Biomedical subjects

A Rosengren

Publications and source records attributed to A Rosengren.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Protein adsorption onto two bioactive glass-ceramics.

Recent research suggests that the biocompatibility of an implant is to a large extent determined by selective adsorption of proteins from surrounding body fluids. Protein adsorption from human plasma onto two bioactive glass-ceramics (RKKP and AP40) which differ in La and Ta content, was studied by means of chromatography and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE). The quantitative analysis showed that the glass-ceramics have good protein binding capacities indicating multilayer formation. A correlation between chemical composition and the amount of adsorbed proteins was observed. The presence of La and Ta decreased the protein adsorption, so AP40 bound significantly more protein per surface unit then did RKKP. Preferential adsorption of apolipoprotein J, fibrinogen and fibronectin was observed.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2003

Genetic variation at the human tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) locus: haplotypes and analysis of association to plasma levels of tPA.

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) plays a key role in thrombus dissolution and plasma levels of tPA have been associated with cardiovascular disease. We have previously resequenced regulatory and coding regions of the human tPA gene (PLAT) and identified eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In a small experimental study, four common variants were associated with invasively determined vascular tPA release rates. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there is an association between genetic variants at this locus and plasma levels of tPA. To this end, 240 Swedish individuals without cardiovascular disease were typed for the eight SNPs and an Alu insertion polymorphism at the PLAT locus, as well as for a polymorphism in the plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) promoter (PAI-1 -675 4G>5G). Stepwise regression analysis, with established predictors of plasma tPA including plasma PAI-1 and genetic variants, showed that neither genotypes nor haplotypes were major contributors to plasma tPA. The results also showed that the level of linkage disequilibrium was high at the PLAT locus, as demonstrated by the fact that only three haplotypes had a frequency above 5%. In conclusion, in the present study neither genetic variation at the PLAT locus nor the PAI-1 -675 4G>5G polymorphism was strong predictors of plasma tPA levels, which suggests that variations in other genes contribute to the heritability of this phenotype. The results also show that three haplotypes at the PLAT locus accounted for nearly 90% of the chromosomes and that they could be defined by typing only two SNPs.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Changing sex ratio in acute coronary heart disease: data from Swedish national registers 1984-99.

OBJECTIVES: To examine trends in sex ratios for different manifestations of coronary disease. DESIGN: National Swedish registers on hospital discharges and cause-specific deaths were used to calculate age- and sex-specific trends and sex ratios for coronary admissions and deaths. SETTING: Nineteen Swedish counties, average population 4.8-5.1 million in the investigated age groups. SUBJECTS: All patients aged 25-84 years with first hospital admissions or deaths as a result of coronary heart disease in 1984-99, in total 432,871 cases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ratio men/women and rates (per 100,000) of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute admissions for angina and total of all acute admissions for any coronary disease. RESULTS: Below age of 65 years AMI incidence decreased more for men than for women and rates of acute admissions for angina increased more in women than in men. In men and women above 65 years trends were almost identical. In 1984-87 the ratio men/women with respect to myocardial infarction was 5.6 at age 25-44 years, but decreased to 3.7 in 1996-99. Corresponding sex ratios for angina decreased from 3.2 to 1.8 and for total coronary heart disease from 4.7 to 2.8. Amongst men and women aged 45-54 years, the sex ratio with respect to myocardial infarction decreased from 5.6 to 4.1, for angina from 2.4 to 1.7 and for total acute coronary disease from 4.2 to 2.7. Ratios men/women decreased less at higher ages and remained unchanged throughout the period in the oldest age group. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we found decreasing sex ratios at ages below 65, but above age 65 years trends in men and women were similar. These developments could be due to changing criteria for admission and diagnosis, but true differences in the clinical manifestation of coronary disease, possibly in response to secular trends in risk factor levels, cannot be excluded.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Serum lipids in fathers and sons at middle age: the study of sons to men born in 1913.

