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UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND. Mortality from coronary heart disease in Finland has declined remarkably since the early 1970s. Most of the change has apparently been due to the active national strategy for reduction of serum cholesterol levels. This study was undertaken to estimate to what extent members of the Finnish parliament (MPs) have complied with the national recommendations. METHODS: Serum total and HDL cholesterol values were measured from MPs of three subsequent parliaments elected in 1987, 1991, and 1995. RESULTS: From 1987 to 1995, the Finnish MPs showed a reduction of serum total cholesterol that was significant among males (-5.2;%, P < 0.05) but not among females (-6.4%, NS) and was somewhat smaller than the reduction in the general population during 1987 to 1997 (-9.4% among males and -8. 3% among females). The male MPs had a 14% rise in HDL cholesterol (P < 0.01), while among female MPs and in the general population it decreased by 3.1 to 3.8% (all NS). The cholesterol levels of female MPs were altogether a little lower than in the general population. The Finnish MPs tended to have lower total cholesterol levels compared with those reported from Hungarian MPs. CONCLUSION: The favorable change in the lipid profile of members of the Finnish parliament indicates that they have personally been involved in the national change process. Follow-up of risk factors in national decision-makers is a useful part of comprehensive monitoring of national coronary heart disease prevention activity.
In the fall of 1994 a survey was conducted on the use of alcohol and drugs and on gambling among members of the Dutch parliament. The survey indicated that almost two-thirds of the representatives sampled supported legalization of marijuana. A smaller majority (57%) was in favor of reducing the number of coffee shops selling marijuana. At least a quarter of the members of parliament had used marijuana themselves at one time or other. Alcohol consumption could be said to be "excessive" or "very excessive" for nearly 10% of the members of parliament. In general, the nature and extent of the parliamentarians' substance use was comparable to that in the Dutch general population.
"This study compares the average number of living children of the members of the parliament [in Turkey] with the average number of living children of the general public as found in the 1988 Population and Health Survey. The findings indicate that the average number of living children of the members of the parliament [is] substantially lower than that of the general public. Under the light of these findings the members of the parliament are invited not to refrain from speeches promoting family planning in Turkey." (SUMMARY IN ENG)
On June 30, the Polish senate voted to liberalize the country's abortion law, ratifying a provision adopted by the lower House of Parliament (Sejm) on June 10. Based on a model measure prepared by women deputies, the new proposal allows women facing economic or personal hardship to obtain legal abortions. In contrast, the current law only allows abortions when a woman's life is endangered or when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. Last year, the Polish anti-choice campaign successfully pressured members of Parliament to restrict abortion by appealing to Catholic doctrine and associating more liberal abortion laws with the Communist regime, which had left access to abortion essentially unfettered. Since enactment of the harsh law last year, Polish women have been forced to travel abroad for abortions, to resort to often unsafe procedures by providers operating illegally within the country, or to attempt self-abortion. Although President Walesa has indicated that he will veto the measure, his executive action could be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the Parliament. Poland is one of the many countries in Eastern and Central Europe that have experienced a surge in anti-choice organizing since the collapse of Communist governments. Groups seeking to impose additional restrictions on abortion in the region are often supported by US-based organizations. Human Life International, for example, recently sponsored a conference for anti-abortion activists in Moscow, Russia. For more information, contact Urszula Nowakowska, visiting attorney in CRLP's International Program.
To determinate whether the stressful lifestyle of members of parliament (MP) might lead to excess mortality, as suggested in British Medical Journal in 1989, we investigated the mortality and life expectancy of 1589 members of the Dutch parliament over the period 1848-1989. Total mortality (all causes) for members of parliament who had been in function for at least one year (n = 1472) was compared to that of the general population of the Netherlands, adjusted for age, sex and calendar period. We calculated a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) from beginning of exposure as well as from ten years after entry in order to correct for a healthy cohort effect. The total number of deaths was 986 (863 with follow-up after 10 years after entry) and did not exceed the expected number of deaths based on population mortality rates. We conclude that MPs have no higher death risk than those who elected them, although one might have expected a lower death risk because of their social background.
Public reaction to public health legislation is often assumed to have mirrored that expressed in Parliament or in influential provincial newspapers, yet evidence for the public reaction to public health legislation is elusive. This article, based on an analysis of 871 petitions submitted to Parliament during the 1847 and 1847-8 parliamentary sessions, argues that, during 1847 and 1848, few issues stimulated more interest than public health, and that a geographically and socially diverse constituency embraced national sanitary legislation. It also argues that concerns about centralization did not dominate the petitions, and that the parliamentary interpretation of centralization overlapped but slightly with provincial concerns.
An analysis of statements concerning old age by members of the German federal parliament from 1976 to 1983 was undertaken on the basis of parliamantary records. It was found that there was no difference between the average of all members and those speaking about old age with regard to political orientation, sex, and age. None of the oldest members spoke about the problems of the old population group. Results of gerontological research were discussed in parliament but mostly the debates were concerned with financial arguments and unemployment policy. In general there was no reinforcement of negative stereotypes towards the aged by politicians.
The high proportion (49%) of male parliament members with high cholesterol levels (> or = 240 mg/dl) calls attention to their high risk for cardiovascular diseases. Our hope is that knowledge of their risk will improve their understanding concerning the importance of lifestyle and health promotion in Hungary.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent that public health promotion activity is reflected in life styles of national decision makers, by analysing trends in coronary heart disease risk factors in Members of the Finnish Parliament (MPs). METHODS: The MPs were studied at the beginning of two subsequent 4-year parliamentary periods between 1991 and 1999. The studies included analyses of serum total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and a questionnaire about alcohol, smoking and physical activity. RESULTS: Serum total cholesterol was above the national recommendation of 5.0 mmol/l in 85% of the male MPs and 62% of the female MPs. The mean level of serum total cholesterol increased in female MPs during the 4-year follow-up period (P < 0.05), and male MPs showed an increase in mean HDL cholesterol (P < 0.001). The mean body mass index increased in both male (P < 0.01) and female (P < 0.01) MPs during the same period. Alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity were unchanged during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: From the public health perspective, serum cholesterol is too high in most MPs, and the level in males is above the national average. Both males and females put on weight during the parliamentary period, and male MPs also showed an increase in HDL cholesterol, which may be explained by other lifestyle factors.
