Biomedical subjects

B Bølviken

Publications and source records attributed to B Bølviken.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Relationships between nasopharyngeal carcinoma and radioactive elements in soils in China.

Earlier comparisons of epidemiological and geochemical maps of China disclosed associations between high mortality rates from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and low contents of magnesium in the soil. More recent work has shown that high rates of NPC are also associated with high levels of uranium and thorium in the soil. These latest findings are consistent with the earlier ones, since uranium and thorium occur predominantly in acid rocks poor in magnesium. Uranium and thorium are radioactive, and their progeny include radioactive elements such as radium and radon. Whether or not naturally occurring radioactive elements could be risk factors in NPC should, therefore, be further investigated. Direct carcinogenic properties of radon are well known, but in connection with NPC possibilities for reactivation of virus by natural ionizing radiation should also be considered.

China↗

PubMed1997

Relations between nasopharyngeal carcinoma and magnesium and other alkaline earth elements in soils in China.

Comparison of maps shows a striking geographical relation between high mortality rates from nasopharyngeal cancer in China and low contents of magnesium, calcium and strontium in the soil. We suggest that deficiencies of these elements in the soil could be indirect markers of aetiological factors, e.g. inhalable carcinogens of local natural origin. A search for such factors could be fruitful in further studies of environmental factors in the aetiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Calcium↗

PubMed1991

Geographical associations between drinking water chemistry and the mortality and morbidity of cancer and some other diseases in Norway.

Finished drinking water samples were collected from 384 waterworks that supply 70.9% of the Norwegian population. For 97 municipalities where a majority of the population has had a stable drinking water supply from at least 1965, analytical results for Si, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ba, Sr, K, F-, Cl-, Br-, NO3-, SO4(2-), pH, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon (TOC) and colour are correlated with municipal rates for morbidity of 16 groups of cancer (1975-84), and for mortality of 17 groups of other diseases (1974-83). Several associations are found, some of which may be real, while others are incidental due to the large number of correlations involved. The ecological design of this study implies that cause-and-effect interpretations should be made with great care.

Anions↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Radon: a possible risk factor in multiple sclerosis.

Ecological studies in Norway, using a method for spatially moving bivariate correlation analysis, show that south of 65 degrees N, there are significant positive correlations (p < 0.01) for rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) versus contents of radon (Rn) in indoor air, and significant negative correlations for MS rates versus fallout of magnesium (Mg) and amounts of precipitation. Based on these data, we propose the hypothesis that the content of Rn in inhaled air is a risk factor in MS. The release of harmful Rn levels to the air may be influenced by (1) the levels of exchangeable Mg in soil, which may affect the soil content of the Rn precursor radium (Ra), and (2) the amounts of precipitation through its effects on soil moisture, which is one of the factors controlling Rn emanation from the soil. This hypothesis agrees with several of the known epidemiological characteristics of MS.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Atmospheric supply of trace elements studied by peat samples from ombrotrophic bogs.

Concentrations of Fe and 12 trace elements in peat from ombrotrophic bogs were used to estimate the atmospheric deposition of these elements on a temporal and spatial scale. Peat samples were collected at 21 different sites in Norway encompassing large geographical differences in marine influence and air pollution. The study demonstrates that surface peat is an excellent medium to study geographical differences in heavy metal deposition, provided that effects of the surface plant cover are properly considered. Long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants is the main source for As, Cd, Pb, Sb, and Zn, and to a lesser extent for Cu and Se. Biogenic emissions from the ocean appear to be the main source of Se to the peat. The metals Co, Cr, Fe, and Ni are mainly associated with wind-blown local soil dust. Surface enrichment of Mn, and in part Zn, is mainly caused by nutrient circulation between the surface peat and vascular plants growing on it. Deposition of marine salts appears to be the main reason for lower Mn concentrations in the peat near the coast.

Air Movements↗