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Biomedical subjects

A Aromaa

Publications and source records attributed to A Aromaa.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Cardiovascular risk in young Finns.

This report describes the general outline and progress of a multicentre study on risk factors of coronary heart disease and their determinants in children and adolescents. "Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns" comprises a cross-sectional study of 3 to 18-year old subjects in 1980, and follow-up studies in 1983 and 1986 in various parts of Finland, and in 1989 in one of the study areas (Turku). The number of participants in 1980 was 3596 (83.1%) of those invited. In 1983 and 1986 83.2% and 77.8% of them, respectively, participated. The study programme has comprised questionnaire data on, for example, general health and living conditions, physical activity, eating habits, smoking, and psychological variables. The physical examination covered height, weight, skinfold thickness, pubertal stages and blood pressure. Blood specimens were obtained to assess concentrations of serum lipids and insulin, and in 1986 also for possible genetic markers of hypercholesterolemia. A 48 hour recall on nutrient intake was obtained from some of the subjects. The follow-up studies have enabled a study of the tracking phenomenon. Other important questions under study include, for example, the possible clustering of risk factors and their determinants. The cohorts studied provide a valuable research basis for the future, with emphasis on enabling a long-term follow-up of the subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Determinants of weight gain and overweight in adult Finns.

We studied sociodemographic and behavioural factors as predictors of weight gain in 12,669 adult Finns examined twice with a median interval of 5.7 years. The association of these factors with the prevalence of obesity (body mass index greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2) was also studied in a subsequent cross-sectional survey of 5673 Finns. In uni- and multivariate analyses, the risk of substantial weight gain (greater than or equal to 5 kg/5 years) was greatest for persons with a low level of education, chronic diseases, little physical activity at leisure or heavy alcohol consumption, and for those who got married or quit smoking between the examinations. Parity and energy intake predicted weight gain in women. The prevalence of obesity was inversely associated with the level of education and physical activity, and positively associated with alcohol consumption in men and parity in women. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of obesity by smoking or marital status. The recognition of socioeconomic and behavioural factors as important determinants of weight gain and overweight helps the planning of effective treatment and preventive programmes tailored for subjects at highest risk of obesity.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Risk of disability and mortality due to overweight in a Finnish population.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of overweight on premature mortality and work disability in young and middle aged Finns. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study based on data collected in the multiphasic health examinations by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland from 1966 to 1972 and follow up until 1982. SETTING: 34 Communities throughout Finland. SUBJECTS: 12,053 Women and 19,076 men who were employed and aged 25-64 at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality and work disability pensions from all and specified causes. RESULTS: Body mass index was a weak predictor of death but a strong predictor of early work disability, which increased linearly with body mass index. After adjustment for age, geographical region, occupation, and smoking the relative risks of work disability for women and men with a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 were, respectively, 2.0 (95% confidence interval 1.8 to 2.3) and 1.5 (1.3 to 1.7) when compared with those of subjects with body mass index less than 22.5 kg/m2. The increased risks were due to an excess of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal diseases but not of mental diseases. One fourth of all disability pensions from cardiovascular and musculoskeletal causes in women and half as many in men could be attributed to overweight (body mass index greater than 25 kg/m2) alone. CONCLUSIONS: Though modest overweight has little impact on mortality it predicts severe functional impairment. A considerable proportion of work disability pensions could probably be prevented by efficient weight control.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Serum selenium and subsequent risk of cancer among Finnish men and women.

The association between the serum selenium level and the subsequent incidence of cancer was investigated in a longitudinal study of 39,268 men and women participating in the Social Insurance Institution's Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey in Finland. The baseline examinations, including the collection of blood samples, were performed in 1968-1972. During a median follow-up of 10 years, 1,096 new cancer cases were identified from the files of the Finnish Cancer Registry. Selenium concentrations were measured from the stored serum samples collected from these cancer cases and from two controls per case, matched for sex, municipality, and age. The mean serum selenium level was 59.1 micrograms/L among all male cancer cases and 62.5 micrograms/L among controls. The difference was statistically significant (P less than .001). Corresponding values among women were 63.6 and 63.9 micrograms/L, respectively. Low serum selenium levels were associated with an increased risk of developing cancer at several sites, especially cancers of the stomach and lung among men. The relative risk of lung cancer between the highest and lowest decile of serum selenium was 0.11, and it differed significantly from unity (P less than .001). These findings are in agreement with the hypothesis that low selenium intake may increase the risk of some cancers among men.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Is the burden of overweight on cardiovascular health underestimated?

