PubMed · 7870211
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E A Holyoke. 1994. Three physician explorers.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7870211/
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Before World War II, the mortality pattern in the Arctic was characterized by very high mortality due to infectious diseases, in particular tuberculosis, and to injuries. Life expectancy was low and chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease were rare. Improved living conditions and health services have drastically altered health conditions since then. The circumpolar population groups are small and scattered, and the burden of pathogenic factors is high. The impact of environmental contaminants is therefore difficult to study epidemiologically. In the absence of local industrial sources of pollution, mercury and organochlorines in the traditional diet are presently the most serious environmental threats to human health in Greenland. Although we observe no effects on human health at present, the situation is potentially serious and should be closely monitored.
The mapping of global pathways along which trace elements and persistent organic compounds are distributed has set the stage for parallel monitoring of levels of contamination in humans. Before expanded monitoring is undertaken, decisions must be made on which contaminants to study, what tissues to sample, how samples should be taken and evaluated, and what units should be used for consistent reporting. Once international guidelines are in place, a process should be initiated to similarly address general human health conditions. It is recommended that the next step be a global mapping of various health conditions and disease. Computer analysis should be performed to identify any correlation to known pollution plumes or deposition patterns. In addition, cultural or behavioral patterns, as well as geographic distributions, should be evaluated. The general trends would be important, as major synergistic effects might be masked if only one contaminant or health concern were monitored at a time.
While there are four times as many duodenal as gastric ulcers in Europe and the United States, previous studies have shown gastric ulcers to be more common in the Arctic regions of Norway. To investigate a possible change in the duodenal-to-gastric ulcer ratio, the incidence rate of first-time peptic ulcer in a well defined population in Northern Norway was studied by registration of all examinations of the upper digestive tract from 1983 to 1984. In this population, 5.3% were examined by endoscopy (52.5%) or a barium meal (47.5%). The incidence rates of duodenal and gastric ulcers were 1.4 and 0.8 per 1,000 per year, resulting in a duodenal-to-gastric ulcer ratio of 1.7:1. Although this ratio is higher than in a previous study (1.1:1), the pattern of peptic ulcer disease in northern Norway is still different from that in the rest of Europe.