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Biomedical subjects

C Bengtsson

Publications and source records attributed to C Bengtsson.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Evaluation of an educational programme for telephone advisers in primary health care.

Telephone advisers, usually registered nurses, have a very important role in the Swedish primary health care service. In order to improve this service, a special educational programme has been worked out for registered nurses working at a Swedish health centre. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate this educational programme at one of the health centres. The quality of the telephone advice was evaluated by a blind observer. After the educational programme the quality of advice was improved. Among the participating nurses, the confidence and the satisfaction with the work increased after the educational programme.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1989

Age-related change in anti-carbohydrate antibody levels.

It has been proposed that immunity declines with age. Most evidence for this hypothesis has been obtained from cross-sectional samples of unrelated populations that differ in age, antigen exposure, and morbidity. In the present study, the authors used serum samples collected repeatedly from the same persons in longitudinal studies. Two representative samples of the population in Göteborg, Sweden were obtained; the first was studied at ages 38, 50, and 62 years, and the second at ages 70, 75, 79, and 81 years, respectively. The phosphorylcholine determinant of pneumococcal teichoic acid and the B blood group determinant were selected as model polysaccharide antigens. The results demonstrate a consistent decline in individual antibody levels in the decades before age 70 years but not later. Antibodies to phosphorylcholine and blood group B were highly parallel, suggesting that the decline was a general phenomenon for antibodies to polysaccharide antigens.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1989

Circadian rhythm of erythropoietin in human serum.

When a sensitive radioimmunoassay for erythropoietin in serum (S-Epo), using labelled recombinant hEpo and antiserum to urinary hEpo, was evaluated for clinical use, a large intra-individual variation was observed during a 24 h period. The possibility of a circadian rhythm with a variation during day time which has to be considered for clinical evaluation of the S-Epo level was investigated in 27 hospitalized adult patients. They had various illnesses, but all had a level of S-Epo at 08.00 or 12.00 hours within the reference range of healthy individuals and normal cortisol levels during the 24 h. A well-marked circadian rhythm of S-Epo was found with the lowest mean level at 08.00 hours, a 42% increase at 16.00 hours and a 60% increase to the highest at 20.00 hours. Twelve (44%) of the 27 patients, with S-Epo levels within the reference range (3.3-13.5 IU/l) at 08.00 or 12.00 hours, had levels above this range at 16.00 hours. For clinical evaluation of the S-Epo level, the time of day for collection of the blood specimen has to be taken into consideration. It is recommended that blood specimens are taken in the morning between 07.30 and 12.00 hours. The mechanisms behind the observed circadian rhythm of S-Epo are unknown.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Evidence for a slow tissue adaptation to circulating thyroxine in patients with chronic L-thyroxine treatment.

We measured serum procollagen-III-peptide in 67 women with long-term L-thyroxine treatment and compared the results with age-matched controls. The strong correlation between serum free thyroxine and procollagen-III-peptide concentrations previously found after 6 months of L-thyroxine treatment was not found after long-term treatment. There were slightly higher procollagen-III-peptide concentration values in those chronically treated patients who had high free thyroxine levels but this increase was less marked than in patients previously studied after short-term treatment. An increase in procollagen-III-peptide concentration reflects an increased biosynthesis of collagen III, which is present in connective tissues throughout the body, and our findings may be explained by slow tissue adaptation to increased levels of thyroxine. We conclude that the increased thyroxine levels found in L-thyroxine-treated patients are of less clinical importance than thought previously. We also conclude that peripheral markers of thyroid hormone peripheral effects such as procollagen-III-peptide may be of less use than thought previously due to this slow tissue adaptation to changes in thyroxine concentration.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1989

Smoking habits and tooth loss in Swedish women.

