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Biomedical subjects

A Nissinen

Publications and source records attributed to A Nissinen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Short- and long-term association of serum cholesterol with mortality. The 25-year follow-up of the Finnish cohorts of the seven countries study.

The association of serum cholesterol with cause-specific and all-cause mortality was assessed in a cohort of 1,426 men aged 40-59 years who were free of clinically evident heart disease at baseline (1959). A total of 748 deaths (53 percent of the participants) occurred during the 25-year follow-up period. Men with high serum cholesterol levels at baseline had high mortality due to coronary heart disease during both the early and later parts of the follow-up period. In contrast, the association of serum cholesterol with mortality due to causes other than coronary heart disease changed during follow-up (interaction of cholesterol with follow-up period: p = 0.004). During the first 10 years of follow-up, despite their high coronary mortality, men with high cholesterol levels had lower all-cause mortality (age-adjusted relative risk = 0.71 for serum cholesterol above 5.79 mmol/liter vs. below 5.80 mmol/liter; p = 0.03) because of their low cancer mortality (relative risk = 0.55, p = 0.03) and residual mortality (relative risk = 0.49, p less than 0.01). During the last 15 years of follow-up, cholesterol at baseline was no longer associated with mortality due to causes other than coronary heart disease, and consequently, because of their high coronary mortality, men with high cholesterol levels also had higher all-cause mortality (relative risk = 1.22, p = 0.05). The results suggest that to fully analyze the association of serum cholesterol with all-cause mortality, the follow-up period should be sufficiently long--possibly more than 10 years--and the possibility of a change in the direction of the association studied should always be considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Resistance to erythromycin in group A streptococci.

BACKGROUND: The use of erythromycin in Finland nearly tripled from 1979 to 1989. In 1988, we observed an unusually high frequency of resistance to erythromycin in group A streptococci in one geographic region. Because routine testing does not detect the sensitivity of these organisms to antibiotics, we initiated a national study to evaluate the extent of this resistance. METHODS: We studied 272 isolates of group A streptococci obtained from blood cultures from 1988 through 1990. In 1990 we collected from six regional laboratories 3087 consecutive isolates from throat swabs and 1349 isolates from pus samples. Resistance was indicated by growth on blood agar containing 2 micrograms of erythromycin per milliliter after incubation in 5 percent carbon dioxide. We also evaluated the clinical importance of erythromycin resistance in a retrospective study of consecutive patients with pharyngitis. RESULTS: The frequency of resistance to erythromycin in group A streptococci from blood cultures increased from 4 percent in 1988 to 24 percent in 1990. From January to December 1990, the frequency of resistance in isolates from throat swabs increased from 7 percent to 20 percent, and resistance in isolates from pus increased from 11 percent to 31 percent. In four communities within 50 km of each other, the frequency of erythromycin resistance ranged from 2 to 5 percent to 26 to 44 percent. Several distinct DNA restriction profiles and serotypes were found among resistant isolates from the same area, suggesting a multiclonal origin. The treatment of pharyngitis with erythromycin failed in 9 of 19 patients infected with erythromycin-resistant group A streptococci, as compared with 1 of 26 patients with erythromycin-susceptible isolates (47 percent vs. 4 percent, P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: In Finland since 1988 there has been a rapid and substantial increase in resistance to erythromycin in group A streptococci. The extent of this resistance is particularly serious since there are only a few alternative antibiotics available for peroral treatment of group A streptococcal infections.

Blood↗
PubMed1992

Diabetes mellitus, impaired glucose tolerance and mortality among elderly men: the Finnish cohorts of the Seven Countries Study.

