants came from stages III-V in the Reykjavik Health Study and the Reykjavik part of the MONICA studies from the period 1975-1994.

Simultaneous mutations in CA and Vif of Maedi-Visna virus cause attenuated replication in macrophages and reduced infectivity in vivo.

Maedi-visna virus (MVV) is a lentivirus of sheep sharing several key features with the primate lentiviruses. The virus causes slowly progressive diseases, mainly in the lungs and the central nervous system of sheep. Here, we investigate the molecular basis for the differential growth phenotypes of two MVV isolates.

Short hospital stay augmented with education and home-based rehabilitation improves function and quality of life after hip replacement: randomized study of 50 patients with 6 months of follow-up.

Background: Because of current cost restrictions, we studied the effect of a shorter hospital stay on function, pain and quality of life (QOL) after total hip replacement (THR).

Patients And Methods: 50 patients from two hospitals were randomized into a study group (SG) of 27 patients receiving preoperative and postoperative education programs, as well as home visits from an outpatient team, and a control group (CG) of 23 patients receiving "conventional" rehabilitation often augmented by a stay at a rehabilitation center.

Results: Mean hospital stay was shorter for the SG than for the CG (6.

[Trends in overweight and obesity in 45-64 year old men and women in Reykjavík 1975-1994. 2001].

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess possible changes in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Iceland during the last decades. Furthermore, the possible effect of dietary changes on the observed trend in obesity prevalence was evaluated.

Material And Methods: Participants came from stages III-V in the Reykjavik Health Study and the Reykjavik part of the MONICA studies from the period 1975-1994.

Cardiovascular death in women who had hypertension in pregnancy: a case-control study.

Objective: To determine whether an association exists between hypertension in pregnancy and later development of cardiovascular disease.

Design: Case-control study of women who delivered with and without hypertensive complications during the same period.

Setting: University Hospital in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Multiple novel transcription initiation sites for NRG1.

The large neuregulin 1 gene (NRG1) has been mapped to a 1.125 Mb region on chromosome 8p11-21. Three major forms of NRG1 (types I-III), all with distinct amino-termini encoded by unique 5'-exons, have been described.

The improved survival of experimental animals fed with fish oil is suppressed by a leukotriene inhibitor.

Fish oil is believed to alter the immune response and improve survival after infections in experimental animals. This effect may be due to altered production of the leukotrienes (LT). We, therefore, performed a study in order to evaluate whether the effect of fish oil on the immune response of experimental animals is mediated through altered production of the LT.