PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

K Koskenvuo

Publications and source records attributed to K Koskenvuo.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Heat balance at -5 degrees C after cold water immersion.

Two different possible behaviors at -5 degrees C after cold water immersion were studied. A test subject wearing winter clothing walked (5 km/h) on a treadmill for 45 minutes at -5 degrees C and at a wind velocity of 3 m/s with dry clothing, immediately after a thorough immersion in 5 degrees C water, or after immersion and wringing, freezing, and beating of the clothing (to remove ice). A marked heat debt (ca. 1000 kJ) was measured at the end of the cold water immersion. Attempts to dry the clothing caused an additional heat debt of ca. 300 kJ. After 45 minutes walking, the difference in heat depth between the treatments was nearly the same as before the exercise. The difference in clothing weight was only 0.9 kg between the two treatments after walking. Beating frozen clothing items could remove ice corresponding to only 0.7% of the wet weight of the clothing. Results suggest that after cold water immersion in winter, the undressing procedure could not be recommended. Instead, after initially removing boots, mittens, and hat, the subject should start walking. The water accumulated in boots and mittens should be poured out when necessary.

Adult↗

Prevalence of asthma in Finnish young men.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of asthma in cohorts of Finnish young men in the period 1926-89. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis using reports and statistics of Finnish defence forces. SETTING: Call up examinations of candidates for military conscription and examination of conscripts discharged because of poor health. SUBJECTS: Roughly 900,000 men--that is, 98% of men of conscription age--examined in 1966-89 and a proportional but unknown number examined in 1926-61. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Asthma recognised at call up examination, exemption from military service, and discharge from military service because of asthma. RESULTS: During 1926-61 the prevalence of asthma recorded at call up examinations remained steady at between 0.02% and 0.08%. Between 1961 and 1966, however, a continuous, linear rise began, the prevalence increasing from 0.29% in 1966 to 1.79% in 1989--that is, representing a sixfold increase. Compared with 1961 the rise was 20-fold. From 1966 to 1989 the sum of exemptions and discharges from military service due to asthma increased analogously sixfold. CONCLUSIONS: If the apparent increase in asthma detected in Finnish young men was due entirely to improved diagnostic methods and other confounding effects then some 95% of cases must have gone undiagnosed in the years before 1966. This seems inconceivable, which suggests that much of the increase was real. This conclusion is strengthened by the observed rise in exemptions and discharges due to asthma.

Adult↗

Effects of single doses of quinapril and atenolol on autonomic nervous function and exercise capacity in healthy volunteers.

The effects of single oral doses of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor quinapril (CI-906) 40 mg and the cardioselective beta-adrenoceptor blocker atenolol 100 mg on sympathetic and parasympathetic function and on exercise capacity have been studied in 8 healthy young men. The trial followed a double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized cross-over design, with at least one week between treatments. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) at rest were slightly reduced by atenolol but were not affected by quinapril. Atenolol impaired the sympathetically mediated increases in HR and BP caused by standing, immersion of the hand into melting ice, the Valsalva manoeuvre and isometric forearm exercise. Quinapril did not influence those responses nor the vagally mediated bradycardia of the diving reflex. Atenolol, however, augmented the vagal bradycardia, presumably by sympathetic inhibition. In a dynamic bicycle ergometer test with a stepwise increasing work load, exercise performance was decreased by atenolol but not by quinapril. Inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system by quinapril was shown by a marked decrease in serum ACE activity and a several-fold increase in plasma renin activity (PRA). Atenolol produced a moderate reduction in PRA. Before or during exercise, plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline were not influenced by either drug. The results indicate that, unlike the atenolol-induced beta-adrenoceptor blockade, ACE inhibition by a single dose of quinapril had no clear effect on autonomic nervous function or exercise capacity.

Adult↗

A sixteen-factor personality test for predicting automobile driving accidents of young drivers.

The predictive value of the Cattell 16-factor personality test on the occurrence of automobile accidents among conscripts during their 11-month military service in a transportation section of Finnish Defense Forces was examined. Automobile driving experience before and during the follow-up as well as the occurrence of traffic accidents and penalties before and during the follow-up period were investigated. Complete data on personality, mileage, and traffic accidents plus penalties were obtained for 597 conscripts. In this population, altogether 91 automobile accidents were recorded for 82 conscripts. A logistic model showed that impulsivity and adventurousness (high score in factor H), naivete and excessive trustfulness (low score in factor L), and poor self-control (low score in factor Q3) predicted significantly, and guilt proneness and depression (high score in factor O) almost significantly the subsequent occurrence of motor vehicle accidents. Factors L and Q3 remained significant when only accidents of which the subject was found guilty were being predicted. All these personality factors are related to the control of emotions. The results indicate that the 16-factor personality test is valuable when selecting safe drivers in a population of young male adults with little previous driving experience.

Accidents, Traffic↗

Prevalence and causes of proteinuria in 20-year-old Finnish men.