Sudden cardiovascular events among well-known politicians attract much attention--from the mass media and from the public. No previous studies have assessed the job strain profile and level of known cardiovascular risk factors among parliamentary politicians. The study was carried out within the frameworks of the Copenhagen City Heart Study. Some 102 members of the Danish parliament (70 men and 32 women) agreed to participate, giving a response rate of 55%. Three sex- and age-matched participants were drawn for each politician from the Copenhagen City Heart Study. In addition to the completion of large questionnaires on health and working conditions, all participants had a thorough examination, including measurements of height and weight and blood pressure and the drawing of a venous blood sample for the determination of serum lipids, ApolipoproteinA1 and ApolipoproteinB and fibrinogen. Job strain factors and established cardiovascular risk factors were the main outcome factors. Politicians reported much higher job demands, but also much more influence on their job than others. Politicians smoked less, consumed more wine, had higher levels of ApolipoproteinA1, and were taller. With respect to other major cardiovascular risk factors, serum lipids, blood pressure and physical activity, there was no difference between politicians and controls. Politicians had greater job demands, but also more control over their job than others, indicating that the job strain phenomenon should not increase their risk of cardiovascular disease. Other cardiovascular risk factors, job related or conventional, which were unevenly distributed between politicians and controls all favoured politicians. In conclusion, politicians had a more beneficial cardiovascular risk factor profile than a matched random sample from a comparable background population.
There is a large number of people with disabilities in Britain, yet politically disability issues have a low profile. This paper presents evidence from a study of the attitudes to welfare of 96 Members of Parliament (MPs) illustrating that their general level of awareness of future challenges to policy is low. Overall, whether at a general level or when questioned about specific policy preferences, the needs of people with disabilities rarely figured in MPs' responses. Yet, despite this, the passage of the private members' Disabled Persons' (Services, Consultative and Representative) Act, 1986 shows that there is some prospect both for legislative change and for raising further MPs' awareness of the needs of people with disabilities.
This paper challenges the view that British medical parliamentarians were a rare breed whose limited presence was felt most during the late-Victorian period. Focused on the interwar "movement" for a medical lobby in Parliament, it idenitifies 159 medical candidates (of whom 72 were elected). It traces the motivations of the British Medical Association in promoting this movement, and shows how the BMA's goals were subverted in part by the identity interests and agendas of the medical men and women who sought election. The paper also highlights some of the alternative political strategies that the profession attempted to use to promote its interests. In addition to providing a window on the culture and politics of British medicine in the interwar period, it explains why the place of doctors in the House of Commons cannot be seen as contributing to the emergence of professional society as defined by Harold Perkin.
Before the Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 6th July 1998, notwithstanding some decisions of the European Patent Office (still presently under opposition) and some patents already granted by the Italian Patent Office, the existing legal framework did not allow the patentability of living organisms in the European Community countries. The Directive has dramatically changed the perspectives. It ensures free circulation of patented biotechnological products harmonising the national legal system of each Member State, guaranteeing compliance with the European Patent Convention signed in Munich on 5th October 1973, the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement of 15th April 1994 and the Rio de Janeiro Convention on Biological Diversity of 5th June 1992. The legal basis of the Directive and the fundamental principles of protection are that discoveries as such are not considered patentable. Plant and animal varieties as such, as well as essentially biological procedures for the production of plants and animals are excluded from protection by patent. On the contrary, the new field of patentability covers plants and parts of animals with new introduced genetic characters. Methods of surgical and therapeutic treatment and diagnostic methods applied to animal bodies are not considered inventions suitable for industrial applications and excluded from protection by patents. Biological materials and material isolated from its natural environment and isolated elements of the human body with technical processes may be patented. Excluded from patentability are inventions that are contrary to law and order or public morality as well as processes for human cloning for reproductive purposes and for modifying the germ-line genetic identity of human beings, as well as the use of human embryos. The processes for modifying the genetic identity of animals without any substantial medical benefit for man (with the exception of studying new medicinal products useful for treating serious diseases such as cancer, hepatitis or AIDS, by means of Oanimal modelsO) are also excluded. The rights of farmers are also guaranteed, by allowing them to re-sow seeds and freely use breeding stock covered by patents on their farms, without paying costly royalties to the holders of patents.
In the memorandum entitled 'The application of genetics in health care', which was sent to the Dutch Parliament in December 2000, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport responded to four proposals she had received from the Health Council of the Netherlands during the previous three years. These proposals included reports on in vitro fertilisation, DNA diagnostics, clinical genetic testing and genetic counselling, and pharmacogenetics. Legal aspects dominate the section on the consumer's/patient's position: detailed legal guidelines are provided for difficult family-related issues in genetic counselling. For genetic counselling and clinical genetic testing, permission from the Minister of Health is still required. Criteria have been provided for the public funding of these activities in the shorter term. Clinical geneticists have been asked to develop guidelines for a number of clinical situations, which include predictive genetic testing and genetic testing in children. Moreover both medical and laboratory professionals have already initiated a number of self-regulatory measures. The Minister has adopted most of the proposals received, which means that for the foreseeable future, there is a clearly regulated framework for the responsible use of genetics within the Dutch healthcare system.