OBJECTIVE: To relate lipid levels in middle-aged men to that of their fathers at 50 years of age measured 30 years earlier. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: In 1963, 855 men born in 1913 took part in a cardiovascular risk factor survey when they were at 50 years of age. In 1993, 475 sons to these men, aged 44-56, were invited to another examination; 263 of these men were examined (response rate: 56%) and compared with their 217 fathers when they were examined at 50 years of age in 1963. In the 1993 survey, 798 men aged 50, were also examined, from a general population sample of men born in 1943 (response rate: 55%). SETTING: City of Göteborg, Sweden. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum lipids in sons as a function of lipids in their fathers. RESULTS: Compared with the men born in 1913, both sons and men born in 1943 had lower mean serum cholesterol, but higher body mass index (BMI) and serum triglycerides. There was a significant relation between serum cholesterol in sons and their fathers (r = 0.25; P < 0.0001). Amongst sons to fathers in the highest cholesterol quartile (>6.9 mmol x L(-1)), 37% had serum cholesterol above 6.5 mmol x L(-1), compared with 16% amongst sons to fathers in the lowest quartile (<5.7 mmol x L(-1)) [adjusted odds ratio 3.73 (1.52-9.12)]. Sons to fathers with the highest serum cholesterol levels had slightly lower BMI; otherwise there was no relation between serum cholesterol in the father and any other lifestyle or biological risk factor in the sons. Serum triglyceride concentration in the father was unrelated to any variable in the son. CONCLUSIONS: There was a moderately strong association between serum cholesterol concentration in fathers and sons at middle age. However, secular trends were also important in determining serum cholesterol concentrations in those born at a later period, indicating a major role of environmental factors.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Glucose dependence of insulinotropic actions of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide in insulin-secreting INS-1 cells.

The cAMP-elevating pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) stimulates insulin release in pancreatic B-cells. Here, we have investigated its potentiating action in rat insulinoma INS-1 cells. In intact cells, PACAP-27 (100 nM) stimulated glucose-induced insulin secretion by >60%. Using the patch-clamp technique with single-cell exocytosis monitored as increases in cell capacitance, we observed that at 10 mM and 20 mM extracellular glucose, PACAP-27 acted mainly by a >50% enhancement of depolarization-elicited Ca(2+) entry, whereas at low (3 mM) glucose, the predominant effect of the peptide was a twofold increase in Ca(2+) sensitivity of insulin exocytosis. The latter effect was mimicked by glucose itself in a dose-dependent fashion. PACAP-27 exerts a prolonged effect on insulin secretion that is dissociated from changes of cytoplasmic cAMP. Whereas an elevation of cellular cAMP content (135%) could be observed 2 min after addition of PACAP-27, after 30 min preincubation with the peptide, cAMP concentrations were not different from basal. Yet, such pretreatment with PACAP-27 stimulated subsequent insulin release by congruent with60%. This sustained action is likely to reflect an increased degree of protein-kinase-A-dependent phosphorylation, and inhibitors of the kinase largely prevented the PACAP-mediated effects.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2002

Plasma protein adsorption pattern on characterized ceramic biomaterials.

The protein/biomaterial interactions of three biomaterials used in hard tissue surgery were studied in vitro. A dynamic flow system and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) were used to investigate the adsorption of proteins from diluted human plasma on hydroxyapatite, alumina and zirconia, with regard to total protein binding capacity, relative binding capacity for specific proteins and flow-through and desorption patterns. The ceramics were characterized regarding physicochemical properties; namely, chemical composition by elementary analyses and specific surface, pore volume and pore size distribution using the BET-method and Hg-porosimetry. The materials were found to adsorb a surprisingly low amount of plasma proteins, leaving more than 70% of the surface free. The cellular response will therefore be highly affected by the physico-chemical properties of the material, in contrast to a surface fully covered with proteins. Regarding the adsorption of proteins, most proteins exhibited similar flow-through patterns on the three adsorbents. The exceptions with different flow-through patterns were apolipoprotein D (Apo D), apolipoprotein J (Apo J), complement factor C1s (C1s), complement factor C3 (C3), ceruloplasmin, fibrinogen, alpha1 B glycoprotein and alpha2 HS glycoprotein and serum retinal-binding protein (SRBP). The role of these proteins on acceptance or rejection of implants has to be investigated.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2002

