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K Midthjell

Publications and source records attributed to K Midthjell.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

[Physical inactivity of adults with functional disabilities and diseases].

This article describes physical inactivity among adults in Nord-Trøndelag who suffer from or have suffered from heart infarction, angina pectoris, stroke, impaired motor ability, impaired vision, impaired hearing or impairment because of psychological complications. Information was collected by questionnaire during the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey 1984-86. Younger men and younger women with previous heart infarction reported less inactivity than persons with no history of infarction. In contrast, young men and women suffering from impaired hearing were more inactive than people not suffering from impaired hearing. Among the disabled or sick, more women reported physical inactivity than men. This also held good when the results were controlled for age. Among healthy persons, the highest share of physically inactive was found in the oldest age groups, regardless of gender. This survey indicates that, to some degree, physical activity has become an accepted means of improving health after heart infarction in younger men and women. Physical activity has unexploited potential as a means of treating other disabilities and illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Types of diabetes treatment in a total, Norwegian, adult population. The Nord-Trøndelag Diabetes Study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe types of diabetes treatment in a total, adult population, including those on no antidiabetic medication, and to evaluate use of the defined daily doses in estimation of diabetes prevalence. DESIGN: Cross-sectional epidemiologic survey applying patient-based questionnaires and clinical examinations approaching all inhabitants of > or = 20 years (85,100). SETTING: Nord-Trøndelag county in the middle part of Norway. SUBJECTS: All known diabetic patients in the county (2242) amongst all participants of > or = 20 years (76,855), registered in 1984-86. INTERVENTIONS: Questionnaire data on type of diabetes treatment including drug doses, measurement of height and weight. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Distribution of types of treatment and of mean drug doses. RESULTS: Of the diabetic patients of > or = 20 years of age, 20% used insulin, 39% oral hypoglycaemic agents and 41% no antidiabetic medication. Corresponding prevalence figures were 0.6%, 1.1% and 1.2%. Mean daily insulin dose per kg body weight was significantly higher in women than in men. Women with no antidiabetic medication stated a more restricted diet than men. The mean prescribed insulin dose was 14% higher than the defined daily dose, but the corresponding oral agent dose was lower than the defined daily dose. CONCLUSIONS: Sales figures is a bad estimate of total diabetes prevalence due to the high proportion of diabetic patients using no antidiabetic medication. Correction is also necessary when the defined daily dose system is used to estimate the prevalence of medically treated diabetes.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Omega-3 fatty acids: essential fatty acids with important biological effects, and serum phospholipid fatty acids as markers of dietary omega 3-fatty acid intake.

Serum phospholipid eicosapentaenoic (PL-EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (PL-DHA) concentrations are associated with the dietary intake of omega 3 fatty acids. PL-EPA and PL-DHA concentrations measured 4 y apart in 211 diabetic patients were highly correlated, with Spearman correlation coefficients of 0.49 (p = 0.0001) and 0.64 (p = 0.0001), respectively. PL-DHA was positively associated with Bayley psychomotor and mental developmental indexes (PDI and MDI, respectively) in preterm infants. Using multiple-regression analysis, 64% (R2 = 0.639; p = 0.0001) of PDI variance was explained by 1/DHA and weight at 1 y, whereas 82% (R2 = 0.816; p = 0.0001) of MDI variance was explained by weight at 1 y, Apgar score, 1/DHA, and 1/EPA. 1/DHA was negatively correlated with PDI and MDI, whereas 1/EPA was positively correlated with MDI. The results suggest that infant formulas should contain preformed DHA, and that a too-high supply of EPA in addition to DHA might be harmful in preterm infants.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Quality assurance of cooperation/distribution of work between primary health care and other health services. Using care for diabetics as a basis].

Chronic illnesses account for an increasing share of the work load of the health services, implying that health personnel have to face a number of different complex problems. Many of these concern co-operation between the various professionals and levels of the health services, and distribution of the load of work. How well this co-operation works will have a decisive effect on the quality of the treatment. These problems are discussed using care of diabetes patients as an example. It is important to achieve medical consensus at different levels. The authors suggest ways of establishing co-operation within the medical profession, specifically defining responsibility, ensuring good and frequent communication with patients, and promoting patient participation. The article also describes concrete solutions and includes a check list for quality assessment.