We studied the association of glucose intolerance with total and cause-specific mortality during a 5-year follow-up of 637 elderly Finnish men aged 65 to 84 years. Total mortality was 276 per 1000 for men aged 65 to 74 years and 537 per 1000 for men aged 75 to 84 years. Five-year total mortality adjusted for age was 364 per 1000 in diabetic men, 234 per 1000 in men with impaired glucose tolerance and 209 per 1000 in men with normal glucose tolerance. The relative risk of death among diabetic men was 2.10 (95% confidence interval 1.26 to 3.49) and among men with impaired glucose tolerance 1.17 (95% confidence interval 0.71 to 1.94) times higher compared with men with normal glucose tolerance. Cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death in every glucose tolerance group. The multivariate adjusted relative risk of cardiovascular death was increased (1.55) in diabetic patients, albeit non-significantly (95% confidence interval 0.84 to 2.85). Diabetes resulted in an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality among men aged 65-74 years but not among the 75- 84-year-old men. Relative risk of death from non-cardiovascular causes was slightly increased among diabetic subjects. In conclusion, diabetes mellitus is a significant determinant of mortality among elderly Finnish men.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Risk factor dynamics, mortality and life expectancy differences between eastern and western Finland: the Finnish Cohorts of the Seven Countries Study.

Prior studies have not accounted for male mortality being higher in east than west Finland. Efforts to identify the mechanisms producing higher mortality in the east, due primarily to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), initially focused on a search for new risk factors. An alternate approach is to examine the assumptions of the analysis. This was investigated using a model which described (a) changes in risk factors over time, (b) dependency of risk factor effects on age, and (c) interactions and nonlinear effects of risk factors on mortality. The model was applied to 25-year follow-up data from cohorts of eastern (N = 823) and western (N = 888) Finnish men using pulse pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, total cholesterol, vital capacity index, cigarette smoking, and heart rate as risk factors. At age 40, men in the west had a life expectancy 2.4 years higher. Of the difference 29% (0.7 years) was associated with area differences in risk factor means, variances, and their change with age. The remainder, 1.7 years, was associated with age differences in the relation of risk factor interactions to CVD mortality. Possible reasons for these differences, such as joint elevation of several risk factors inducing rapid progression of atherogenesis, are discussed. No significant area differences were observed for mortality from either cancer or other causes.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Dietary intake of 70- to 89-year-old men in eastern and western Finland.

A detailed dietary history interview of 70- to 89-year-old men, 98 from eastern and 129 from western Finland, was obtained as part of a 30-year follow-up survey within the Seven Countries Study. The average energy intake was similar in level, about 2700 kcal, in both areas. The percentage of total energy intake from fat was 39.1% in the west, and 36.5% in the east. The P/S ratio was about the same, 0.27 and 0.29, in eastern and western areas, respectively. The intake of most micronutrients was similar in the two cohorts. Only the intake of vitamins A and C and phosphorus, manganese, copper and zinc was higher in eastern Finland than in western Finland. The nutritional density of the diet of the eastern cohort was slightly higher than that of the western one due to their higher consumption of rye products, vegetables and berries, and also sour milk and fish and fish products. The diet met the general recommendations and was comparable to that of younger age groups.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Anti-anginal therapy and quality of life. A comparison of the effects of transdermal nitroglycerin and long-acting oral nitrates.

A total of 112 male patients with severe effort-induced angina pectoris (New York Heart Association functional classes II and III) participated in a randomized open trial consisting of a 6 month phase with 3 month treatment cross-overs. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of transdermal nitroglycerin (TN) patches and long-acting oral nitrates (LAON) on quality of life (QL). During the cross-over period 30 patients (20 on TN and 10 on LAON) withdrew from the study, over half of them within the first month. Although the results should be interpreted with some caution, they showed that improvement in QL was present for both treatments but greater during the transdermal therapy (unadjusted p = 0.07, adjusted p = 0.03). Anginal attacks were associated with improved QL scores, and fewer attacks occurred on TN (p = 0.06). Improvement in QL was most pronounced in patients whose recorded duration of angina was less than 8 years.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed1991

Fifteen-year trends in coronary risk factors in Finland, with special reference to North Karelia.

