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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Cancer patterns in the Inuit population of Canada 1970-1984.

1. Rates for lung cancer in Canadian Inuit are high and increasing for both men and women; in fact they are the highest reported rates for lung cancer among any Inuit population. 2. Cervical cancer in Canadian Inuit are high but rates appear to be stable, unlike the rapidly increasing trend reported in both Alaska and Greenland. 3. Rates for traditional Inuit cancers such as those of the nasopharynx and salivary gland do not appear to be declining in Canadian Inuit. 4. Rates for colorectal cancer in Canadian Inuit are similar to those expected for the Canadian population as a whole and do not appear to be increasing. 5. Finally, cancers traditionally reported to be rare in Inuit are still rare in the Canadian Inuit population; these include breast, prostate, bladder, and endometrial cancer. Cancer is a disease which can be controlled through prevention, early detection or treatment. The following future directions arising from this work reflect this paradigm. First, the Inuit cancer registry developed for this analysis will be used as a base for further research into environmental and genetic factors influencing cancer rates in the Inuit. Second, given that at least 40% of cancers in Canadian Inuit are cancers of the lung and cervix, health promotion programs should be developed to encourage tobacco-free environments to halt the epidemic of lung cancer, and also to make available Pap smear programs for early detection of cervical cancer. Third, health care services and programs, including diagnosis and treatment, should be culturally accessible to the Inuit population (6).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Canada↗
PubMed1992

Essential fatty acid status of neonates born to Inuit mothers: comparison with Caucasian neonates and effect of diet.

Fatty acid compositions were determined of phospholipids isolated from venous cord plasma and from the walls of umbilical arteries and veins, collected from healthy, a terme, Inuit and Caucasian (Dutch) neonates. The Inuit fatty acid profiles were characterized by a lower essential fatty acid (EFA) status, with higher levels of monounsaturated fatty acids, of Mead acid [20:3(n-9)] and its direct elongation product, and with lower amounts of the longer chain (greater than or equal to 20 carbon atoms), highly unsaturated (greater than or equal to 4 double bonds) fatty acids of both the (n-3) and (n-6) families. Levels of linoleic- and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acids were higher in Inuit as compared to Caucasian neonates, which suggests a low activity of the delta-5-desaturase in the Inuit. Within the Inuit group, a higher intake of marine food was associated with a better neonatal (n-3) status. Although the differences between Inuit and Caucasian neonates may be of genetic rather than of dietary origin, the results imply that dietary long-chain (n-3) or (n-6) fatty acids may be particularly important during pregnancy in Inuit mothers. Further studies are indicated with respect to the EFA content of the habitual Inuit diet and levels of delta-5-desaturase activity in the Inuit.

Diet↗
PubMed1992

Lipoprotein profile of a Greenland Inuit population. Influence of anthropometric variables, Apo E and A4 polymorphism, and lifestyle.

Previously it has been reported that Greenland Inuit (Eskimos) from the Uummannaq district display low levels of plasma cholesterol and triglycerides and relatively high levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) when compared with healthy Danish control subjects (Lancet 1971;1:1143-1146). Here we present data obtained in 1989 that show the following. In a group of 133 healthy adult Greenland Inuit from Nanortalik, the levels of plasma cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (6.39 and 4.39 mmol/l, respectively) were slightly higher than "normal" values found in western societies, whereas the HDL cholesterol level was markedly higher (1.64 mmol/l). Compared with most Caucasian populations, the Inuit population we studied exhibits a high apolipoprotein (APO)E*4 allele frequency (0.229), whereas the APOE*2 allele frequency was extremely low (0.015). In contrast to Caucasian populations, in the Inuit population the apoE polymorphism showed only a minor influence on the plasma lipid and (apo)lipoprotein levels, as evaluated by multiple regression analysis, with the exception of apoE levels. This absence of an effect could be explained by the low very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) plus intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL) cholesterol levels. The contributions of eicosapentaenoic acid and linoleic acid to the total amount of fatty acids in plasma cholesterol esters differed markedly from those reported in 1971 for another Greenland Inuit population (3.2% versus 15.8% and 49.5% versus 20.4%, respectively), thereby resembling values now found in the average western population. Even in those Inuit who reported exclusive consumption of the traditional Inuit diet (13% of the population), the fatty acid composition of the plasma cholesterol esters closely resembled the values measured in western populations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Nutrition of the Inuit: a brief overview.