Communication↗
PubMed1992

Genetic and environmental contributions to the variance of body height in a sample of first and second degree relatives.

Height was measured in a health screening of the population in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Correlations were computed for 24,281 pairs of spouses, 43,613 pairs of parents and offspring, 19,168 pairs of siblings, 1,318 pairs of grandparents and grandchildren, 1,218 cognate avuncular pairs, 849 noncognate avuncular pairs, 175 pairs of same-sexed twins, and smaller groups of other types of relatives. Fitting of structural equation models showed proportions of additive genetic variance of approximately 0.8 for both sexes and small sex-specific effects that probably reflect genetic dominance or environmental sibling effects. The correlations between parents and offspring were significantly lower in old than young cohorts, seeming to imply some kind of interaction effect between genes and environment.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Is questionnaire information valid in the study of a chronic disease such as diabetes? The Nord-Trøndelag diabetes study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to validate information about diabetes mellitus collected by questionnaire in a large epidemiological survey. DESIGN: Questions on diabetes diagnosis, medical treatment for diabetes, diabetes duration, and hypertension treatment were selected from the Nord-Trøndelag health survey questionnaires. One of the municipalities was selected for the validation study. SETTING: The health survey 1984-86 addressed all inhabitants > or = 20 years of age in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway; 76,885 (90.3%) of the eligible population participated in answering the question on diabetes. PARTICIPANTS: All inhabitants in the municipality answering "yes" to the question on diabetes (n = 169) and the persons with the same sex born closest before and after each diabetic patient and answering "no" to the diabetes question (n = 338) were included. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A very thorough search was made in the medical files of the general practitioners in the municipality for corresponding information. Compared to the files, diabetes was verified in 163 out of the 169. The commonest cause of discrepancy was renal glycosuria. One out of the 338 registered non-diabetic persons was found to have diabetes. Diabetic patients tended to overestimate diabetes duration significantly. Insulin treatment was verified in 19/20 (95%) and treatment with oral hypoglycaemic agents in all 44 with an affirmative questionnaire answer. A negative answer on insulin and oral hypoglycaemic agents was verified in 100% and 99% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The concordance was considerably higher than in a comparable Norwegian study performed 10 years earlier. Patient administered questionnaires may be a very reliable source of information for epidemiological purposes in a well defined chronic disease such as diabetes mellitus.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Physical activity habits among adults in Nord-Trøndelag].

This article describes the physical activity of 61,732 adults in the Norwegian county of Nord-Trøndelag. We collected information about physical activity by questionnaire during the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey in 1984-86. Non-attendents are systematically analyzed and discussed. The article also deals with problems of defining physical activity. The frequency of physical activity gives a different measure of physical activity than does intensity and duration. 15% of the women and 14% of the men were totally inactive. If we consider physical activity at a level high enough to have a preventive effect as regards development of disease, for example, we found that 65% did not practise physical activity often enough or with sufficient intensity or duration. The groups of men aged 70-79 years and women aged 60-69 years contained the persons who practised physical activity most often, while the 20-29 age group contained those who practised physical activity with greatest intensity and for the longest time. We used age, sex, education, residential municipality and physically strenuous work as variables explaining inactivity and high activity. All the variables made a significant contribution to the logistic regression, but gave a better persons characterization of highly active than of inactive persons.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Management programs for hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Attitudes and experiences of general practitioners].

