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Biomedical subjects

K Sievers

Publications and source records attributed to K Sievers.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Auditory sensitivity in the middle-aged population in southwestern Finland.

The present study deals with the auditory sensitivity of men and women 40 to 64 years of age living in two municipalities situated in the southwestern part of Finland and the prevalence of defective hearing in this middle-aged population. Hearing acuity was tested in 1043 men (93.2%) and 1221 women (93.1%). It appeared in the investigation that hearing loss increased markedly with age in both sexes. Auditory sensitivity was clearly better in women than in men. Of the entire population 7.1% had evident bilateral hearing loss when an average loss of 25 dB in the speech range was used as the cut-off point. Hearing loss of 35 dB in the speech area was regarded as requiring an otological examination and possible care even when present in only one ear. Of the men 12.1% and 7.9% of the women were in this category; this represents an overall prevalence of 9.9%.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Thyroid autoimmunity in siblings: a population study.

Familial occurrence of thyroid autoantibodies and elevated TSH levels was investigated among siblings from a middle-aged rural population in Finland. The initial sample consisted of 801 subjects representing 311 sibling groups. Paired sera taken at a five-year interval were available for testing from most of them. Thyroglobulin antibodies were detected in 26% of the siblings of probands with thyroglobulin antibodies, compared with 11% among siblings of probands who did not have these antibodies. The corresponding figures for thyroid microsomal antibodies were 32% and 11%, respectively. The frequency of positive test results among the siblings was about the same irrespective of the antibody titre of the proband. When the proband had only thyroid microsomal antibodies, most (66%) of the autoantibody-positive siblings were positive in this system only. When the proband had only thyroglobulin antibodies, the pattern among siblings was less clear. Nearly half of the cases with elevated TSH level but negative in the thyroid autoantibody tests were in families in which other members had evidence of thyroid autoimmunity. The findings are compatible with the concept that a few major genes affect susceptibility to thyroid autoimmune diseases.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Genetics of autoantibodies in relation to disease. An epidemiological study of two population series.

Familial occurrence of three types of autoantibodies, viz. rheumatoid factors, antinuclear antibodies and thyroid autoantibodies, was investigated in two population series: twins from the Finnish Twin Registry representing the adult twin population living in an urban area (76 monozygotic and 82 dizygotic same-sex twin pairs) and siblings from a middle-aged rural population subject to an ongoing epidemiological study (311 sibling groups comprising 801 subjects and 584 married couples). The observations were compatible with the concept of two components in the above autoantibody system. The major component is determined predominantly by environmental factors and is manifested with increasing age. The autoantibodies belonging to the minor, familial component occur in somewhat higher titers, exhibit certain specificity features of their own (RF reacting with rabbit gamma globulin), and are associated with "autoimmune" diseases.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Essential tremor in a Finnish population.

A two-phase epidemiological study of essential tremor was carried out by investigating a rural population aged over 40 years in 2 municipalities in southwestern Finland. In the first phase, the subjects answered a questionnaire as to whether they had experienced tremor during the month preceding the inquiry. In the second phase, the persons who had tremor often or fairly often, were examined clinically. The total prevalence of essential tremor, calculated on the basis of clinically established cases, was 55.5/1000 of the population aged over 40 years. The disease became more prevalent with advancing age and was, with the exception of the oldest age-group, more common in men than in women.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Epidemiology of rheumatic diseases in Finland in 1964-76.

Finnish national interview surveys show that the prevalence rate of self-reported chronic rheumatic disease was 8.8% of the adult population in 1964 and 13.3% in 1976. Most of these diseases were back complaints, which also showed a rapid increase. The prevalence rate of osteoarthritis was 3.2% in 1976, and that of rheumatoid arthritis 1.2%. In 1964 45% and in 1976 more than 60% of the chronic rheumatics reported other chronic diseases as well. 10% were severely and one third slightly restricted with mobility in 1976. Also certain psychic symptoms were surprisingly common among them, and 42% used regularly analgesics. The occurrence of these diseases seems to be associated with socioeconomic changes. The prevalence rate was highest in the poorest areas with negative immigration. Of the working-aged population the diseases were commonest among agricultural workers in 1964, and among disability pensioners retired from this occupational group in 1976. Because of its magnitude and multiple problems this group has become a special challenge to the health care system.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Mental health in the middle-aged population.

