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T Helgason

Publications and source records attributed to T Helgason.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Incidence and prevalence of type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus in Icelandic children 1970-1989.

Through use of primary and secondary data sources for registration and validation, the incidence and prevalence of Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus in children aged 0-14 years in Iceland has been completely ascertained for the years 1970-1989. The age-adjusted mean annual incidence per 100,000 for the 20-year period was 9.4 (95% confidence interval 7.8-11.3); similar for boys (9.9; 7.7-12.7) and girls (8.8; 6.7-11.5). Between 1970-1979 the incidence was 8.0 (6.0-10.6) and between 1980-1989 it was comparable at 10.8 (8.4-13.8) (p greater than 0.10). By Poisson regression analysis the variation in incidence was related to age at diagnosis (p less than 0.001), while a linear trend for calendar year at diagnosis did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.07). A quadratic curve, however, better described the temporal variation in incidence (p less than 0.05). The total prevalence per 1,000 by the end of 1979 and 1989 was similar, 0.45 (0.30-0.65) and 0.57 (0.40-0.79), respectively. In conclusion, this study confirms that both the incidence and prevalence of childhood Type 1 diabetes in Iceland are low compared to the other Nordic countries. The findings may suggest a causative role for environmental factors that are not related to latitude or ambient temperature.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Epidemiological research needs access to data.

Data protection laws and their implementation have led to serious restrictions on access to personal data for research purposes. This seriously affects the development of social medicine and public health by making effective prevention of illness, and rational planning of health services, and their evaluation impossible in many instances. The conflict between people's need for knowledge about prevention and cure of illness and the control over personal data must be solved. Therefore, it is necessary to change the laws and ensure access to data for research use in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the European Science Foundation.

Confidentiality↗
PubMed1991

[Tobacco or living? Decrease in smoking in Iceland 1985-1990].

In 1985 a new tobacco act was passed in Iceland, which prescribed inter alia that warnings be printed on packages of tobacco goods. A prohibition on advertisement for tobacco has since been imposed; information on the injurious effects of tobacco has been disseminated in the schools and via TV. A law which limits smoking at work places and indoors in public buildings has also been introduced. Smoking habits have changed in the last five years. The number of daily smokers has fallen from 40.0 to 32.5 per cent, and rules concerning smokeless hospitals are coming into force. The authors believe that doctors and hospitals should lead the way if we are to reduce smoking in the society.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Anti-tissue antibodies and immunoglobulin levels in relation to HLA and other markers in Icelandic families.

Studies of 521 sera from the Icelandic cousin marriage project were made to assess the incidence of various anti-tissue antibodies and the levels of immunoglobulins, as these were considered to be useful markers of the humoral immune response. Comparisons were made between these parameters and the HLA-A and B antigens, the blood groups, the immunoglobulin allotypes (Gm, Km and Am), the properdin factor (Bf), and other markers. These investigations offered another approach to the study of the sites of action of immune response genes in man. Because the immune response may be expected to differ for each individual and depend at least in part, on the degree of exposure to different antigens, no absolute correlation was expected. There was, however, a marked association between certain IgG anti-tissue antibodies and HLA antigens. This was most marked for HLA-A10, B18 and b27, but not for HLA-A1 or B8. The comparison of immunoglobulin levels with HLA antigens, was less striking, although HLA-A2 appeared to be associated with low levels of IgE. There were also some associations between immunoglobulin levels and ABO blood groups.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

Long-term effect of clofibrate on albumin turnover and distribution in man.

The long-term effect of clofibrate (at least 6 months' treatment) on albumin metabolism was investigated in 7 subjects and the results were compared with those from 15 control subjects. Human albumin labelled with 131I was used as a tracer. A significant difference between the groups was found in the following parameters: The clofibrate-treated group had a prolonged rapid component (t1 1/2) of the disappearance curve (p less than 0.05), relatively increased albumin in the extravascular space (i.e. decreased distribution ratio, p less than 0.01) and increased extravascular albumin space when corrected for body size by calculating it as per cent of the extravascular bromide space (p less than 0.01). There was no significant difference between the groups in albumin synthesis, fractional catabolic rate or the slow component (t2 1/2) of the disappearance curve. The results suggest that long-term treatment with clofibrate causes changes in the intercellular matrix.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Behaviour and social characteristics of young associal alcohol abusers.

In the present study all available young social alcohol abusers in the capital of Iceland are compared with a control group matched for age and intellectual level. Certain behaviour and social characteristics were found to occur more often during childhood among the abusers. Boys showing these characteristics should be regarded as being at high risk of developing asocial alcohol abuse. In order to prevent this they and their families should be offered social, psychiatric and medical help.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Aortic stiffness in insulin-dependent diabetics: an echocardiographic study.

To assess the aortic stiffness (AS) in young (15-35 year old) insulin-dependent diabetics without manifestations of atherosclerotic disease or hypertension, M-mode echocardiography was used to measure relative changes in aortic diameter expressed as Aortic strain = Diameter change/Diastolic diameter-100% Aortic stiffness can be calculated from the formula AS = Pulse pressure/Aortic strain. Fifty-seven diabetics were investigated, 31 men (aged 23.6 +/- 5.6 years, mean +/- SD) and 26 women (aged 25.7 +/- 6.4 years). There were 26 healthy controls with similar blood pressure, 14 men (aged 25.0 +/- 5.5 years) and 12 women (aged 24.6 +/- 7.1). The AS in diabetic men was 14 +/- 8.0 (mean +/- SD) compared to 3.6 +/- 0.7 in controls (p less than 0.001). In diabetic women the AS was 5.8 +/- 3.1 compared to 4.3 +/- 1.3 in controls (p less than 0.05). Diabetic men also had much stiffer aortas than diabetic women (p less than 0.001). There was a linear correlation between AS and duration of diabetes in men (R = 0.70; (p less than 0.001). For females no such correlation was found, the AS frequently being within the range of the controls in spite of long duration of the disease. In males there was a significant correlation between AS and retinopathy (R = 0.49; p less than 0.01) and an inverse correlation with HDL-cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio (R = 0.51; p less than 0.01). In diabetic females AS was significantly greater in smokers (7.0 +/- 3.7) than in non-smokers (4.2 +/- 2.2; p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