In 1987 and 1988 treatment programmes prepared by general practitioners were sent to the 2,900 doctors working in primary health care in Norway. In March 1990 a random sample (n = 600) were sent a questionnaire. The response rate was 63%. The general practitioners were greatly in favour of such programmes. 80% had read the programmes fully or in part, and one third used them regularly (at least once a month). Young doctors with little experience used them most and reported greatest benefit from the programmes. Reading and use of the programmes were strongly associated with participation in meetings and courses where the programmes had been used, and also with whether the general practitioners had used them for teaching the staff in their practices. 40% of the doctors who had received the programmes reported changes in their practice. Most of the changes referred to the doctors' own treatment routines, and less to areas requiring organizational changes in their practices. The general practitioners also answered questions on a test case with type 2 diabetes. 80% answered in accordance with the diabetes programme. The answers of those who had read and used the programme complied best with its recommendations.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2↗
PubMed1991

Detecting hypertension: screening versus case finding in Norway.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of detection of hypertension in adults in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey with clinical follow up examinations. SETTING: Health survey by screening teams from the national health screening service, and examinations by all 106 general practitioners in the county. SUBJECTS: During 1984-6, 74,977 persons (88.1% of those aged 20 years and over) participated in the health survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hypertension (when assessed by standardised recording and by questionnaires on drug treatment for hypertension) according to the blood pressure thresholds used in the Norwegian treatment programme. Subjects positive on screening were grouped after clinical examination into treatment groups. RESULTS: In all, 2399 subjects were positive for hypertension. Before screening 6210 (8.3%) patients reported taking antihypertensive drugs and another 3849 (5.1%) had their blood pressure monitored regularly. All who screened positive were referred to their general practitioner and evaluated according to a standard programme. As a result, drug treatment was started in 406 (0.5%) participants screened and blood pressure monitoring in another 1007 (1.3%). Of all patients taking antihypertensive drugs after the screening, 6399 (94.0%) had been diagnosed before screening, and of those whose blood pressure was monitored after the screening, 79.3% had been diagnosed before screening. CONCLUSIONS: At the blood pressure screening thresholds used, and when hypertension is defined by an overall clinical diagnosis, the results indicate that general practitioners can find and diagnose hypertensive patients with the case finding strategy.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[A health survey in Nord-Trøndelag 1984-86. Participation and comparison of attendants and non-attendants].

A large Health Survey was carried out in 1984-86 in the county of Nord-Trøndelag. All residents 20 years of age and older were invited to attend, and there was no upper age limit. Totally 74,977 persons have attended (88.1%). In the age group 45-64 more than 95% of the women attended. In cooperation with the district nurses we have studied the non-attendants, based on a 10% sample. The main reasons for not attending were: 1) Many were busy. 2) Some were not interested, 3) Some had moved, 4) Some had health problems. As a group, the non-attendants were less healthy than the attendants, but this was the case for only 12% of non-attendants. These 12%, however, were seriously ill. The data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey are probably the most complete screening data from Norway. The data are especially suitable for epidemiologic studies on blood pressure, diabetes, quality of life, and tuberculosis and other lung diseases. However, the study has also supplied data on cardiovascular diseases, lifestyle, disablement, work and working environment. Several projects in these fields are in progress. The article is based on a report published in 1989.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Injuries among soccer players in lower division clubs].

Soccer is said to cause frequent injuries among players in lower division clubs. We therefore followed three teams for 17 months, and registered all training and match activities. We registered several risk factors associated with a prevalence of injuries. Our records indicate moderate incidence of injuries, few serious injuries, minimal absence from school and work because of the injury, and insufficient use of protective equipment by the injured players.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

n-3 fatty acids in old age.

Plasma phospholipid fatty acid concentrations have been measured in 735 individuals 12-89 years old. The absolute concentrations of palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, dihomo-gammalinolenic, arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids increased from the third to the fifth decade of life, thereafter remaining fairly constant into the ninth decade. Alpha-linolenic acid showed no change. When expressed as g 100 g-1 fatty acids, palmitic, stearic, and linoleic acid decreased from the third to the fifth decade of life, dihomo-gammalinolenic and arachidonic acid remained unchanged, while the relative concentrations of long-chain n-3 fatty acids increased in a similar manner as when expressed in absolute concentrations. The results indicate that old age in itself has only a minor impact on the availability of n-3 fatty acids in the elderly. Factors such as living area and eating habits probably have a much more profound effect on their availability, also in old age.

Adolescent↗