A longitudinal population study of 1462 women, aged 38-60, was started in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1968-69. In univariate analysis of the results from 1968-69, smokers were found to have a significantly lower number of remaining teeth than non-smokers had. The differences between smokers and non-smokers with respect to edentulousness and number of remaining teeth was further accentuated 12 yr later. The mean number of teeth lost during the 12-yr follow-up period was 3.5 among smokers and 2.1 among non-smokers, i.e. 67% higher among smokers than among non-smokers. The associations were independent of age, education, socio-economic group, marital status, frequency of toothbrushing, and frequency of visits to a dentist. It is concluded that smoking seems to play an important role as far as tooth loss is concerned.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The population study of women in Gothenburg 1980-81--the third phase of a longitudinal study. Comparison between participants and non-participants.

A representative population sample comprising 1,462 women was studied in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1968-69, and a third follow-up study was carried out in 1980-81. The participation rates in the baseline study and during the follow-up studies were high. In 1980-81 women in two new age strata, aged 26 and 38, were added. Women who had moved to or from Gothenburg during the study period were not found to differ from those who were living in Gothenburg during the total study period, while there were a few differences of statistical significance between refusers and participants in 1980-81. The mortality among initial refusers was about doubled compared to that of those who participated in the baseline study.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus markers in a random sample of women from Göteborg, Sweden.

The prevalence of the hepatitis B markers HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HBs was studied in 540 women from a randomised sample of women representative of the total population of women in Göteborg, Sweden at the ages of 26, 38 and 50 years. The prevalence of hepatitis B markers was 5.9%. No significant differences were found between the women with hepatitis B markers and the total population concerning education, place of residence during childhood, history of admission to hospital, surgery or blood transfusion, abuse of drugs or alcohol, life-time number of sexual partners or liver function tests. Only 8 of 37 (22%) women with hepatitis B markers had a history of jaundice. We conclude that psychological factors had no strong influence on the prevalence of hepatitis B in Swedish women in general.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The number of children, use of oral contraceptives and menopausal status in relation to the number of remaining teeth and the periodontal bone height. A population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden.

A representative sample of urban women in Gothenburg, Sweden was examined for proximal periodontal bone heights and the number of teeth remaining. The results were studied in relation to the number of children borne, the use of oral contraceptives and the menopausal state. There was an increased risk of being edentulous with an increased number of children borne. This was also obvious when socio-economic status was taken into consideration. Edentulousness was most common among those women in the lowest socio-economic group who had given birth to many children. No significant difference in the number of remaining teeth was observed between current or previous users of oral contraceptives on the one hand and women who had never used them on the other. No significant differences were observed between premenopausal and postmenopausal women as regards the number of remaining teeth. The values for proximal periodontal bone heights showed no statistically significant differences for any of the conditions studied.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Adiposity and adipose tissue distribution in relation to incidence of diabetes in women: results from a prospective population study in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The results refer to a 12-year longitudinal population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden. Correlations were studied between initial adipose tissue amount and adipose tissue distribution on the one hand and incidence of diabetes and change in serum blood glucose concentration on the other. Body mass index, sum of two skinfolds and waist-to-hip circumference ratio were significantly associated with incidence of diabetes. The waist-to-hip ratio was also positively associated with an increase of serum glucose concentration in the fasting state during the followup period. The significant correlations remained in multivariate analysis and were independent of age, initial smoking habits, systolic blood pressure, intake of antihypertensive drugs and serum cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose concentrations. The correlations between the separate anthropometric variables and incidence of diabetes remained when the other anthropometric variables were considered as background factors. The distribution of fat to the abdominal region as well as the total amount of fat per se seem to be important risk factors for diabetes and the effect of one of these factors seems to add to the other.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1988

Regional obesity as a health hazard in women--a prospective study.

The results presented in this paper concerning regional obesity as a health hazard in women refer to a 12-year longitudinal population study of 1,462 women, aged 38-60, which was carried out in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1968-69. In univariate analysis the ratio of waist-to-hip circumference showed a significant positive association with the 12-year incidence of myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, stroke, diabetes mellitus and death. The association with incidence of myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus remained in multivariate analysis. The relation between the ratio of waist-to-hip circumference and the end points studied was stronger than for any other anthropometric variable studied.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1988

Diabetes in hypertensive women: an effect of antihypertensive drugs or the hypertensive state per se?

