Biomedical subjects

Anne Johanne Søgaard

Publications and source records attributed to Anne Johanne Søgaard.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

[Changes in cardiovascular risk factors among men in Oslo during 28 years].

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to measure changes in known risk factors for cardiovascular disease among men over a period of 28 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present cohort study comprises a selection of men previously included in the Oslo-study of 1972/73. The men selected, were either followed-up in the Oslo II study (n = 5,323), or were included in five other studies in the period 1996-2001 (n = 1,834). The total material is named The second screening of the Oslo-study and consists of 7157 men. RESULTS: The men were born between 1923 and 1952. All age groups showed a marked increase in mean weight by 4.4 Kg. Body Mass Index changed from 24.3 to 26.4 kg/m2 , coinciding with reduced level of physical activity in all age groups. A comparison of body mass index in men of the same age in 1972/73 and 2000, show a mean increase in body mass index of two units. An increase of 0.30 mmol/L glucose (non-fasting) was observed. Total cholesterol decreased from 6.19 to 5.95 mmol/L and triglycerides remained unchanged (1.89 to 1.87 mmol/L). Systolic blood pressure increased but not the diastolic pressure. Overall 30.8 % of the men took medication for increased blood pressure, versus 3.1 % at the first screening. The percentage of daily smokers decreased from 44.2 % to 17.4 %. INTERPRETATION: The most encouraging result was the strong reduction in number of daily smokers. The study confirms the weight increase observed among men in Norway.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

[Is a healthy lifestyle worthwhile?].

BACKGROUND: The men invited to participate in the Oslo Study in 1972/3 were invited again to participate in the Oslo II study in 2000. We examined whether self-reported lifestyle habits were associated with biological markers, a range of symptoms and several illnesses in 2000. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In addition to data from Oslo II, were data from those men of the Oslo-cohort who participated in 5 other studies between 1998 and 2001. The total material is named The second screening of the Oslo-study. Levels of lipids and glucose, height, weight, waist and hip circumferences and blood pressure were measured in 6,410 men born in 1923-32 that participated in both surveys. Participants were divided into four groups according to their lifestyle habits in both surveys, as follows: unhealthy, somewhat unhealthy, somewhat healthy and healthy lifestyle. RESULTS: Participants with a healthy lifestyle had a lower number of symptoms and illnesses, prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and waist-hip ratio, compared to those with a less healthy lifestyle. The number of men with psychological distress leading to treatment, was inversely associated with an increasingly healthy lifestyle. After adjustment for level of education and smoking in both 1972/3 and in 2000, the relationship between health profile and lifestyle became more linear. INTERPRETATION: A healthy lifestyle was associated with protective levels of risk factors and lower prevalences of a wide range of illnesses.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Biochemical markers of bone turnover and their relation to forearm bone mineral density in persons of Pakistani and Norwegian background living in Oslo, Norway: The Oslo Health Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether Pakistanis have increased bone turnover compared with ethnic Norwegians due to their high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism, and whether the relation between bone turnover and bone mineral density (BMD) differs between Pakistanis and ethnic Norwegians. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, population-based study conducted in the city of Oslo in 2000-2001. Random samples of 132 community-dwelling Pakistani men and women of ages 40, 45, and 59-60 years, and 580 community-dwelling Norwegian men and women of ages 45 and 59-60 years are included in this substudy. METHODS: Venous serum samples were drawn for measurements of markers of the vitamin D endocrine system and the bone turnover markers osteocalcin (s-OC), bone alkaline phosphatase (s-bone ALP), and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (s-TRACP). BMD was measured at the forearm by single-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: Pakistanis had higher s-bone ALP compared with Norwegians. Mean (95% CI) age-adjusted levels were 22.5 (21.0, 24.1) U/l in Pakistani men versus 19.3 (18.6, 20.1) U/l in Norwegian men, P < 0.0005, and 20.3 (18.4, 22.1) U/l in Pakistani women versus 16.7 (16.0, 17.4) U/l in Norwegian women, P = 0.001. There tended to be an inverse association between bone turnover and BMD in men and women of both ethnic groups, and it was strongest for s-bone ALP. Overall mean (95% CI) distal BMD decrease was -16 (-20, -11) mg/cm(2) per 1 s.d. increase in s-bone ALP (P < 0.0005) when adjusting for age, sex, and ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Except for somewhat higher s-bone ALP levels in Pakistanis, there were only minor ethnic differences in bone turnover, despite a strikingly different prevalence of secondary hyperparathyroidism. Bone turnover was inversely associated with forearm BMD in both ethnic groups.