Parental age and coronary disease in the general male population.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of achieved age in father or mother for long-term prognosis in men with respect to fatal and nonfatal coronary events, and mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes. DESIGN: Prospective follow-up study. SETTING: City of Göteborg, Sweden. SUBJECTS: A total of 6242 men aged 51-59 out of 7100 men who took part in the second screening of the Primary Prevention Study in 1974-77 and who had stated the age of both mother and father at death, or their current age, if they were still alive. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fatal and nonfatal coronary events, and mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes during follow-up until 1996. RESULTS: Of the men (n=2135) whose father had died before the age of 70, 8.4 per 1000 observation years died from coronary disease during follow-up. Coronary mortality decreased continuously with increasing age in the father and in those whose father had achieved an age of 90 or more 3.2 per 1000 years died [hazard ratio (HR) after adjustment for coronary risk factors, socio-economic status, and history of myocardial infarction in either parent, 0.41 (95% CI 0.23-0.73; P for trend <0.0001)]. This was reflected in reduced risk of mortality from any cause (P for trend after adjustment 0.003). No association with cancer death was found. With respect to hospitalization for myocardial infarction men whose father had survived to at least 90 had an adjusted HR of 0.60 (0.40-0.89) compared with men whose father died before 70 (P for trend 0.0006). The effect of achieved age in the mother was weaker and after adjustment trends were weakly significant for death from cardiovascular and all causes (P=0.01 and 0.03, respectively), but not for any other end-point. CONCLUSION: Paternal, but not maternal, longevity appears to protect against coronary disease, by mechanisms that are largely unknown.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

A proteome database of human primary T helper cells.

We have established the first public database of human primary T helper cell proteome using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry. For the database, CD4+ human T cells were activated with anti-CD3+anti-CD28 antibodies and metabolically labeled with [35S]methionine for 24 h. Cells were lysed and proteins were separated by 2-DE. About 1500 protein spots were detected in the resulting 2-DE gels with silver staining, and 2000 spots with autoradiography. We have identified 91 proteins from the 2-DE gels using peptide mass fingerprinting, and annotated them to our database. The identified proteins are also linked to SWISS-PROTand NCBI protein databases. Our database is available via the Internet at http://www3.btk.utu.fi:8080/Genomics/Proteomics/Database.

Databases, Protein↗

PubMed2001

Heart failure in the general population of men--morbidity, risk factors and prognosis.

AIMS: To analyse the prevalence, aetiology and prognosis of heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: A random population sample of men (n=7495) was examined at baseline in 1970-73 and followed until 1996. During up to 27 years, 937 men were hospitalized for heart failure. For the statistical analysis, odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals, multivariate logistic regression and time-dependent Cox analysis were used. The incidence rate was 2.1, 9.1 and 11.5 per 1000 person-years in the age groups 55-64, 65-74 and 75-79, and the prevalences were 0.6, 2.8 and 6.2%, respectively. Valvular heart disease was the aetiology in 5.8%, coronary heart disease only or in combination with hypertension in 58.8%, and hypertension only in 20.3%, and various combinations with diabetes in 4.5%. Of the remaining 12.1%, 96% were smokers and 64% were registered for alcohol abuse. Risk factors were increasing age, myocardial infarction in the family, diabetes mellitus, chest pain, tobacco smoking, high coffee consumption, alcohol abuse, high body mass index, high blood pressure as well as treatment for hypertension, but not high total cholesterol or psychological stress. Mortality after the diagnosis was increased eight times. CONCLUSIONS: Coronary heart disease and hypertension were the most common concomitant diseases. Risk factors were similar to those in coronary heart disease, and also alcohol abuse, but not high total cholesterol, low physical activity or psychological stress. Mortality was high.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed2001

Hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation in the general male population: morbidity and risk factors.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the incidence, prevalence, aetiology, risk factors and prognosis of hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation. SUBJECTS: A random population sample of 7495 men aged 47-55 years was first examined in 1970-73. During follow-up until 1996 (mean 25.2 years) 754 men were hospitalized with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. RESULTS: In the age groups of 55-64, 65-74 and 75-79 years, the incidence rate was 2.0, 5.8 and 17.3 per 1000 person years, and the prevalence 1.2, 4.2 and 8.0%, respectively. Definite or possible coronary heart disease was diagnosed in 46.0%, heart failure in further 20.2% and valvular heart disease or cardiomyopathy in 4.5%. In bivariate analysis adjusted for age, the following factors were significantly associated with future hospitalization for fibrillation: a family history of myocardial infarction, stroke in mother, dyspnoea at entry, alcohol abuse, high body stature and body weight, high blood pressure but not diabetes, high serum cholesterol, high heart rate, smoking, coffee consumption or psychological stress. Significant risk factors in multivariate analysis were age, odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] -1.11 (1.07, 1.16) per year, hospitalization for coronary heart disease or heart failure -6.77 (5.17, 8.87), stroke in mother - 1.49 (1.15, 1.93), high body stature -1.04 (1.03, 1.06) per cm, high body mass index (BMI) -1.07 (1.04, 1.10) per kg m(-2), as well as hypertension -1.33 (1.07, 1.65). After a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, mortality was increased by 3.3 times. CONCLUSION: In spite of a clinical association with coronary heart disease, risk factors for atrial fibrillation were only partly the same. Prevention includes avoidance of weight gain and control of blood pressure as well as prevention of myocardial infarction and heart failure.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Optimal risk factors in the population: prognosis, prevalence, and secular trends; data from Göteborg population studies.

