A smoking cessation campaign in a Norwegian newspaper.
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Humans↗
Biomedical subjects
A Gulsvik
Publications and source records attributed to A Gulsvik.
Occupational dust or gas exposure and prevalences of respiratory symptoms and asthma in a general population.
The relationship of occupational airborne, exposure to respiratory symptoms and asthma was examined using a self-administered questionnaire in a cross-sectional survey of a random sample (n = 4,992 subjects) of the general population aged 15-70 yrs of Hordaland county, Norway. The response rate was 90%. Twenty nine percent of the population had a history of occupational dust or gas exposure, 5% reported having been exposed to asbestos at work, and 4% reported quartz exposure. A history of occupational dust or gas exposure was associated with morning cough, chronic cough, phlegm when coughing, breathlessness on exercise, occasional wheezing and a physician's diagnosis of asthma after adjusting for sex, age, smoking habits and urban-rural area of residence. The adjusted relative odds ratios for the respiratory disorders in subjects exposed to dust or gas ranged from 1.6-1.9. The population attributable risk of occupational dust or gas exposure for the respiratory disorders ranged from 11-19%. The study indicates that respiratory disorders are independently associated with occupational airborne exposure in a Norwegian general population sample.
Adolescent↗
[Tuberculosis today and in the future].
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Developing Countries↗
[Simple spirometry and peak flow measurements].
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Humans↗
[Detection of tuberculosis bacilli].
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Bacteriological Techniques↗
[A basic course in pulmonary diseases as part of specialist training in internal medicine].
According to the new plan for specialist training in internal medicine in Norway eight different basic courses are planned. The first course in pulmonary medicine was arranged in 1988 and was attended by doctors from all parts of Norway. A theoretical and practical programme was set up for five days, covering central parts of pulmonary medicine. The participants asked for more case presentations and plenum discussions. A systematic educational system in each department of medicine which trains candidates for internal medicine, may further increase the benefit obtained from these basic courses.
Curriculum↗
[Methods for administration of anti-asthma inhalation drugs].
Inhalation of aerosols is an established treatment of asthma. There are different delivery systems such as metered-dose inhalers, spacer devices, powder inhalers and nebulizers. The prescribing physician must be familiar with the variety available so that he can choose the device that suits the patient's needs. Teaching and supervising the method of inhalation is important. The metered-dose inhaler is still the most commonly prescribed inhalation system, but powder inhalers are now used by an increasing number of patients.
Administration, Inhalation↗
[Cessation of smoking. Advice on how to stop smoking presented in a newspaper].
A journalist and a physician presented a smoking cessation campaign in four weekend editions of a Norwegian newspaper. A questionnaire was administered to 1,437 persons by telephone, 34% of the readers of the newspaper had actually read one or several of the articles and had gained information and know-how on how to stop smoking. However, only 2% of the readers who smoked daily tried to change their smoking habits.
Health Education↗
Increased content of chromium and nickel in lung tissues from patients with bronchial carcinoma.
Epidemiological studies have shown that occupational exposure to certain chromium and nickel compounds is followed by an increased lung cancer incidence. However, few data exist on the content of these metals in lung cancer patients in general. In the present study, central and peripheral lung tissue, bronchial tissue and hilar lymph nodes were collected from 20 patients with bronchial carcinoma and 21 control individuals, and the tissue concentration of chromium and nickel was measured by use of atomic absorption analysis. Increased levels of both metals were found in cancer patients as compared to controls. Lung tissue concentration of chromium was two-fold increased, while the bronchial wall content of nickel was three times the level in control individuals. Smokers showed a dose-related increase in the deposition of both chromium and nickel. Furthermore, in cancer patients an inverse relationship between smoking and the tissue level of chromium in regional lymph nodes was found, possibly indicating a depressive effect on pulmonary clearance mechanisms. Our results emphasize the possible role of small amounts of chromium and nickel as agents in bronchial carcinogenesis, unrelated to occupation and probably related to tobacco smoking.
Adult↗
Hay fever, eczema and urticaria in southwest Norway. Lifetime prevalences and association with sex, age, smoking habits, occupational airborne exposures and respiratory symptoms.