A total of 226 women participating in a longitudinal study who were found to be hypertensive (initial values greater than or equal to 160 mmHg for the systolic blood pressure and/or greater than 95 mmHg for the diastolic blood pressure) were followed up with respect to the risk of developing diabetes during a 12-year study period. For each year of follow-up, information on whether each participant was taking antihypertensive drugs or not was collected. As a result there were 1339 'treatment years' and 1449 'non-treatment years' of follow-up. All 16 women who developed diabetes during the follow-up period were taking antihypertensive drugs at the time of onset of their diabetes. A similar observation was made when 145 women within the upper age-specific decentiles of systolic blood pressure were followed up in the same way. These results suggest that in hypertensive subjects antihypertensive drugs rather than the hypertensive state per se predispose to diabetes mellitus.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Number of amalgam tooth fillings in relation to subjectively experienced symptoms in a study of Swedish women.

There has been a lot of discussion concerning the possible influence of amalgam tooth fillings on different symptoms and complaints. Information on this topic could be obtained from 1024 dentulous women aged 38-72, participants in a population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden, who answered a questionnaire with 30 specific questions concerning different symptoms and complaints. The answers were related to number of tooth surfaces restored with amalgam. Due to the sampling method and the high participation rate, the participants were representative of dentulous women of the same age in the general population. No positive correlations were found between number of amalgam fillings and number of symptoms, nor between number of amalgam fillings and prevalence of specified single symptoms or complaints. On the contrary there were a number of age-matched significant correlations in the opposite direction, which means that women with a high number of amalgam fillings reported a lower number of symptoms and complaints than women with a low number of amalgam fillings. These inverse relationships between number of amalgam fillings and different symptoms and complaints usually disappeared, when number of teeth was taken into consideration as a background variable. The inverse relationships with abdominal pain and poor appetite were, however, independent of both number of teeth and socioeconomic status as based on multivariate analysis. This study does not support the view of a correlation between amalgam fillings and symptoms and complaints, at least not on a population level.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1988

Bone mineral content in normally menstruating women with hyperprolactinaemia.

Decreased bone density has been reported in women with hyperprolactinaemia due to pituitary tumours. We identified a number of seemingly healthy women with hyperprolactinaemia, i.e. a serum prolactin concentration exceeding 500 mU/l (25 micrograms/l) on three occasions, during a study in 1980/1981 of a representative population sample of greater than 1,400 women in seven different age strata (range 26-72 years). We compared vertebral bone mineral content and bone mineral areal content in 5 hyperprolactinaemic normally menstruating 50-year-old women with that of 6 controls matched for age and menstrual status but found no difference. Since the degree of prolactin elevation was similar in our study group to that previously reported for hyperprolactinaemic subjects with pituitary tumours and the time of exposure to raised hormone concentration appears to be of the same magnitude, other hormonal changes than hyperprolactinaemia per se seem to be the cause of low bone mineral content in women with hyperprolactinaemia and amenorrhoea.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1988

Mortality from stroke among women in a Swedish community, Strömstad. Evaluation of data obtained from official death certificate registers broken down to the community level.

The present paper is an example of an active way of delivering primary health care. Data obtained from the Bureau of Central Statistics on mortality, based on death certificates during the years 1969-1978, were broken down to community level within the County of Göteborg and Bohus. A significantly increased total mortality was observed among women in the community of Strömstad in the northern part of the county, as well as an increased mortality from cardiovascular diseases, especially cerebrovascular diseases. Similar observations were made for the neighbouring communities. In order to evaluate the diagnoses stated in the death certificates, records from patients who died of cerebrovascular disease during the years 1970-1979 were studied. Out of 146 women in whom cerebrovascular disease was stated as main cause of death, it was possible to draw conclusions about diagnosis of death in 140. The vast majority of the subjects had correctly been given the diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease. Based on this "community diagnosis", a special preventive program has been started in the community of Strömstad.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