Changing food preferences and health beliefs are resulting in a decline in use of traditional Inuit foods and an increase in use marketed foods. These changes are associated by many researchers with a variety of health concerns that currently are increasing among Inuit populations. Recent food composition studies have facilitated evaluation of dietary intakes of nutrients and organochlorine contaminants. In one Baffin Inuit community, traditional Inuit food species were found to still be a major component of women's diets, and to make a significantly greater contribution than marketed foods for certain nutrients; however on the annual average marketed foods contributed greater amounts of total dietary energy, fat and calcium. Vitamin A and calcium were found to be routinely below recommended amounts in women's diets. PCBs and toxaphene's were contained in the diet in fatty sea mammal tissues; however the average woman's diet, on the annual basis, contained less than one-third of the provisional tolerable levels of these organochlorine contaminants. The diets of the Inuit, as of all Indigenous People, are not comprised solely of the historically traditional foods; however these foods are still vitally important as a source of nutrients and cultural definition. The presence of industry-derived organochlorine contaminants in Inuit food species is yet another demonstration that action is needed on environmental protection by local, national and international agencies.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Serum ferritin in a Greenlandic Inuit hunter population from the Thule district.

Serum (S-) ferritin was analyzed in 67 Greenlandic Inuit hunters from Thule (Qaanaaq), 35 males and 32 females with a median age of 39 years (range 17-77). S-ferritin was higher in males, median 211 micrograms/l (range 30-1040), than in females, median 87 micrograms/l (range 33-794) (p less than 0.01). None of the subjects had S-ferritin less than or equal to 20 micrograms/l (i.e. depleted iron stores); 5 of the 48 subjects less than or equal to 50 years old had S-ferritin 21-40 micrograms/l (i.e. small iron stores). All 19 subjects greater than 50 years old had S-ferritin greater than 40 micrograms/l (i.e. replete iron stores) and 8 showed values greater than 300 micrograms/l (i.e. increased iron stores). S-ferritin levels increased with the percent energy intake from traditional native hunter food (rs = 0.26, p less than 0.05). Inuit had higher S-ferritin than Danish Caucasian subjects. In Inuit of both sexes, S-ferritin displayed a correlation to age (rs = 0.63, p less than 0.0001 in the entire series), indicating gradually increasing S-ferritin levels during lifetime, without the plateaus seen in Caucasians. These findings suggest continued accumulation of iron reserves in elderly Inuit, due to consumption of large quantities of iron rich meat from marine mammals and/or genetic differences in the regulatory mechanisms for body iron stores.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Mortality among the Baffin Inuit in the mid-80s.

This article proposes to describe mortality among the Inuit of the Baffin region during the 1983-1987 period and to compare it with that of Canadians as a whole. Mortality among the Baffin Inuit is clearly higher than that of the Canadian population as a whole. Life expectancy at birth is 66.6 years, approximately 10 years lower than that for the general Canadian population (76.3 years). Injuries and poisoning, neoplasms, and diseases of the respiratory system are the leading causes of death observed among the Baffin Inuit. For each of these causes, the rates obtained for the Inuit are significantly higher than those for the total population of Canada.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Inuit foods and diet: a preliminary assessment of benefits and risks.

Traditional Inuit foods are contaminated with chemical residues from industrial and other activities around the world. The intake of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated camphenes (PCCs) exceeds the 'tolerable daily intake' (TDI) for many consumers. The implications of long term contaminant intake, even for single contaminants, are not known and will be difficult or impossible to determine in the foreseeable future. Traditional foods form a substantial part of the Inuit diet and are a major source of energy and essential nutrients. Available alternative imported foods are nutritionally inferior and substitution may lead to nutritional deficiencies and associated risks to health and to the social and cultural life of Arctic communities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Effect of a local cold stress on peripheral temperatures of Inuit, Oriental, and Caucasian subjects.

Male subjects comprised of six Inuit from Igloolik, N.W.T., and five Orientals and six Caucasians from Toronto, Ont., volunteered for tests to determine the effect of localized cold stress on peripheral temperatures. In each subject, skin temperatures of the right index finger, the arm, and the cheek, as well as blood pressure and heart rate, were measured before, during, and after foot immersion in water of 10 degrees C temperature for 10 min. There was an immediate decrease in finger temperature on foot immersion in all three subject groups; however, the Inuit finger temperatures recovered very quickly to control values, the Caucasian finger temperatures began to increase after decreasing for 7.5 min, and the Oriental finger temperatures decreased continuously during the foot immersion and remained cool even 10 min after the removal of the cold stimulus. The cold stimulus did not affect the cheek or arm temperatures of any of the groups. In all subjects, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rates increased on foot immersion, gradually returning towards normal values. No intergroup differences were seen in these parameters.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Blood and urinary cadmium levels in Inuit living in Kuujjuaq, Canada.