Body mass index (BMI) was studied for its prediction of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among 31,000 adult participants in the health examination survey of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Mortality, morbidity, and premature work disability from CVD of the participants has been followed up for an average of 10 years by record linkage to the national mortality, hospital discharge, and work invalidity pension registers. The risk of disability and morbidity from CVD increased linearly with BMI, but mortality was only weakly related to BMI. After adjustment for age, smoking, and occupation, the relative risks of work disability, morbidity, and mortality from CVD for women with BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 were, respectively, 2.6 (95% confidence interval = 1.8-3.8), 1.9 (1.4-2.3) and 1.4 (0.7-2.7), compared with the risks for women with BMI less than 22.5 kg/m2. The corresponding risks for men were 2.0 (1.5-2.5), 1.8 (1.5-2.1), and 1.4 (1.0-1.8), respectively. The high risks were largely due to an excess of CVD other than myocardial infarction and stroke. Because of the associated nonfatal morbidity and disability, overweight remains a major preventable risk factor of CVD. CVD in the obese may have a lower than average fatality rate.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Dietary fat and risk of breast cancer.

The relationship between dietary fat and subsequent risk of breast cancer was studied in 3988 initially cancer-free Finnish women aged 20-69 y. During a follow-up period of 20 y, 54 breast-cancer cases were diagnosed. Risk of breast cancer was significantly inversely related to energy intake and nonsignificantly inversely related to absolute fat intake. A positive association between energy-adjusted total fat intake and occurrence of breast cancer was also observed. The relative risk in the highest tertile as compared with the lowest tertile was 1.7 (95% confidence limits 0.6-4.8). The corresponding relative risks were 1.4 (0.5-3.7) for saturated fatty acids, 2.7 (1.0-7.4) for monounsaturated fatty acids, 1.2 (0.6-2.8) for polyunsaturated fatty acids, and 2.2 (1.0-5.0) for cholesterol intake. Adjustment for different potential confounding factors did not alter the results. The present data suggest that breast cancer is associated inversely with energy intake and weakly positively with energy-adjusted fat intake.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Serum vitamin A and subsequent risk of cancer: cancer incidence follow-up of the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey.

From 1968 to 1977, the association between the level of vitamin A in serum and the subsequent incidence of cancer was examined in a longitudinal study of 36,265 persons initially aged 15-99 years in 25 population groups in Finland. During a mean follow-up of 8 years, 766 cancers were diagnosed. Serum retinol, retinol-binding protein, and beta-carotene levels were measured from frozen serum samples (stored at -20 degrees C) drawn from these persons before the start of follow-up and from 1,419 controls matched for sex, age, and place of residence who did not develop cancer during follow-up. The mean level of serum retinol among the cancer cases was 645 micrograms/liter for men and 587 micrograms/liter for women. The corresponding levels in the controls were 3.3% and 2.8% higher. There was an inverse gradient between serum retinol level and the occurrence of cancer among men. This association was, however, mainly concentrated in the first 2 years of follow-up. The mean level of serum beta-carotene was 72.3 micrograms/liter among male cases and 119.5 micrograms/liter among female cases. The corresponding levels of the controls were 14.0% and 5.5% higher. The differences were particularly clear with regard to lung cancer. These findings suggest that the association between retinol and cancer may be due to preclinical cancer and that there may be an association between beta-carotene and cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence of mental disorders among adults in Finland: basic results from the Mini Finland Health Survey.