Information on hay fever, eczema, urticaria, respiratory symptoms, smoking habits and occupational dust or gas exposure was obtained by a self-administered questionnaire from a random sample of 4992 subjects of the general population aged 15-70 years of the Hordaland county, Norway. The response rate was 90% of the sample. The lifetime prevalences of hay fever, eczema and urticaria were 10%, 25% and 9% of the respondents, respectively. Eczema and urticaria were more often reported by women than by men. The lifetime prevalence of hay fever decreased substantially by age in both sexes. A history of hay fever was inversely related to cigarette smoking. The lifetime prevalences of eczema and urticaria were associated with occupational dust or gas exposure after adjusting for sex, age, smoking habits and area of residence. Adjusted odds ratios of respiratory symptoms in subjects with hay fever were almost 2.0 compared with those without.
Adolescent↗
Postal survey on airborne occupational exposure and respiratory disorders in Norway: causes and consequences of non-response.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to examine causes for non-response in a community survey, and how non-response influences prevalence estimates of some exposure and disease variables, and associations between the variables. DESIGN: This was a cross sectional questionnaire study with two reminder letters. The questionnaire asked for information on smoking habits, occupational airborne exposure and respiratory disorders. SETTING: A random sample of 4992 subjects from the general population aged 15-70 years of Hordaland County, Norway. MAIN RESULTS: The overall response rate was 90%, with a 63% response to the initial letter. The response rates to the first and second reminder letters were 56% and 36% respectively. In 20% of the non-respondents an uncompleted questionnaire was returned with cause for non-response; in two thirds of these the cause for non-response was that the subject was not resident at the mailing address. A home visit to a random sample of 50 urban non-respondents provided further information on 29 subjects. A wrong address at the Central Population Registry and the subject's feeling of lack of personal benefit from a postal survey were the major reasons for non-response. Smokers were late respondents and subjects with respiratory disorders tended to be early respondents. CONCLUSION: The main reasons for non-response were a wrong mailing address and a feeling of lack of personal benefit from responding. Using only the initial letter would have changed the estimated prevalence of smokers from 39% to 35%. Otherwise, the estimated prevalence of the exposure and disease variables as well as the associations between them were only slightly changed after including the respondents to the first and second reminder letters.
Adolescent↗
Pulmonary mechanical function and diffusion capacity after deep saturation dives.
To assess the effects of deep saturation dives on pulmonary function, static and dynamic lung volumes, transfer factor for carbon monoxide (T1CO), delta-N2, and closing volume (CV) were measured before and after eight saturation dives to pressures of 3.1-4.6 MPa. The atmospheres were helium-oxygen mixtures with partial pressures of oxygen of 40-60 kPa. The durations of the dives were 14-30 days. Mean rate of decompression was 10.5-13.5 kPa/hour. A total of 43 divers were examined, six of whom took part in two dives, the others in one only. Dynamic lung volumes did not change significantly but total lung capacity (TLC) increased significantly by 4.3% and residual volume (RV) by 14.8% (p less than 0.05). CV was increased by 16.7% (p less than 0.01). The T1CO was reduced from 13.0 +/- 1.6 to 11.8 +/- 1.7 mmol/min/kPa (p less than 0.01) when corrected to a haemoglobin concentration of 146 g/l. Effective alveolar volume was unchanged. The increase in TLC and decrease in T1CO were correlated (r = -0.574, p less than 0.02). A control examination of 38 of the divers four to six weeks after the dives showed a partial normalisation of the changes. The increase in TLC, RV, and CV, and the decrease in T1CO, could be explained by a loss of pulmonary elastic tissue caused by inflammatory reactions induced by oxygen toxicity or venous gas emboli.
Adult↗
Divers' lung function: small airways disease?
Pulmonary function was measured in 152 professional saturation divers and in a matched control group of 106 subjects. Static lung volumes, dynamic lung volumes and flows, transfer factor for carbon monoxide (T1CO), transfer volume per unit alveolar volume (KCO), delta-N2, and closing volume (CV) were measured and compared with reference values from recent Scandinavian studies, British submariners, and the European Community for Coal and Steel (ECCS) recommended reference values. Diving exposure was assessed as years of diving experience, total number of days in saturation and depth, and as the product of days in saturation and mean depth. Divers had significantly lower values for forced expired volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio, FEF25-75%, FEF75-85%, FEF50%, FEF75%, T1CO, and KCO compared with the controls and a significantly higher CV. There was a positive correlation between diving exposure and CV, whereas the other variables had negative correlations with diving exposure. Values for the control group were not different from the predictive values of Scandinavian reference studies or British submariners, although the ECCS standard predicted significantly lower values for the lung function variables both in divers and the control group. The pattern of the differences in lung function variables between the divers and controls is consistent with small airways dysfunction and with the transient changes in lung function found immediately after a single saturation dive. The association between reduced pulmonary function and previous diving exposure further indicates the presence of cumulative long term effects of diving on pulmonary function.