Blood and urine cadmium concentrations have been determined in a group of 85 Inuit residents of Kuujjuaq, Quebec, Canada, drawn from actively hunting households. Mean blood cadmium values are high at 39.4 nmol/l, varying between 6.6 in non-smokers and 60.3 in smokers. No association of blood cadmium with self-reported offal consumption could be found. Median urine cadmium concentrations are elevated at 2.3 mumol/mol creatinine and rise substantially with age: 0.9 in the 30-39 age group; 3.2 among the 40-59 age group; and 4.1 in the 60 and over.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Pneumatization of the temporal bones in a Greenlandic Inuit anthropological material.

The degree of pneumatization of the temporal bones correlates with exposure during childhood and adolescence to infectious middle ear diseases (IMED), both acute and chronic. The pneumatized area as seen on cranial X-rays can be measured. This was applied to an anthropological material in order to develop methods for assessing ancient populations' exposure to IMED. Fifty-six Greenlandic Inuit (Eskimo) crania were examined. The crania were sexed and measured. X-rays were taken bilaterally, using the projection of Runström II, and the pneumatized area was measured planimetrically by computer. In blind trials it was found that the inter- and intraobserver variation was non-significant; that the degree of pneumatization of the temporal ossa did not reflect cranial size or sexual dimorphism; and that the pneumatized areas correlated bilaterally. Asymmetry in the size of the pneumatized areas, an indicator of exposure to IMED, was found in 5 crania (9%).

Female↗
PubMed1992

CT-scanning of ancient Greenlandic Inuit temporal bones.

Additional morphological evidence of former infectious middle ear disease (IMED) was found by CT-scanning in 5 of 6 Greenlandic Inuit crania strongly suspected for former IMED due to earlier examination revealing either bilateral hypocellularity or asymmetry of the pneumatized area of the temporal bones. The CT-scans showed sclerosing and obliteration of the air cells and even destruction of the cellular septae, and a high degree of irregularity of the cells. Sclerosing of the surrounding bone tissue was also found. The findings in one cranium were dubious and could both be regarded as a congenital malformation or an infection in infanthood. CT-scan confirms and even adds to the results of conventional X-ray of temporal bones making hypotheses of paleopathology more reliable. The findings also support the environmental theory of pneumatization of the air cell system in the temporal bones.

Air↗
PubMed1975

Inuit myopia: an environmentally induced "epidemic"?

Among Inuit less than 30 years old the prevalence of myopia is far in excess of that of their elders. This is especially true for females. There seems to be little, if any, genetic contribution to this "epidemic" of myopia in the young. The age and sex distribution indicates the likelihood of an environmental factor, probably cultural, being responsible for the current pattern. Other data implicate school attendance as a possible etiologic factor.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1991

Dietary omega 3 fatty acids and gestational hypertension in the Inuit.

Blood pressure at the end of pregnancy and the incidence of pregnancy-induced hypertension were monitored in Inuit communities in the Keewatin region of the Northwest Territories. Communities with more fish and sea mammals in their diet had a lower blood pressure at the end of pregnancy and a lower incidence of gestational hypertension. The lower incidence of gestational hypertension was independent of other variables, including pregravida weight and parity. Cord blood phospholipid fatty acid analysis confirmed higher levels of eicosapentanoic acid, a fatty acid enriched in fish and sea mammals, in infants born to mothers from communities with higher fish in their diets.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The light at the end of the tunnel associated with the high prevalence of chronic otitis media among Inuit elementary school children in the Eastern Canadian Arctic is now visible.

Longitudinal observations made during the past two decades on the prevalence of chronic ear disease in Inuit Elementary School Children in the Eastern Canadian Arctic reveal that as the current segment of this population enters into the 1990's a significant decrease in the prevalence is occurring. While we can speculate ad infinitum why this is happening we really do not know the answer. The usual cliché is adaptation to contact, improved medical/social services, housing, diet, etc.

Child↗
PubMed1991

Blood pressure during pregnancy in Canadian Inuit: community differences related to diet.