The Mini Finland Health Survey was an extensive epidemiological study of the Finnish population aged 30 or over; the prevalence of mental disorders was one aspect studied. Prevalence of symptoms in the General Health Questionnaire as well as the prevalence of self-perceived and clinically assessed mental disorders was studied. The total prevalence of clinically assessed mental disorders was 17.4%, 14.8% in the men and 19.5% in the women. A definite disorder was observed for 11.7% of the subjects. About half of the subjects suffering from a mental disorder according to clinical assessment also reported a self-perceived disorder. Of various diagnoses, the most common were phobic and anxiety neurosis (6.2%) and neurotic depression (4.6%). The prevalence of schizophrenia was 1.3%. The highest prevalence was found in the ages 50 to 64 years. The prevalence of psychoses was highest in northern and eastern Finland, and that of neuroses in southern Finland.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Need for mental health services of the adult population in Finland: results from the Mini Finland Health Survey.

This article presents results on the self-perceived and clinically assessed met and unmet need for mental health care as indicated by the Mini Finland Health Survey, an extensive epidemiological study of the Finnish population aged 30 years or over. The prevalence of self-perceived definite or probable need for care was 6.4% in the men and 8.2% in the women. The corresponding clinical assessments were 14.5% in the men and 19.6% in the women. The need for specialist care was 7.5% in the men and 9.6% in the women. The need was greatest in the middle-aged groups. About 60% of persons in need of care were not receiving any treatment. Half of the treatment received was assessed as inadequate. The treatment situation was much better for psychoses than for neuroses, but it varied little between the different parts of the country.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Weight and mortality in Finnish men.

Mortality rates of 22,995 Finnish men aged 25 and over followed up for a median of 12 years were analyzed in relation to body mass index (BMI) at the initial examination. All-cause mortality followed a "U"-shaped distribution, being greatest for the thinnest and fattest men at all ages, or about 1.5-fold for those with BMI less than 19.0 kg/m2 and BMI greater than or equal to 34.0 kg/m2, as compared with men of normal weight (BMI 22.0-24.9 kg/m2). Mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) increased with increasing BMI beyond the normal range. This depended mostly on the association of BMI with the biological risk factors of CVD. Mortality rates from CVD were also elevated among thin men under age 55, which could not be explained by the effect of the biological variables. Mortality rates from non-cardiovascular diseases, including cancers were inversely related to BMI among men of all ages. The high overall mortality of thin men was partly but not entirely attributable to smoking, low social class and antecedent disease. We conclude that both thinness and overweight are detrimental to longevity, but through differing mechanisms and disease patterns.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Descriptive epidemiology and public health aspects of low back pain.

The prevalence of low back syndrome and its consequences in terms of disability, handicap, and need for medical care were studied as part of "the Mini-Finland Health Survey". A sample of 8000 persons representative of the Finnish population aged 30 or over was invited for examination, and 7217 (90%) participated. At interview 75% of the participants reported that they had experienced at least one episode of low back pain. Six or more episodes were reported by half of the population, and about 20% had suffered from pain during the previous month. On the basis of a standardised clinical examination, a physician diagnosed low back syndrome in 17.5% of men and 16.3% of women. The prevalence was highest in those aged 55-64 years. The use of health services was frequent among those suffering from low back pain. Nevertheless, their need for care was commonly unmet. Some disability was found in almost 60% of the subjects with low back pain, although severe functional limitations were rare. It was estimated that of the work disability the reduced capacity for everyday duties apart from work, and the reduced capacity for leisure time activities, in the population 18%, 16%, and 17%, respectively, were attributable to the low back syndrome. Thus low back syndrome has a strong impact on individuals and on society as a whole.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Serum vitamin E, serum selenium and the risk of gastrointestinal cancer.