The prevalence and causes of proteinuria were studied in a cohort of 36147 men aged 20 (born in 1956). Proteinuria was found in 139 men (0.4%) at the initial screening or examination. Further investigations reduced the number of proteinuria cases to 72 (0.2%). Persistent proteinuria was demonstrated in 46 men (0.13% of the series) and orthostatic proteinuria in 26 (0.07%). Urography revealed anomalies in 18 of 104 cases. Elevated blood pressure and reduced glomerular filtration rate were observed in a few men, mainly from the group with persistent proteinuria. Renal biopsy was performed in 61 cases--38 with persistent proteinuria, 12 with orthostatic proteinuria and 11 without proteinuria at the time of examination. Light microscopy gave normal findings or showed only slight mesangial or focal glomerulonephritis in the great majority of cases. Membranous, mesangiocapillary or chronic proliferative glomerulonephritis was present in one-fourth of the men with persistent proteinuria. This was the only group with such lesions.

Adult↗

The effect of chemoprophylactic use of rifampin and minocycline on rates of carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in army recruits in Finland.

During an epidemic caused by sulfonamide-resistant group A Neisseria meningitidis (A SuR strain), rifampin (600 mg per day for four days) or minocycline (100 mg every 12 hr for five days) was administered as chemoprophylaxis to 1,540 unvaccinated recruits in the Finnish Armed Forces. Rates of carriage of all strains of N. meningitidis were initially reduced by 78% (from 60% to 13%) in the 389 men receiving rifampin and by 62% (from 70% to 26%) in the 1,151 men receiving minocycline but rose to approximately 30% in both groups four weeks after prophylaxis. The carriage of A SuR strains was similarly reduced. An individual follow-up of 636 trainees demonstrated a high rate of new infections. It is suggested that the long-term inefficiency of rifampin and minocycline is due to their inability to reduce the carriage rates enough to prevent further spread of infection after prophylaxis is descontinued. However, no new cases appeared among the men receiving the prophylaxis. Five strains highly resistant to rifampin were found after the use of rifampin (minimal inhibitory concentration, greater than or equal to 100 microgram/ml), but no minocycline-resistant strains were encountered. No unpleasant side effects were seen in subjects receiving either drug.

Finland↗

Myocardial complications of immunisations.

Immunisation may induce myocardial complications. In this pilot study clinical, electrocardiographic, chemical and immunological findings have been studied during a six weeks' follow-up after routine immunisation (mumps, polio, tetanus, smallpox, diphtheria and type A meningococcal disease) among 234 Finnish conscripts at the beginning of their military service. Serial pattern of ECG changes suggestive of myocarditis was recorded in eight of the 234 conscripts one to two weeks after vaccination against smallpox and diphtheria. Changes were mainly minor ST segment elevations and T wave inversions and usually they disappeared in a few weeks. The ECG positives more often had a history of atopy, and their mean body temperatures and heart rates after the vaccinations were higher than among the other subjects (p less than 0.01). However, clinical myocarditis was never noted, nor were immunological or enzymological changes different among the ECG positives. Thus in 3% of the study population, evidence of postvaccinal myocarditis was noted, based on serial ECG patterns, but without any other evidence of cardiac disease.

Adult↗

Sudden deaths among Finnish conscripts.

The epidemiology of sudden deaths was studied among conscripts in Finland in 1948-72 (660 000 man-years) and among Finnish men aged 15-24 years in 1969-70 (900 000 man-years). The incidence of sudden deaths among the conscripts was 6-8/100 000 man-years. The onset of acute symptoms occurred during strenuous exercise in a third of the conscripts but in only a few of the other young men. Cardiovascular diseases caused two-thirds of the deaths in both groups. Sudden death tended to be more common among conscripts than among other young men during the corresponding period, but overall non-violent deaths were less common among conscripts than among other young men. On the basis of health records an attempt was made to separate the sudden deaths among conscripts from those among the controls by multiple discriminant analysis. For all practical purposes, however, the separation power proved poor.

Adolescent↗

Frostbite of the face and ears: epidemiological study of risk factors in Finnish conscripts.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of and the risk factors for local cold injuries of the face and ears in peacetime military service. DESIGN: Prospective, controlled epidemiological study using a questionnaire. SETTING: Finnish defence forces, 1976-89. SUBJECTS: 913 young male conscripts with local frostbite of the head that needed medical attention and 2478 uninjured control conscripts. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Type of activity, clothing, and other risk factors at the time of cold injury. Odds ratios were used to calculate risk. Controls were handled as one group. RESULTS: The mean annual incidence of frostbite was 1.8 per 1000 conscripts. Frostbite of the ear was most common (533 conscripts (58%)), followed by frostbite of the nose (197 (22%)) and of the cheeks and other regions of the face (183 (20%)). Most conscripts (803 (88%)) had mild or superficial frostbite. Risk factors included not wearing a hat with earflaps (odds ratio 18.5 for frostbite of the ear); not wearing a scarf (odds ratio 2.1 and 3.8 for frostbite of the ear and cheeks respectively); using protective ointments (odds ratio 3.3, 4.5, and 5.6 for frostbite of the cheeks, ear, and nose respectively); being extremely sensitive to cold and having hands and feet that sweat profusely (odds ratio 3.5 for frostbite of the nose); and being transported in the open or in open vehicles under windy conditions (odds ratio 2.2 for frostbite of the cheek). CONCLUSIONS: Wearing warm clothing, including a scarf and a hat with earflaps, helps to prevent frostbite. Each person's sensitivity to cold may also be important. The routine use of protective ointments should not be recommended.

Adult↗