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Biomedical subjects

J Maatela

Publications and source records attributed to J Maatela.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
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 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↗
PubMed1987

Type A behaviour pattern in Finland.

The prevalence of coronary prone behaviour, type A, was investigated in a population sample of 1,958 men and 2,224 women aged 30-64 years representative for all people of that age actively employed in Finland. Type A behaviour was assessed by the Jenkins Activity Survey. The mean values of the standardized AB scale were -5.6 in men and -5.8 in women. Type A behaviour was strongly associated with the level of education, occupational group and the socio-economic status achieved. However, it was not related to the conventional cardiovascular risk factors. The prevalence of coronary heart disease was statistically significantly associated with type A behaviour.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Practice and control of digitalis therapy in Finland.

In order to assess the adequacy of digitalis therapy in Finland we studied its practice and control in 747 patients who were receiving it regularly. The patients were derived from a sample (n = 8000) representative of the adult Finnish population. More than 90% of the patients were receiving digoxin, mostly 125 micrograms or 250 micrograms, once daily. Few patients were taking digitalis as the sole drug prescribed. The mean number of prescribed drugs for each patient (including digitalis) was 4.2 for men and 4.6 for women. 85% of the patients generally visited their "own" doctor. About 90% of the patients had seen a doctor at least once during the previous 12 months. In spite of this, the control of the therapy was generally considered poor, since almost half the patients were uncertain when the next visit to the doctor would be. Inadequately low serum digitalis concentrations, suggesting inadequate or questionable use of the drug, were observed in 30% of the patients. In 15% of the patients the therapy was considered especially questionable. Probably due to variable prescribing habits in general practice, the proportions of patients on poorly controlled, inadequate or questionable digitalis therapy varied remarkably between regions within the country. The results suggest that digitalis therapy in Finland is often inappropriate. We conclude that the practice and control of digitalis therapy need careful reappraisal in this country.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Levels of serum lipids, apolipoproteins A-I and B and pseudocholinesterase activity and their discriminative values in patients with coronary by-pass operation.

Serum lipids and apoproteins A-I and B were measured in 115 male patients and serum pseudocholinesterase activity (PChE) was determined in 83 patients with 3 vessel coronary artery disease (CAD). The control subjects were matched according to sex, smoking, relative weight and age and were free from heart disease. The CAD patients had significantly higher serum VLDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels and lower HDL cholesterol and apo A-I levels and lower HDL to total cholesterol ratio than the controls. The concentrations of serum total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were only slightly (6.4% and 8.8%, on an average) higher in CAD patients than in controls. The apo B levels of CAD patients were also slightly lower in patients than in controls. The CAD patients had slightly higher PChE activities than controls. The ratios of apo A-I to PChE and HDL cholesterol to PChE were significantly (about 30%, P less than 0.001) lower in patients than in controls. In discriminant analysis between the groups HDL cholesterol and apo A-I showed the best (74% success in reclassifying the patients to correct groups), and total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and apo B remarkably weak discriminating power among the single variables of serum lipids and lipoproteins. In discriminating analysis the apo A-I/PChE and HDL cholesterol/PChE ratios showed relatively high (77.1 and 71.1% success from the patients to correct groups) and serum PChE activity weak discriminating power. These results indicate that low levels of HDL cholesterol and apo A-I and the low ratio of HDL cholesterol to total cholesterol are the most potent metabolic risk factors for 3 vessel coronary artery disease in a population with relatively high serum total cholesterol level. The determinations of apo A-I/PChE and HDL cholesterol/PChE ratios may be an additional, valuable tool in discriminating the risk for CAD.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Overprescription and underprescription of digitalis.

As part of a health examination of a representative sample (n = 8,000) of the adult Finnish population, cardiac state was assessed in the 747 digitalis users and the 6,329 non-users who participated in the survey. Ninety per cent of the digitalis users were in sinus rhythm and 50% were in sinus rhythm and had a normal roentgenographic heart volume. About 20% of those in sinus rhythm had a normal heart volume and a "subtherapeutic" serum digitalis concentration. The age-adjusted prevalence of digitalis therapy in the presence of sinus rhythm was 8% in men and 10% in women. The total number of these patients in Finland was estimated at 246,000 (95% confidence limits 225,000-267,000). Half of the men and two thirds of the women on digitalis received concomitant diuretic therapy. Atrial fibrillation and/or markedly enlarged heart were observed in 1.5% of the men and 0.9% of the women not receiving digitalis. Their total number in the Finnish population was estimated at 23,000 (+/- 7,000). The results suggest that questionable digitalis therapy is very common since several authors have reported successful withdrawal of maintenance digitalis therapy in at least half of the patients in sinus rhythm. On the other hand, underprescription of digitalis seems to be uncommon.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Serum fatty acids in Finnish men.