Acid Phosphatase↗

PubMed2005

The Finnmark Intervention Study: do community-based intervention programmes threaten self-rated health and well-being? Experiences from Båtsfjord, a fishing village in North Norway.

AIM: Examine negative side-effects on self-rated health and well-being of a community-based intervention in a fishing community in the Norwegian Arctic. METHOD: A cohort study with quasi-experimental design with one intervention community and three control communities from the same area. There was a baseline screening (1987), three years intervention (1988-1991) and a rescreening (1993). Of the invited (aged 20-62 years in 1987), 668 (64%) males and 656 (72%) females met at both screenings. The main outcome variables were self-rated health, mental health variables, and preoccupation with health. Those answering the relevant questions at both screenings were analysed. High-risk and low-risk males were analysed separately. There were too few females in the high-risk group to do separate analyses. RESULTS: The main findings among the low-risk group were: Males in Batsfjord did not differ from males in the control communities. Among females, there was a reduction in the proportion depressed of 20.4% points in Batsfjord and 9.6% in the control communities (p adjusted=0.060). There was also a decrease in the proportion lonely of 19.2% points and 5.8% respectively (p adjusted=0.005). In the male high-risk group there was a decrease in the proportion lonely by 14.7% points in Batsfjord and an increase by 5.9% in the control communities (p adjusted=0.004). CONCLUSION: We have not found that an intervention programme using local empowerment, mass strategies, and intervention on high-risk cases has serious negative side effects on self-rated health, well-being or preoccupation with health.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Bone mineral density in ethnic Norwegians and Pakistani immigrants living in Oslo--The Oslo Health Study.

Bone mineral density (BMD, grams per square centimeter) is scarcely studied in immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. Pakistani immigrants in Oslo, Norway, have a very high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Thus, it is of great interest to compare BMD between Pakistani immigrants and ethnic Norwegians in Oslo. The comparison was done with and without adjustment for skeletal size, and we examined whether known risk factors explained possible differences in bone density between these two ethnic groups. BMD was measured at the distal and ultra-distal forearm site in a random sample of the participants in the Oslo Health Study by single energy X-ray absorptiometry (SXA). One hundred and seventy-three Pakistani-born subjects (71 women, 102 men) and 1,386 Norwegian-born subjects (675 women, 711 men) aged 30, 40, 45 and 59/60 years, living in Oslo, were included in the analysis. To account for variation in skeletal size, we computed height-adjusted BMD values, BMD/height (grams per cubic centimeter), and volumetric bone mineral apparent density (BMAD, grams per cubic centimeter). We found no differences in distal or ultra-distal forearm BMD between Pakistanis and Norwegians in either women or men. We found, however, higher values in Pakistani men when BMD was height-adjusted (2% higher in distal sites and 5% in ultra-distal sites). We also found higher bone mass values (both distal and ultra-distal) in Pakistani women and men than in their Norwegian counterparts when volumetric measures, such as BMD/height (7%-8% higher in women, 6%-7% in men) and BMAD (6% higher in women, 8% in men), were used. In a regression model that included ethnicity, anthropometry and lifestyle factors, BMD was higher in Pakistani men than in Norwegian men, but not in women. We conclude that Pakistanis living in Oslo have similar BMD to ethnic Norwegians, but they have higher volumetric bone mass values. When we adjusted for confounders we found higher BMD values in Pakistani men than in Norwegian men.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

PubMed2004

The Oslo Health Study: The impact of self-selection in a large, population-based survey.

BACKGROUND: Research on health equity which mainly utilises population-based surveys, may be hampered by serious selection bias due to a considerable number of invitees declining to participate. Sufficient information from all the non-responders is rarely available to quantify this bias. Predictors of attendance, magnitude and direction of non-response bias in prevalence estimates and association measures, are investigated based on information from all 40 888 invitees to the Oslo Health Study. METHODS: The analyses were based on linkage between public registers in Statistics Norway and the Oslo Health Study, a population-based survey conducted in 2000/2001 inviting all citizens aged 30, 40, 45, 59-60 and 75-76 years. Attendance was 46%. Weighted analyses, logistic regression and sensitivity analyses are performed to evaluate possible selection bias. RESULTS: The response rate was positively associated with age, educational attendance, total income, female gender, married, born in a Western county, living in the outer city residential regions and not receiving disability benefit. However, self-rated health, smoking, BMI and mental health (HCSL) in the attendees differed only slightly from estimated prevalence values in the target population when weighted by the inverse of the probability of attendance.Observed values differed only moderately provided that the non-attending individuals differed from those attending by no more than 50%. Even though persons receiving disability benefit had lower attendance, the associations between disability and education, residential region and marital status were found to be unbiased. The association between country of birth and disability benefit was somewhat more evident among attendees. CONCLUSIONS: Self-selection according to sociodemographic variables had little impact on prevalence estimates. As indicated by disability benefit, unhealthy persons attended to a lesser degree than healthy individuals, but social inequality in health by different sociodemographic variables seemed unbiased. If anything we would expect an overestimation of the odds ratio of chronic disease among persons born in non-western countries.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Vitamin D deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism and the association with bone mineral density in persons with Pakistani and Norwegian background living in Oslo, Norway, The Oslo Health Study.