AIMS: To assess the prognosis and prevalence of optimal risk factors in the population. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data from several Göteborg population studies were used. Optimal risk factors were defined as serum cholesterol <5 mmol x l(-1), blood pressure <140/90 without treatment and being a non-smoker. In a 20-year follow-up of 7130 men aged 47 to 55 at baseline a group of 117 men who were optimal with respect to cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking were identified. In this group there was only one death from coronary disease, corresponding to 0.4 deaths per 1000 years, whereas the overall risk of coronary death in the study was 4.8 per 1000 years. Among men and women aged 25 to 34 in the Göteborg MONICA study 1995, less than half were optimal on all three scores, and in men and women aged 55 to 64, only 7% and 6%, respectively, were optimal. If body mass index below 25 was included only 34% and 37%, respectively, of men and women aged 25 to 34 were optimal, and 11% and 22% among men and women aged 35 to 44. In an analysis of secular trends over 30 years in four successive cohorts of men aged 50 the prevalence of optimal risk factors with respect to cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking increased from 1963 to 1993 but was still only 11% in 1993. CONCLUSIONS: As expected, optimal risk factors with respect to serum cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking confers a very low risk of coronary death. However, the prevalence of optimal risk factor status in the Swedish population is still low.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Sex differences in survival after myocardial infarction in Sweden; data from the Swedish National Acute Myocardial Infarction Register.

AIMS: Women, particularly younger women, hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction have been found to have poorer prognosis than men. A large proportion of deaths due to myocardial infarction, however, occur in the pre-hospital phase. We set out to analyse age-specific sex differences in survival after myocardial infarction at different time intervals from the onset of acute myocardial infarction, including pre-hospital deaths and 1-year overall survival. METHODS AND RESULTS: The National Acute Myocardial Infarction Register in Sweden was used to analyse age-specific sex differences in mortality outside hospital, 28-day mortality and 1-year mortality in 353 905 cases occurring between 1987 and 1995 in Swedish men and women aged 30 to 89 years. Overall, one in four of all myocardial infarction victims died outside hospital. At all ages, except in individuals younger than 50 years, men had higher pre-hospital mortality. The odds of dying within 28 days for women below 50 years of age, compared to men, was 1.84 (1.56--2.18) in hospitalized patients and 1.31 (1.18--1.46) in all infarction patients. Above the age of 65, in the total population with myocardial infarction, women had a better prognosis, with odds ratios ranging from 0.83 to 0.89. In patients surviving the first 28 days, 4.0% of the women and 2.9% of the men below the age of 50 were dead within a year after the infarction, odds ratio 1.37 (1.06--1.76). This excess mortality was mainly due to diabetes and non-cardiac causes. Only women younger than 50 years had a significantly poorer overall 1-year survival than men of the same age. At the age of 70 or more, women had a small survival advantage. CONCLUSION: In the total acute myocardial infarction population, only women under 50 years of age have a consistently worse prognosis than men. Much of the excess mortality in young women seems to be associated with diabetes.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

Neutrophil-associated activation markers in healthy smokers relates to a fall in DL(CO) and to emphysematous changes on high resolution CT.