The fatty acid compositions of 4 serum lipid fractions were analysed from 244 randomly selected 30-59-year-old Finnish men from 4 areas involved in a population survey ('Mini-Finland') in 1979-80. Men in eastern Finland had significantly lower mean percentages of linoleate (18:2) in CE, TG, FFA and PL (45.1, 10.3, 9.3 and 18.8%, respectively) than men in the western part of the country (48.4, 12.5, 10.6 and 20.2%, respectively). Very low values of 18:2 were encountered in the North Karelian community of Ilomantsi, especially in men aged 50-59 (40.9, 8.0, 7.5 and 16.8%, respectively). The percentage of alpha-linolenate tended also to be lower and those of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids higher in the east, but there were no or only inconsistent differences in the contents of the prostaglandin precursors dihomo-gamma-linolenate, arachidonate and eicosapentaenoate. Eighteen men were studied in November and the following April. Only minor changes in the mean composition of serum fatty acids took place during this period and the correlation coefficients between the percentages of 18:2 recorded at the two time points ranged from 0.70 to 0.81. The low concentrations of 18:2 in serum lipids in Finnish men obviously reflect a low dietary P/S ratio and may contribute to the high prevalence of IHD in Finland and to its regional differences.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The Social Insurance Institution's coronary heart disease study. Baseline data and 5-year mortality experience.

The Social Insurance Institution's Coronary Heart Disease Study is a prospective population study designed to investigate the prevalence, risk factors and incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in middle-aged Finnish men and women. The study population consisted of 5 738 men and 5 224 women, aged 30-59 years at entry, drawn from 12 cohorts from south-western, western, central and eastern Finland. The cohorts consisted of whole or random samples of rural or semiurban dwellers or employees of a factory. The participation rate was 90 per cent. The prevalence of symptoms was determined by the Rose questionnaire and abnormalities on resting ECG were coded according to the Minnesota code. Blood pressure, smoking habits, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, postload plasma glucose and obesity were the risk factors analysed at the baseline examination. The mortality of examinees has been followed continuously. This report deals with the main findings at the baseline examination and the mortality follow-up experience in 5 years. The prevalence of typical angina pectoris was 4.4 per cent in men and 5.4 per cent in women. Unequivocal ECG signs of past myocardial infarction were observed in 1.0 per cent of men and 0.3 per cent of women. Other ECG findings suggesting CHD were observed in 9.2 per cent of men and 11.1 per cent of women. The 5-year mortality was 4.3 per cent in men and 0.9 per cent in women. Men with typical chest pain symptoms had a seven-fold risk to die from CHD, compared to men without symptoms. Men with ECG abnormalities compatible with an old infarction had a 19.5-fold and men with other ECG findings suggesting CHD a 7.1-fold risk to die from CHD compared to men without resting ECG abnormalities. Men with ECG findings as the only indicator of CHD had worse survival than men with symptoms as the only indicator of CHD. The value of symptoms and ECG findings as predictors of CHD mortality in women was very low.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Type A in the mini-Finland health survey.

The prevalence of coronary-prone behaviour, Type A, was investigated in a representative sample of all Finnish adults comprising 1941 men and 2168 women aged 30-64 years. The behaviour pattern was assessed by the Jenkins Activity Survey. The mean of the Type A scores was --5.7 for men and --5.8 for women. Among men, 28.3%, and among women 26.8% had scores greater than or equal to 0. Type A was positively associated with the level of education. The prevalence of Type A in Finnish men and women seems to be lower than that found in most other surveys.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

The epidemiology of hyperostosis of the spine together with its symptoms and related mortality in a general population.