The North Karelia Project, a major demonstration programme for coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention, was begun in an eastern province of Finland in 1972. A number of national CHD prevention activities have been undertaken, quite a few of them since 1977. This paper reports the 15-year changes in CHD risk factors (serum cholesterol, blood pressure, and smoking) in North Karelia and in the original reference area of the project, and more recent changes in a third area in southwestern Finland. The results are based on well-standardized, comparable surveys of cross-sectional populations, aged 30 to 59 years. The results indicate that risk factors reduced markedly in North Karelia from 1972-1977, to a lesser extent from 1977-1982, and only a little from 1982-1987. There was also a decline in the reference area during the first ten years (1972-1982) but the changes did not exceed those in North Karelia and during the second phase, from 1982-1987, risk factor changes were minor. Risk factor levels in the third area in southwestern Finland changed little from 1982-1987. Present serum cholesterol and blood pressure levels in North Karelia are still higher than in southwestern Finland, but smoking is less common among North Karelian men. These findings are discussed in the light of the recent information on Finnish dietary changes and CHD mortality; their bearing on the need for new cardiovascular disease prevention activities in Finland is also discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Reduction of oropharyngeal carriage of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in children immunized with an Hib conjugate vaccine.

The oropharyngeal carriage of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was studied among 725 healthy 3-year-old children who had or had not been immunized with an Hib conjugate vaccine. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected during the childrens' well-child visit to their local child health center. Fourteen (3.5%) of the 398 unvaccinated children were oropharyngeal carriers of Hib, whereas none of the 327 children who had received Hib conjugate vaccine carried Hib (P less than .001). Carriage rates of non-type b H. influenzae (19%) or Streptococcus pneumoniae (18%) were the same irrespective of the Hib vaccination status of the children. Thus Hib conjugate vaccine, unlike Hib polysaccharide vaccine, seems to be able to prevent oropharyngeal colonization by Hib.

Bacterial Vaccines↗
PubMed1991

All cause mortality and its determinants in middle aged men in Finland, The Netherlands, and Italy in a 25 year follow up.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aims were (1) to compare all cause mortality in population samples of different cultures; and (2) to cross predict fatal event by risk functions involving risk factors usually measured in cardiovascular epidemiology. DESIGN: The study was a 25 year prospective cohort study. The prediction of all cause mortality was made using the multiple logistic equation as a function of 12 risk factors; the prediction of months lived after entry examination was made by the multiple linear regression using the same factors. POPULATION SAMPLES: There were five cohorts of men aged 40-59 years, from Finland (two cohorts, 1677 men), from The Netherlands (one cohort, 878 men), and from Italy (two cohorts, 1712 men). SETTING: The Finnish cohorts came from geographically defined rural areas, the Dutch cohort from a small town in central Holland, and the Italian cohorts from rural villages in northern and central Italy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: All cause mortality was highest in Finland (557 per 1000), and lower in The Netherlands (477) and in Italy (475). The solutions of the multiple logistic function showed the significant and almost universal predictive role of certain factors, with rare exceptions. These were age, blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and arm circumference (the latter with a negative relationship). Similar results were obtained when solving a multiple linear regression equation predicting the number of months lived after entry examination as a function of the same factors. The prediction of fatal events in each country, using the risk functions of the others, produced limited errors, the smallest one being -2% and the largest +11%. When solving the logistic model in the pool of all the cohorts with the addition of dummy variables for the identification of nationality, it also appeared that only a small part of the mortality differences between countries is not explained by 12 available risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: A small set of risk factors seems to explain the intercohort differences of 25 year all cause mortality in population samples of three rather different cultures.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Hypertension, cigarette smoking, and the decline in stroke incidence in eastern Finland.

Finland has high rates of both cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease risk factors. We studied random samples of the population 30-59 years of age for risk factors in two provinces of eastern Finland in 1972 and 1977. We then followed both cohorts until 1985 through linkage with national hospital discharge and death certificate registers. The prevalence of hypertension and smoking in both provinces declined between 1972 and 1977, as did the stroke incidence in the 8-year period of follow-up of each cohort. We observed no differences in stroke incidence between the two provinces. The relative risk of stroke in the later period (1977-1985) was 0.71 and 0.58 for men and women, respectively, when compared with the earlier period (1972-1980). Overall, 28% of all stroke events could be attributed to hypertension, 17% to smoking, and 43% to these two factors jointly. The decrease in the prevalence of hypertension and smoking accounted for about 29% of the decline.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Blood pressure changes as predictors of future mortality in the seven countries study.