OBJECTIVE: To assess a possible relation between the incidence of hypertension during pregnancy and the consumption of fatty acids found in fish and sea mammals. DESIGN: Retrospective survey of pregnancy-induced hypertension; prospective diet survey. SETTING: Inuit women from seven communities in the Keewatin region of the Northwest Territories. PATIENTS: All women from Arviat (formerly Eskimo Point), Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour, Repulse Bay, Sanikiluaq and Whale Cove who gave birth between Sept. 1, 1984, and Aug. 31, 1987. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All blood pressure measurements recorded during the pregnancy, incidence of pregnancy-induced hypertension in the seven communities, harvest of country food (food obtained from the land or sea rather than bought in a store) for six of the communities, self-reported consumption of fish, sea mammals and terrestrial mammals by a subgroup of the subjects and levels of phospholipid fatty acids in cord serum samples from a subgroup of the infants. MAIN RESULTS: Significantly lower mean diastolic blood pressure values during the last 6 hours of pregnancy were noted for the women from the three communities with a higher consumption of fish and sea mammals (78.2 [95% confidence limits (CL) 76.6 and 79.9] mm Hg) than for those from the four communities with a lower consumption of such food (81.5 [95% CL 80.1 and 82.9] mm Hg) (p less than 0.005). The relation between community diet type and blood pressure was independent of other factors. Correspondingly, the women from communities with a lower consumption of marine food were 2.6 times more likely to be hypertensive during the pregnancy than those from communities with a higher consumption of marine food (p less than 0.007). Parity (p less than 0.05) and prepregnancy weight (p less than 0.005) were also significantly associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension; however, the relation between hypertension and community diet type remained significant in logistic regression analysis (odds ratio 2.56, p = 0.03). The differences between the community groups were substantiated by the results of the diet survey, the levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in the cord serum phospholipids and the harvest data. CONCLUSIONS: Increased consumption of fish may be beneficial for women at risk for hypertension during pregnancy. A prospective randomized trial of fish or EPA supplementation during pregnancy is warranted.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Right-branch bundle block in circumpolar Inuit.

The prevalence of right-branch bundle block (RBBB) has been examined in the Inuit residents of Igloolik (69 degrees 40'N, Canadian N.W.T.) over a twenty-year period. Original reports of a very high prevalence of RBBB probably reflected a selective testing of patients with chronic respiratory disease by visiting physicians. Cases of RBBB are certainly seen somewhat more frequently than in a southern community, but the majority of subjects show no more than a slight notching of the R wave of the electrocardiogram, with no appreciable broadening of the QRS complex. While a few of the more marked cases of RBBB may be attributable to chronic respiratory disease, the majority are associated with high normal values for both lung function and predicted maximal oxygen intake. The probable cause is thus a ventricular hypertrophy due to the vigorous physical activity demanded by life in a northern community rather than chronic respiratory disease. The physical demands of life in Igloolik have diminished over the past two decades, and an apparent increase in the prevalence of RBBB over this period is probably due mainly to a great awareness+ of the condition by those reading the electrocardiograms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Factors associated with high-risk pregnancies in Canadian Inuit.

Antenatal risk factors and management problems during labour and delivery were examined for 141 consecutive deliveries in Canadian Inuit of the eastern Arctic. The applicability of three risk scoring systems for antenatal use was evaluated. Pregnancies were categorized as being at high, moderate or low risk according to the authors' published criteria. Only two of the systems gave statistically valid predictions of the outcome of pregnancy in terms of risk categorization. Sensitivity and uniformity of the systems were lacking: the risk scores were low in 32% to 58% of the pregnancies in which the mother or the infant or both had problems during labour or delivery or both, and in 27% to 36% of the pregnancies in which the infant alone had problems. Antepartum factors that indicated a significantly increased risk of problems during labour or delivery or both were maternal age less than 16 or more than 35 years, prevous stillbirth or neonatal death, previous birth weight of less than 2501 g, previous pastpartum hemorrhage or other problem in the third stage of labour, antituberculosis therapy in the mother, and any of antepartum hemorrhage, multiple pregnancy, breech delivery, malpresentation or long period between rupture of the membranes and delivery in the current pregnancy. The data indicate that scoring systems should take into account regional or population variations if they are to have reasonable sensitivity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

The Nakasuk Project- the conservative treatment of chronic otitis media in Inuit elementary school children.

Modalities of local medical treatment of chronic otitis media in Inuit elementary school children were evaluated over a period of three and a half years in a project associated with the provision of amplification (hearing aids) for students who had significant conductive hearing deficits which interfered with their ability to communicate. The significant medical and educational benefits derived are reviewed.

Acetates↗