We studied the prevalence of poor vitamin D status and the association with bone density in men and women born in Norway (quoted as Norwegians, n = 869) and Pakistan (quoted as Pakistanis, n = 177) in the population-based Oslo Health Study, 2000-2001. We measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D, iPTH and ionized calcium in serum and bone mineral density at the forearm site with single energy X-ray absorptiometry. Mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D was 74.8 +/- 23.7 nmol/l in the Norwegians and 25.0 +/- 13.6 nmol/l in the Pakistanis (P = 0.000). The prevalence of secondary hyperparathyroidism (iPTH > or = 8.5 pmol/l, 25-hydroxyvitamin D < 50 nmol/l and Ca2+ < or = 1.35 mmol/l) was four times higher in Pakistani compared to Norwegian women. Also in Pakistani men, serious vitamin D deficiency defined as secondary hyperparathyroidism was prevalent, and five times as frequent as in Norwegian men. However, whereas BMD was significantly lower in Norwegian women with, compared to Norwegian women without, secondary hyperparathyroidism, there was no difference in BMD between Pakistani women with and without secondary hyperparathyroidism. In conclusion, vitamin D deficiency was prevalent among Pakistani immigrants, and in great contrast to the vitamin D replete Norwegians. Serious vitamin D deficiency was interestingly not associated with reduced forearm bone density among Pakistani women.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Obesity in adolescence and adulthood and the risk of adult mortality.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND There are few long-term follow-up data on the relation between body mass index (BMI) in adolescence and in adulthood, and between adolescent BMI and adult mortality. The present study explores these relations. METHODS: In Norwegian health surveys during 1963-1999, height and weight were measured for 128,121 persons in a standardized way both in adolescence (age 14-19 years) and 10 or more years later. Persons were followed for an average of 9.7 years after the adult measurement. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to study the association between adolescent and adult BMI and mortality. RESULTS: The odds ratio of obesity (BMI >/=30) in adulthood increased steadily with BMI in adolescence, from 0.2 for low BMI up to 16 for very high BMI. Very high adolescent BMI was associated with 30-40% higher adult mortality compared with medium BMI. Adjusting for adult BMI explained most of the association of adolescent obesity and mortality, especially among men. Adjustment for smoking did not change the results. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity in adolescence tends to persist into adulthood. Adolescent obesity is also connected to excess mortality, but this excess seems to be explained mostly by obesity in adulthood. High BMI in adolescence seems to be predictive of both adult obesity and mortality.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Body mass index in adolescence in relation to total mortality: 32-year follow-up of 227,000 Norwegian boys and girls.

A large number of studies have explored the relation between body mass index (BMI) and mortality in adults. The relation between BMI in adolescence and mortality has been investigated to a lesser extent. It has been suggested that all-cause mortality is elevated among those who were overweight during adolescence, but the limitation of previous studies has been study size. The present study explored this relation in a Norwegian cohort of 227,003 boys and girls, aged 14-19 years, whose height and weight were measured during tuberculosis screening in 1963-1975. These persons were followed for an average of 31.5 years (about 7.2 million person-years). A total of 7,516 deaths were registered. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used in the analyses. An increasing risk of death by increasing BMI in adolescence was observed. Mortality among males whose baseline BMI was between the 85th and 95th percentiles and above the 95th percentile in the US reference population was 30% and 80% higher, respectively, than that among those whose baseline BMI was between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The corresponding rates among females were 30% and 100%. The excess mortality among adolescents whose BMI was high was not clearly manifested before they reached their thirties. Hence, BMI in adolescence is predictive of adult mortality.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

The Finnmark Intervention Study: is it possible to change CVD risk factors by community-based intervention in an Arctic village in crisis?