The prevalence rate of hyperostosis, defined as the presence of complete bony bridges linking two vertebrae in at least two separate sites in the dorsal spine, was studied in a sample of some 9 000 persons who were 40 years of age or older and were representative of the general population of Finland. The standardized rates of hyperostosis were 3.8% for men and 2.6% for women. The prevalence rates rose sharply with age, and depending on the age group, the male-female ratio varied between 1.4 and 2.1. The adjusted rate of hyperostosis was higher in East Finland than elsewhere. There was a suggestion of hyperostosis being associated with a higher mortality rate as judged by regional variations and by analysis of matched case-controled pairs. There was no evidence that locomotor symptoms occurred in excess in subjects with hyperostosis; nor was prior traumatic experience more common.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations of Finns and Finnish Lapps. I. Basic data.

Serum cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) concentrations have been studied in six Finnish population groups in South and East Finland and in one group of Finnish Lapps in North Finland. Altogether 11626 Finns, aged 15 or above and 828 Lapps of all ages were studied. Serum cholesterol and TG concentrations of the Lapp children were higher in the age group 0--4 than in the age groups 5-9 and 10-14. Mean serum cholesterol of girls aged 0-9 was higher than that of the boys. The sex and age dependence of mean lipid values in the adults were in several respect similar to those observed in other industrialized populations. The serum cholesterol mean rose with age to reach a maximum in age group 50-59 in men, in age group 60-69 in women. Among the adults, women had lower cholesterol means than men only in age groups 30-39 and 40-49. The serum TG distribution was markedly skewed, and logarithmic transformation brought it closer to normal. Maximal log(TG) values (greater than 12 hours' fast) were attained by men aged 30-39 and by women aged 60-69. Men had considerably higher TG levels than women in middle-aged groups. Of all the sex and age groups studied, the men aged 30-39 had the most skewed cholesterol frequency distribution. Up to this age variability in men's cholesterol values were also increased, as reflected by an increasing S.D. As to women the cholesterol S.D. increased until the age of 60-69. In all the age groups above 14 years, the variability of TG values was larger in men than in women, but it was not age dependent.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations of Finns and Finnish Lapps. II. Interpopulation comparisons and occurrence of hyperlipidemia.

Only small differences in serum cholesterol means and somewhat larger, but still modest differences in log(TG) means were observed, when seven Finnish population groups were compared. Semiurban and industrial groups had the highest triglyceride levels. Cholesterol levels tended to be lower in South Finland than in East or North Finland and lowest in semiurban population groups. Between 15-59 years of age, rural Finns of both sexes had higher and after this age lower cholesterol means than the Finns in the other population groups. The highest cholesterol levels below the age of 60 were observed in a rural population group in East Finland. The Finnish Lapps and the rural Finns had nearly identical serum lipid levels in spite of the differences in genetic background and way of life. The serum lipid concentration means were quite similar to those reported from the other Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The differences between the populations of the Nordic countries are no larger than those observed between the Finnish population groups. However, no population in Scandinavia or elsewhere can confidently be said to have higher serum lipid levels than the Finns. The similarity of the lipid levels observed in different areas in Finland and in the larger Nordic area is remarkable in view of the large differences in the incidence of coronary heart disease and in mortality rates. It is conceivable that part of the variations in disease rates is attributable to differences in the prevalence of hyperlipidemias, although the present study does not prove this hypothesis. Such differences could occur in spite of similarities in the lipid concentration means. Prevalences of hyperlipidemias in Finland are given.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of stroke in Finland.

The prevalence of stroke was investigated in a Finnish population study. The results were based on cross-sectional data from a follow-up examination of a prospective study conducted in 1973-1976. The study population drawn from four regions of the country comprised 11,103 men and 11,096 women aged 20 years and over. The age-adjusted prevalence of stroke was 10.3/1000 in men and 5.8/1000 in women. The prevalence was significantly higher in non-attendants at the examination than in attendants. In 15 per cent of the prevalence cases the stroke was caused by subarachnoid hemorrhage, in six per cent by cerebral hemorrhage and in the remainder by cerebral infarction or the type could not be specified. Over half (57 per cent) of the survivors of stroke had no or only slight disability; eight per cent were totally disabled. Some form of organic heart disease and hypertension was significantly more common in the prevalence cases than in the others.

Adult↗