Smoking is a risk factor for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but there are no good indicators for early identification of subjects who will develop symptomatic COPD. The aim of this study was to investigate inflammatory mechanisms related to changes in lung function and emphysematous changes on high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in 'healthy' smokers. Subjects were 60-year-old men from a population study. Bronchoscopy was performed in 30 smokers and 18 who had never smoked. Blood tests, lung function measurements and HRCT were carried out in 58 and 34 subjects, respectively. In comparison with never-smokers, smokers had higher levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), human neutrophil lipocalin (HNL), eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and lysozyme in blood, higher levels of MPO, interleukin-8 (IL-8) and HNL in bronchial lavage (BL), and of IL-8, HNL and interleukin-lbeta (IL-1beta) in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Smokers also had lower levels of Clara cell protein 16 (CC-16) in blood. HNL in BL and BAL showed strong correlations to other inflammatory markers (MPO, IL-8, IL-1beta). The variations in MPO in BL were explained by variations in HNL (R2 =0.69), while these variations in BAL were explained by variations in HNL and IL-1beta (R2 = 0.76). DL(CO) was the lung function variable most closely related to MPO and IL-8 in BL and BAL and to IL-1beta in BAL. In a multiple regression analysis, MPO, IL-1beta, IL-8 and CC-16 in BL and MPO in BAL contributed to the explanation of variations in DL(CO) to 41% and 22%. respectively, independent of smoking habits. In smokers with emphysematous lesions on HRCT, HNL in BAL correlated to emphysema score (r(s) = 0.71). We conclude that 'healthy' smoking men with a near normal FEV1 show signs of inflammation in the lower airways that are related to a decrease in DL(CO) and to emphysematous lesions on HRCT. This inflammation seems to be the result of both monocyte/macrophage and neutrophil activation.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗

PubMed2001

Invasive pneumococcal infections in Southwestern Sweden: a second follow-up period of 15 years.

In a retrospective study, the incidence, clinical manifestations, concomitant conditions and case fatality rate were studied in patients with invasive pneumococcal infections in the Göteborg area of Sweden during 1981-95, when the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine was available but little used. Patients were identified from the records of the Departments of Clinical Bacteriology and from the computer-based hospital discharge registers of the relevant departments. Individual case records were found for 876 patients with invasive pneumococcal infections verified by cultures from blood, cerebrospinal fluid or other sterile body fluids. A study from the same area with the same design covering the years 1964-80 has previously been published. There was an increase in total incidence from 5.3 to 10.3 cases/100,000/y from the previous to the present study. This increase was due to an increase in patients with non-meningitic infections aged > or = 60 y. The incidence of meningitis was virtually unchanged (1.4/100,000/y), as was the incidence of non-meningitic infections in individuals < 60 y. There were no other important changes between the 2 studies, which confirm that invasive pneumococcal infections have the highest incidence rates in children < 2 y and in the elderly, that a wide variety of underlying conditions are seen in the patients and that the case fatality rate, 15% in the present study, is still high.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Autoantibodies against oxidized low-density lipoprotein and C-reactive protein are associated with diabetes and myocardial infarction in women.

Women with diabetes mellitus are at high risk of myocardial infarction (MI), and it is well recognized that smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and the diabetic state itself do not fully explain this increased risk. During the last decade, growing evidence has accumulated that the immune system, with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as a key antigen, plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between the immune response, as measured by antibody titres to malondialdehyde-treated LDL (MDA-LDL) and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP; a marker of inflammation), and diabetes mellitus and MI in women. Women (35-64 years) with diabetes (n=18) and non-diabetic women (n=46) who had been treated in hospital for MI were compared with diabetic women without MI (n=35) and healthy controls (n=70). Blood samples were collected after an overnight fast. CRP was determined with a highly sensitive immuno-enzymometric assay. IgM and IgG antibodies against MDA-LDL were analysed with a solid-phase ELISA technique. Women with diabetes but without previous MI were more similar to women with previous MI (both with and without diabetes) than to the healthy controls. Compared with healthy women, the women with diabetes and/or MI had higher IgG (P<0.05) and lower IgM (P=0.006) antibody titres against oxidized LDL and higher CRP levels (P<0.001), associations that were independent of other cardiovascular risk factors. These findings might indicate a differentiated immune response against modified LDL, more pronounced inflammation and a more aggressive atherosclerotic process in women with diabetes.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

[Prognosis is often poor in chest pain not interpreted as angina pectoris. Simultaneous occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors increases the risk of premature death].