AIMS: Owing to high cardiovascular mortality, the Norwegian Government introduced the programme "Health and Inequalities in Finnmark" in 1988. One of the projects in this programme was aimed at changing cardiovascular risk factors through community-based intervention in a fishing community in the Norwegian Arctic. METHODS: The intervention community Båtsfjord and the three control communities were selected from the same coastal area. The intervention was based on a quasi-experimental design, and evaluated by population surveys before (1987) and after (1993) the invention. The attending cohort was analysed. The intervention method was based on empowerment and cooperation between different organizations, and the primary healthcare system. RESULTS: From 1987 - 93, the male cohort in Båtsfjord had a more favourable development when compared with changes in the control communities regarding the 8.6% increase in physical activity (p = 0.047), the reduction in systolic blood pressure by 0.01 mmHg (p = 0.002), and the reduction in diastolic blood pressure by 2.1 mmHg (p < 0.001). The female cohort in Båtsfjord had a more favourable development when compared with changes in the control communities regarding the 11.2% increase in use of low-fat milk (p = 0.046), the increase in systolic blood pressure by 2.1 mmHg (p = 0.024), and the reduction in diastolic blood pressure by 2.1 mmHg (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Despite a difficult economic situation for the Arctic coastal communities, the study found it possible for voluntary organizations, local public administration, and local health personnel to promote change in lifestyle and blood pressure using a community intervention approach.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Effects of first-aid training in junior high schools.

As part of a campaign aimed at increasing first-aid knowledge and skills, a training program was introduced in Norwegian junior high schools in 1997/98. The program comprised a textbook, a video and a teacher's manual. A quasi-experimental design was applied to evaluate the effects. Data were collected by pre- and post-test questionnaires to 82 randomly selected schools. Indexes for knowledge of first aid, attitudes towards giving and learning first aid, self-efficacy, emotions connected with first-aid situations and intended behavior in situations requiring first-aid action were constructed. In the intention-to-treat analysis of these indexes, the difference between the intervention and control group was modest. A separate questionnaire filled in by the teachers showed a low degree of implementation of the program. When comparing those classes that really used the program with the control classes, significant differences were revealed in many of the variables. Both self-efficacy, emotions in situations requiring first-aid skills and attitudes toward giving and learning first aid were of importance for intended behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

The Finnmark Intervention Study. Better health for the fishery population in an Arctic village in North Norway.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factor changes after 6 years of intervention in the North Cape community. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study with a quasi-experimental design with one intervention and three control communities selected from the same coastal area with a baseline screening (1987), 6-year intervention, and re-screening (1993). SETTING: Fishing communities on the coast of Finnmark in the Norwegian Arctic area. PARTICIPANTS: 1685 (70%) of the invited in both screenings, aged between 20 and 62 years in 1987. INTERVENTION: Community-intervention based on empowerment and cooperation between voluntary organisations and local health services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: Compared to the control communities, the main findings in North Cape were among men: 21.3% less drinking boiled coffee (p < 0.05), 10.5% more drinking low fat milk (p < 0.01), 0.3 mmol/l reduction in cholesterol (p < 0.01) and 0.2 kg/m2 reduction in BMI (p < 0.001). Among women, there were 5.9% fewer smokers (p < 0.01), 21% less drinking boiled coffee (p < 0.05), 1 kg/m2 less increase in BMI (p < 0.001) and 0.5 less increase in MI risk score (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Small close-knit communities are suitable for community-based interventions where it is easier to obtain close interaction between health service, voluntary organisations and the public at large.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Body mass index and mortality: the influence of physical activity and smoking.

PURPOSE: To study the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality, and to evaluate the effect of physical activity during leisure time and smoking on this association in a general male population. METHODS: During 1974-1978, all men aged 35-49 yr living in three Norwegian counties were invited to a cardiovascular screening, and 87.1% attended and had their weight and height measured. Men with recognized cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, or cancer at screening were excluded. The cohort (N = 22,304) was followed for an average of 16.3 yr with respect to total and cause-specific mortality. RESULTS: During follow-up, 1909 men died. We found a J-shaped association between BMI and total mortality, and the form of association was similar for death from cardiovascular diseases. Although not statistically significant, a J-shaped association was also suggested in never-smokers. Irrespective of BMI level, ex- and never-smokers had lower mortality than current smokers. Obese smoking men had a relative risk of dying of 2.01 (95% CI: 1.29-3.11) compared with obese never-smokers, and a relative risk of 4.55 (95% CI: 3.34-6.20) compared with normal weight never-smokers (BMI 22-24.9 kg x m(-2)). Within each category of physical activity during leisure time, obese men had a similar increased relative risk of death compared with normal-weight individuals. However, the U- to J-shaped association between BMI and mortality seemed to disappear by increasing level of physical activity, but this finding was not significant. CONCLUSION: This study suggests a J-shaped association between BMI and total mortality, also when stratified on smoking habits and physical activity. The suggested linear trend in the most physical active men needs to be reassessed.

Adult↗