Adult↗
Exercise tolerance and pulmonary gas exchange after deep saturation dives.
Pulmonary function and exercise tolerance were measured before and after three saturation dives to a pressure of 3.7 MPa. The atmospheres were heliox with partial pressures of oxygen of 40 kPa during the bottom phase and 50 kPa during the compression and decompression phase. The bottom times were 3, 10, and 13 days. Decompression time was 13 days. Precordial Doppler monitoring was done daily during the decompression, and an estimate of the total bubble load on the pulmonary circulation was calculated as the accumulated sum of bubble scores recorded for each diver. Nine of the 18 divers had chest symptoms with retrosternal discomfort or nonproductive cough after the dive. There were no changes in dynamic lung volumes. Transfer factor for carbon monoxide was significantly reduced from 12.3 +/- 1.2 to 10.9 +/- 1.3 mmol.kPa-1.min-1 (P less than 0.01), and maximum oxygen uptake was reduced from 3.98 +/- 0.36 to 3.42 +/- 0.37 l/min STPD (P less than 0.01) after the dives. Resting heart rate was increased from 64 +/- 6 to 75 +/- 8 min-1 (P less than 0.01). The ventilatory requirements in relation to oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide elimination were significantly increased (P less than 0.01) after the dives. The physiological dead space fraction of tidal volume was significantly higher and showed an increase with larger tidal volumes (P less than 0.05). Anaerobic threshold estimated from gas exchange data decreased from an oxygen uptake of 2.30 +/- 0.25 to 1.95 +/- 0.28 l/min STPD (P less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adult↗
Permanent venous access via subcutaneous infusion port in severe asthma.
A subcutaneous infusion port was implanted in a 34-year-old patient with frequent and severe asthma attacks to ensure prompt and reliable venous access. Difficulties with peripheral venous access were possible cofactors necessitating mechanical ventilation on two occasions before this implantation. The method described is simple and seems useful for asthmatics in need of frequent parenteral medication.
Acute Disease↗
Smoking habits and lifetime occupational exposure to gases or dusts, including asbestos and quartz, in a Norwegian community.
Past or present occupational airborne exposure was recorded with a self-administered questionnaire sent to a random sample (N = 4992) of the 15- to 70-year-old population of Hordaland County, Norway. Completed questionnaires were returned by 90% of the sample. The respondents comprised 39% smokers, 20% ex-smokers, and 41% nonsmokers. Altogether 46% of the men and 12% of the women had a history of occupational gas or dust exposure. Occupational asbestos exposure was reported by 10% of the men and 0.4% of the women, and quartz exposure had been experienced by 8% of the men and 0.4% of the women. Smokers with a history of asbestos exposure represented 5% of the male population. Thirty percent of the smokers reported having been advised to stop smoking by a physician. The asbestos-exposed smokers had not received such advice more often than the smokers not exposed to asbestos. The findings indicate that airborne occupational exposure is widespread in the Norwegian County of Hordaland.
Adolescent↗
Respiratory changes with deep diving.
Deep diving refers to saturation diving to a depth of more than 180 m (1.9 MPa ambient pressure). In the 1990s diving to 400 m may be necessary on the Norwegian continental shelf. The safety margins are narrow and the respiratory system is subject to great strain at such depths. The respiratory resistance increases and the dynamic lung volumes are reduced as the pressure increases due to enhanced gas density. Helium is used together with oxygen as breathing gas and its lower density partly normalises the dynamic lung volumes. The respiratory system puts clear limitations on intensity and duration of physical work in deep diving. Systematic studies of lung mechanics, gas exchange and respiratory regulation in the different phases of deep dives are lacking. Detection of occupational respiratory disorder following diving are dependent on long-term follow-up.
Diving↗
[Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency and emphysema. Replacement therapy?].
We present three patients with homozygous alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and pulmonary emphysema. They demonstrate the typical patterns of this syndrome: panlobular emphysema, early age of onset, serum alpha-1-antitrypsin below 35% of normal and phenotype PiZZ. We discuss epidemiology, pathogenesis and clinical manifestations, and review the experience concerning replacement therapy using alpha-1-antitrypsin derived from human plasma. We strongly point out the importance of stopping cigarette smoking in such patients.
Adolescent↗