The 1919-21 influenza pandemic in Greenland.

In Alaska, the 1918-20 influenza pandemic was devastating, with mortality rates up to 90% of the population, while in other arctic regions in northern Sweden and Norway mortality was considerably lower. We investigated the timing and age-patterns in excess mortality in Greenland during the period 1918-21 and compare these to other epidemics and the 1889-92 pandemic. We accessed the Greenlandic National Archives and transcribed all deaths from 1880 to 1921 by age, geography, and cause of death.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Greenland, epidemic features and impact of early strict measures, March 2020 to June 2022.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic was of major concern in Greenland. There was a high possibility of rapid transmission in settlements, and an increased risk of morbidity and mortality because of comorbidities in the population and limited access to specialised healthcare in remote areas.AimTo describe the epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greenland and evaluate the effects of a strict COVID-19 strategy until risk groups were immunised.

Interpretation of TSH and T4 for diagnosing minor alterations in thyroid function: a comparative analysis of two separate longitudinal cohorts.

Background: Minor alterations in thyroid function are frequent, and interpretation of thyroid function tests in the individual patient can be challenging. Furthermore, the choice of thyroid function test is debatable. To inform the debate, we performed a comparative evaluation of the variation in thyrotropin (TSH) and thyroxine (T4) in two different cohorts to illustrate the precision of TSH and T4 in the diagnosis and monitoring of thyroid dysfunction.

Thyroid autoimmunity in Greenlandic Inuit.

Objective: This study aimed to provide the first data on the occurrence of thyroid autoimmunity among Inuit in Greenland, a distinct ethnic group who is not iodine deficient.

Design: This study is a population-based cross-sectional study.

Methods: Data were collected in Nuuk in West Greenland and in Ammassalik district in East Greenland.

Adaptation to a High Iodine Intake in Greenland Inuit Suggested by Thyroid Disease Pattern.

Arctic living is influenced by cold winters, short summers, and excessive iodine intake from the traditional Inuit diet providing for habitation of the Arctic for centuries. This is changing and we surveyed thyroid function in populations living in Greenland. Population-based cross-sectional study.

Diagnosing dementia in the Arctic: translating tools and developing and validating an algorithm for assessment of impaired cognitive function in Greenland Inuit.

The ageing Arctic populations raise the need for work-up of cognitive function that reflects language and cultural understandings. To translate and evaluate tools for work-up of cognitive impairment in Greenland. Step A: An expert panel was established to select tools suitable for the work-up of cognitive impairment at three different settings in Greenland.

[Vitamin D and Vitamin D-related diseases in Greenland].

Vitamin D has been associated with numerous diseases and is important for bones and muscle strength. The sources of vitamin D are dietary and endogenous. Shifts from the Arctic night to midnight sun influences endogenous production of vitamin D as does dietary transition in Greenland.

[Health and healthcare in Greenland].

The Greenlandic society has changed rapidly within the last decades. Most of the population have good housing and access to clean water and sanitation. The neonatal and infant mortality is low, and the physical health of the children is good.

Iodine in Edible Seaweed, Its Absorption, Dietary Use, and Relation to Iodine Nutrition in Arctic People.

Dietary iodine is important to human health, and both low and high iodine intake levels increase the risk of disease. Seaweed is rich in iodine and it is a common component in both Asian and in Arctic cuisines. While the intake and impact are known for Asian people, data are lacking for Arctic people.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcium and parathyroid hormone levels in Native and European populations in Greenland.

Ca homoeostasis is important to human health and tightly controlled by powerful hormonal mechanisms that display ethnic variation. Ethnic variations could occur also in Arctic populations where the traditional Inuit diet is low in Ca and sun exposure is limited. We aimed to assess factors important to parathyroid hormone (PTH) and Ca in serum in Arctic populations.

Reliability of thyroglobulin in serum compared with urinary iodine when assessing individual and population iodine nutrition status.

The occurrence of thyroid disorders relies on I nutrition and monitoring of all populations is recommended. Measuring I in urine is standard but thyroglobulin in serum is an alternative. This led us to assess the reliability of studies using serum thyroglobulin compared with urinary I to assess the I nutrition level and calculate the number of participants needed in a study with repeated data sampling in the same individuals for 1 year.

Forty-five year trends in overweight and obesity in an indigenous arctic Inuit Society in transition and spatiotemporal trends.

Objectives: Overweight and obesity associate with increased morbidity and premature death. Westernization of societies heralds rising obesity rates. A steep increase in body mass index (BMI) and overweight in Greenland from 1963 to 1998 led us to follow-up on height, weight, BMI, and rates of overweight among populations in Greenland and assess time trends between different stages of transition.

Ethnicity influences BMI as evaluated from reported serum lipid values in Inuit and non-Inuit: raised upper limit of BMI in Inuit?

Objective: To identify thresholds of BMI at which similar levels of serum lipids occur in Inuit and in non-Inuit as the impact of obesity on metabolic risk factors differ in Inuit compared to other ethnic groups.

Design: Published comparative data among Inuit and non-Inuit whites on BMI and HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride were identified for analysis.

Methods: A literature search was done for BMI, lipids, Inuit and Greenland or Canada.