The association between levels of alpha-tocopherol and selenium in serum and subsequent risk of gastrointestinal cancer was investigated in a longitudinal study based on 36,265 Finnish men and women, aged 15-99 and initially free of cancer. Serum alpha-tocopherol and serum selenium levels at entry into the study were measured from stored serum samples of 150 incident gastrointestinal cancer cases diagnosed during a follow-up of 6-10 years and for 276 controls who were matched for sex, age and place of residence. Subjects with a low level of alpha-tocopherol or selenium had an elevated subsequent risk of cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract. This association persisted among men after adjustment for various confounding factors and after the exclusion of those with cancer diagnosed during the first 2 years of follow-up. The relative risk of cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract among men who fell in the lowest quintile of serum selenium was 3.3 (95% confidence limits, 1.3 and 9.1) while among those who fell in the 3 lowest quintiles of alpha-tocopherol it was 2.2 (95% confidence limits 0.9 and 5.6) compared with those in the higher quintiles. Serum levels of selenium or alpha-tocopherol in general were not inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk. These findings indicate that high selenium intake and possibly also high vitamin E intake, especially among men, may provide protection against cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract but not against colorectal cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Serum cholesterol and risk of cancer in a cohort of 39,000 men and women.

Serum cholesterol concentration was studied for its prediction of cancer in 39,268 men and women aged 15-99 years and initially free from cancer. During a median follow-up of 10 years 1381 cancer cases were diagnosed. Serum cholesterol level was inversely associated with cancer incidence among non-smokers. Age-adjusted relative risks of cancer in quintiles of serum cholesterol were in male non-smokers 1.0, 0.81, 0.73, 0.69, and 0.46 and in female non-smokers 1.0, 0.75, 0.84, 0.78, and 0.70. The associations were not found to be confounded by serum vitamins A or E, serum selenium or several other factors. The association between serum cholesterol level and risk of cancer varied from strongly negative to slightly positive according to subpopulation and site of cancer. The strongest negative associations were found to appear during the first years of follow-up, especially for rapidly developing cancers. Thus the increased occurrence of cancer at low cholesterol levels seems mainly to be due to preclinical cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Serum vitamin E and risk of cancer among Finnish men during a 10-year follow-up.

The association between serum alpha-tocopherol levels and the subsequent incidence of cancer was investigated in a longitudinal study of 21,172 men initially aged 15-99 years in six geographic areas in Finland. The baseline examination was conducted in 1968-1972, and during the follow-up of 6-10 years, 453 cancers were diagnosed. The serum alpha-tocopherol levels were measured from stored serum samples from these men and from 841 male controls, matched for municipality and age, who did not develop cancer during the follow-up. The mean levels of serum alpha-tocopherol among the cancer cases and controls were 8.02 and 8.28 mg/liter, respectively. A high serum alpha-tocopherol level was associated with a reduced risk of cancer. The relative risk of cancer in persons in the two highest (threshold 8.70 mg/liter) quintiles of serum alpha-tocopherol was 0.64 (95 per cent confidence interval = 0.49-0.85) in comparison with those in the three lowest quintiles. The association was strongest for the combined group of cancers unrelated to smoking and varied between subgroups of the study population as well as between different cancers. The association persisted when adjusted for serum cholesterol, serum vitamin A, serum selenium, and various confounding factors. It also persisted when subjects with possible signs of cancer at the time when the blood samples were drawn or with cancers diagnosed during the first two years of follow-up were excluded. These findings agree with the hypothesis that high vitamin E intake protects against cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Risk factors for sudden and non-sudden coronary death.

The impact of risk factors for sudden and non-sudden coronary death was investigated in 3,589 Finnish men aged 40-59 years at entry from a prospective population survey. During a mean follow-up time of 11 years, 234 coronary deaths occurred, 150 of which were sudden, i.e. ensuing within 1 hour of the onset of symptoms. The severity of the manifestations of CHD at baseline investigation appeared to be a powerful predictor of sudden coronary death. Smoking and high serum cholesterol were significant predictors of sudden coronary death. High serum cholesterol was an equally significant predictor of sudden and non-sudden coronary death. High blood pressure did not appear to significantly increase sudden coronary death but increased the incidence of non-sudden death significantly. Obesity and diabetes did not appear to be independent risk factors for sudden coronary death. Smoking and high serum cholesterol were significant risk factors for sudden coronary death in men with manifestations of coronary heart disease. The results suggest that reduction of primary risk factors, especially smoking and high serum cholesterol, is important even after coronary heart disease has become manifest.

Adult↗