Twelve cohorts of men aged 40-59 at entry, enrolled in six countries (Finland, The Netherlands, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece and Japan), giving a total of 8,287 subjects, were examined for the measurement of cardiovascular risk factors and then followed-up for 20 years. Changes of systolic blood pressure (SBP) occurred over the first 10 years in 6,767 men and these values, computed by an integral-like procedure (Delta-SBP), were used as possible predictors of fatal events recorded in the second 10 years of follow-up. Men who had a relative increase of SBP in the first 10 years showed an excess risk of death as compared with those who had a relative decrease of SBP, after adjustment for age and entry levels of SBP. Such relative risks were greater than 1 in the cohorts pooled within each of the six countries, ranging from 1.07 to 1.79 for all causes of death and from 1.12 to 2.15 for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease deaths (coronary, stroke and peripheral atherosclerotic disease). The Cox model was solved using the same two end-points as dependent variables and, as coviariates, six risk factors measured at entry examination (age, cigarettes smoked per day, body mass index, serum cholesterol, physical activity at work and systolic blood pressure). By adding Delta-SBP the predictive power of the models was significantly improved and the coefficients of Delta-SBP proved to be statistically significant.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Depression late after combat: a follow-up of Finnish World War Two veterans from the seven countries east-west cohort.

An analysis from the Finnish East and West Cohort of the Seven Countries Study tested the hypothesis that front line service during modern warfare is associated with depression later in life. World War Two-era Finnish combat veterans were compared to Finnish veterans who were non-combatants. Both groups were followed from 1959 to 1984. Dependent variables were the Zung depression scale and other measures of psychosocial adaptation and mental health. Analysis of variance of Zung scores by combat exposure was close to statistical significance (p = 0.0501). Even if statistical significance had been reached, it is felt that the absolute magnitude of the differences between the populations appear quite trivial. A significant association was found for those who had participated in over nine battles and when grouping depression, sleeplessness, paranoia, hallucinations, schizophrenia, and other mental illness into the general category of any mental illness (O.R. = 4.414; 95% C.I. = 1.113, 17.503). This seems to support the residual stress hypothesis pertaining to modern combat exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Predictors of high functional capacity and mortality in elderly Finnish men.

Factors predicting high functional capacity in old age and 25-year mortality were studied in 1711 men aged 40 to 59 years. The study population was that of the East-West Study, i.e. the Finnish part of the Seven Countries Study. After the 25-year follow-up (in 1984) 766 men were still alive. Nonsmoking and good pulmonary function in earlier middle-age and the absence of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease or emphysema in later middle-age predicted high functional capacity in old age. High systolic blood pressure, low forced vital capacity, smoking, and the presence of coronary heart disease predicted mortality in the next 10 to 25 years. Although mortality rates were higher in eastern Finland, the predictors were similar in both the eastern and the southwestern parts of the country.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Twenty-five-year mortality from coronary heart disease and its prediction in five cohorts of middle-aged men in Finland, The Netherlands, and Italy.

Five cohorts of men ages 40-59 (Finland: 2 cohorts of 1,677 men; Netherlands: 1 cohort of 878 men; Italy: 2 cohorts of 1,712 men) were examined and evaluated for cardiovascular risk factors in 1959-1960 and subsequently followed-up for mortality over the next 25 years. Age-adjusted death rates from coronary heart disease were highest in Finland (244 per 1,000), intermediate in The Netherlands (195 per 1,000), and lowest in Italy (122 per 1,000) with a twofold range between the extremes. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for single cohorts and for the pools of national cohorts with coronary heart disease deaths as endpoints and 12 risk factors as covariates. It showed the significant and almost universal predictive value of these factors (with some rare exceptions). The most highly predictive values were age, blood pressure, total serum cholesterol, cigarette smoking, and physical activity (negative relationship). The prediction of events within each country using the risk function of the others produced errors ranging from -19% to +51%. The largest errors were those involving the Italian cohorts whose experience tended to underpredict coronary heart disease mortality elsewhere and to be overpredicted by the risk functions of the other countries. Solving a Cox model which included all the cohorts, and adding dummy variables for the identification of nationality, it appears that the relative risk, everything else being equal, is 1.49 and 1.34 for a Finnish man, compared with Italian and Dutch men, respectively.

Adult↗