BACKGROUND: Typical angina pectoris is easy to recognize, but coronary insufficiency may present with nonspecific chest discomfort. AIMS OF STUDY: We wanted to investigate long-term prognosis in men with different types of chest pain. METHODS: A random population sample comprising 5,773 men aged 51-57 years at baseline were followed for 16 years. RESULTS: Mortality due to coronary heart disease was 8.0% among men without chest pain, 19.5% (total mortality 44%) among those with non-specific chest pain, 24.8% (total mortality 45%) among those with typical angina and 48.5% among those with a history of myocardial infarction at baseline. CONCLUSION: Non-specific chest pain is associated with poor prognosis, and coronary risk factors have strong predictive value.

Angina Pectoris↗

PubMed2000

Secular changes in cardiovascular risk factors over 30 years in Swedish men aged 50: the study of men born in 1913, 1923, 1933 and 1943.

OBJECTIVES: To study secular trends in cardiovascular risk factors in men aged 50 over a period of 30 years. DESIGN: Cross-sectional studies of successive cohorts of men from 1963 to 1993. SETTING: City of Göteborg, Sweden. SUBJECTS: Four random population samples of men born in 1913, 1923, 1933 and 1943, aged 50 when they were examined in 1963, 1973, 1983, and 1993 (n = 855, 226, 776, and 798, respectively). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, serum cholesterol and triglycerides and smoking habits over three decades. RESULTS: Over 30 years, men increased in weight from a mean (SD) of 75.9 (11.0) kg to 82.8 (12.1) kg and gained 3.4 cm in height, with a net increase in body mass index from 24.8 (3.2) to 26.0 (3.4) kg m-2 (P < 0.0001), and a concomitant increase in waist circumference. The proportion of men who were overweight but not obese (BMI = 25-30 kg m-2) increased from 38 to 47%, whereas the prevalence of frank obesity (more than 30 kg m-2) increased from 6% in 1963 to 11% in 1993. Despite the increase in weight, mean systolic blood pressure fell by almost 10 mmHg (P < 0.0001). Mean serum cholesterol concentration decreased from 6.42 (1.12) to 5.88 (1.04) (P < 0.0001). Serum triglycerides increased from 1.26 (0.77) to 1.69 (1.04) mmol L-1 (P = 0.001). The proportion of men who smoked decreased from 56% in 1963 to 30% in 1993 (P < 0.0001). This was due more to an increase in smoking cessation rates than to an increase in the proportion of men who had never smoked. In particular, smokers and former smokers are now more obese than the corresponding categories 30 years ago and smokers are no longer leaner than men who have never smoked. CONCLUSIONS: Over a period of 30 years, serum cholesterol as well as systolic blood pressure and the prevalence of smoking decreased. This favourable decline in coronary risk factors was offset by an appreciable increase in body mass index and waist circumference.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

Does immigration contribute to decreasing CHD incidence? Coronary risk factors among immigrants in Göteborg, Sweden.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate if an increasing proportion of immigrants may have contributed to the decreasing trend in coronary heart disease (CHD) in Sweden during the last few decades and to analyse the cardiovascular risk factor pattern in immigrants compared to Swedish-born subjects. POPULATION AND METHODS: CVD risk factors were investigated within the framework of the WHO MONICA project. A random sample of 1618 men and women aged 25-64 years responded to the invitation to a screening procedure including questionnaires and physical and laboratory examination. Data on myocardial infarctions (MI) were collected from the Göteborg Myocardial Infarction Register. Data from the City Council secretariat were used to estimate the number of immigrants in the total population. RESULTS: In 1995, immigrants constituted 22.4% of the population between 25 and 64 years of age in Göteborg. The incidence of MI in immigrants, 21.7%, was similar to that in Swedish-born subjects. Non-Finnish immigrants reported more unemployment, low physical activity during leisure time and psychological stress than Swedish subjects. Immigrant men also smoked more. BMI and WHR were significantly higher in immigrant women and Finnish immigrants had higher blood pressure than Swedes. Total- and LDL-cholesterol were higher in Finnish men. HDL-cholesterol was significantly lower and s-triglycerides significantly higher in non-Finnish immigrants of both genders. CONCLUSION: The decreasing trend in CHD in Sweden during the last few decades is not due to an increasing number of immigrants from 'low-risk countries'. On the contrary, the immigrants in the present study seem to have a worse CVD risk factor profile than Swedes.

Adult↗