In the general health screening carried out 9 September 1973--11 January 1974 in the municipality of Säkylä in Southwest Finland as part of the Säkylä-Köyliö project, the current self-perceived psychological symptomatology of the population between the ages of 40 and 64 years (a total of 2,431 persons) was measured by the questionnaire developed by Goldberg. With a participation rate of 93.3%, the study revealed that 21% of those who took part suffered from psychological symptoms. In the subjects 50 years old or over these symptoms were nearly twice as common as in those under 50 years. Mental symptoms occurred most frequently in widowed and divorced persons as well as in pensioners and the unemployed. An increase in income and/or education appeared to be related to a decline in psychosymptomatology. In the municipality of Köyliö, with a less developed social organization, the frequency of psychological symptoms was 1.5 times that obtained for the more highly developed Säkylä.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Improving compliance with therapeutic regimens in hypertensive patients in a community health center.

A 1-year, randomized study was conducted to test the possibility of improving compliance with therapeutic regimens in hypertensives by means of certain simple arrangements. Patients were given written treatment instructions concerning hypertension, a personal blood-pressure follow-up card, and, for those who failed to attend their blood-pressure check-up, an invitation for a new check-up. Using matched pairs, 202 Finnish hypertensives were randomly allocated either to an ordinary or a reorganized treatment group. By means of the latter system, patient compliance could be significantly (p less than 0.01) improved: Only 4% of the patients in this group dropped out of treatment, compared with 19% in the ordinary treatment group. By the end of the year, blood pressure had been lowered by at least 10% in 95% of the patients in the reorganized group and in 78% of those in the ordinary group (p less than 0.01). This was achieved in approximately 60% of cases using chlorthalidone alone.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

A multiphasic screening programme at the health centre level: the Säkylä-Köyliö project.

The Säkylä-Köyliö Project concerned the investigation and evaluation of different screening programmes and the possibilities for providing the necessary treatment and follow-up at the health centre level. The variables studied consisted of anaemia, bacteriuria, high blood pressure, and mental health problems; an epidemiologic screening for sight and hearing defects and diseases of the musculoskeletal system was carried out as well. The use of health services, together with the relationships between objectively and subjectively determined morbidity, was also studied. A total of 2268 inhabitants of the municipalities of Säkylä and Köyliö, i.e. 93.2% of the 40- to 64-year-old female population and 93.4% of the males in the same age range, participated in the screening programme conducted by the Säkylä-Köyliö Project between 9 September 1973 and 11 January 1974. Only one-fifth (1.9%) of the non-respondents to the first invitation (8.6%) participated in the screening programme after they received a second invitation. This result demonstrates that those who do not participate for some reason cannot, to any great extent, be influenced by a renewed invitation. Since the non-participation rate was insignificant, the material examined may, from the epidemiologic point of view, be considered as representative of the middle-aged population of the two municipalities, which together form a health centre district in Southwest Finland. The high participation percentage also shows that the prerequisite of screening, namely, a positive attitude on the part of the population, was as well fulfilled in the present project.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Use of physician services by a middle-aged population in a rural health centre district in southwest Finland. Descriptive distributions.

The use of physician services by a middle-aged population was investigated in connection with a multiphasic screening programme in two rural municipalities in Southwest Finland. The screening programme was attended by 1223 (93.2%) females and 1045 (93.4%) males, 40 to 64 years of age. Two-thirds of the subjects (61% of the men and 69% of the women) had seen a doctor during the previous year because of illness, symptoms or accident. The mean of the face-to-face physician contacts was 2.3 times a year per person, the women having had more contacts (2.4) than the men (2.1). In all, about half (52%) of the subjects had visited the health centre physician during the previous year for the previously mentioned reasons. Ten per cent of the subjects had seen a private specialist and another 10% had seen a physician at an outpatient clinic of a central or district hospital. More than one-third of those who had seen a physician at the health centre had visited the health centre at least three times within a year, whereas only one-sixth of those who had used the services of a private practitioner had seen the private practitioner as often. Proportionately, those visiting mental health offices used the services of a physician the most often, for the majority of them (77%) had seen a psychiatrist at this office at least three times during the year.

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PubMed1977

Association of bacteriuria and rheumatoid factors in a population sample.

To obtain further information on the possible association of bacteriuria and RFs on the population level, an epidemiological study was carried out among middle-aged women in a rural area. Fifty-five of ther 1223 women aged 40-64 years had bacteriuria and 31 were under treatment for urinary tract infection. The latex test was twice as often positive among the bacteriuria women as among the persons under treatment and the age-matched controls. The association was noted in the same way in persons with symptoms and signs suggestive of RA and in those with no evidence of this disease.

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