PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Baikie

Publications and source records attributed to M Baikie.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Cancer in Circumpolar Inuit. Background information for cancer patterns in Canadian Inuit.

The cancer pattern among Inuit in the Circumpolar area is remarkably different from those of other populations in the world. The current paper summarizes the most important risk factors in Canadian Inuit residing in the Northwest Territories, northern Quebec (Nunavik) and Labrador, particularly during the time period 1969-1988 covered by the study. Factors considered include: the geographic area and physical environment; population and human environment, including fertility and life expectancy; lifestyle and diet, including tobacco and alcohol use; other lifestyle factors, and health conditions; and health services and cultural accessibility. Development of the cancer registry and population databases supporting the analysis of cancer rates is described. The information in the present paper is needed to interpret cancer incidence patterns and differences among the Circumpolar Inuit of Canada, Alaska and Greenland.

Demography↗

Intersalt in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In Intersalt, positive relations between 24-hour urinary sodium and potassium excretion and blood pressure were observed in over 10,000 men and women in 52 centers around the world. Body mass index (BMI), alcohol intake and smoking showed different associations with blood pressure in various population groups. We investigated these variables in the 2 Canadian centers and could not confirm the sodium-potassium relationship. In a multiple stepwise regression analysis, BMI and alcohol had the strongest relation with blood pressure in men. Among the female participants, BMI and sodium were the most influential factors on systolic blood pressure. For diastolic blood pressure, BMI and smoking showed the strongest significance. Neither in men nor in women could the influence of high sodium and low potassium excretion on blood pressure be discerned.

Adult↗

Epidemiologic features of hepatitis B virus infection in northern Labrador.

We studied the epidemiologic features of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in northern Labrador to determine the prevalence of the infection and to obtain a database to develop a vaccination strategy. The study population included seven communities in which five ethnic groups were represented: Inuit, Innu, mixed Inuit and European ancestry ("settler"), nonnative/nonsettler transient population ("white") and people of Innu-white or Innu-Inuit origin ("mixed"). Blood samples from 2156 people (62% of the area residents) were tested for antibody to HBV core antigen (anti-HBc), HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), HBV e antigen (HBeAg), anti-HBc IgM and antibody to the surface antigen (anti-HBs). The overall crude prevalence rate of HBV seromarkers was 14.7% and the HBsAg carrier rate at least 3.2%; the rates were highest for Inuit (26.4% and 6.9% respectively), followed by settler (10.0% and 1.9% respectively) and Innu (7.6% and 0.4% respectively); the white and mixed groups had the lowest overall rates (2.5% and 3.3% respectively). Although the overall prevalence rates were about the same for the two sexes, the HBsAg carrier rate was higher in males (male:female ratio 1.6:1.0). No HBV carriers were positive for HBeAg or anti-HBc IgM antibody. The rate of exposure to HBV was 4% for those below the age of 20 years and reached a peak for those aged 45 to 54 years (85% for Inuit, 40% for settlers and 37% for Innu). There was also a wide variation in the age-standardized prevalence rates (0% to 27.9%) among the ethnic groups in the seven communities surveyed.

Adolescent↗