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Biomedical subjects

Peter Bjerregaard

Publications and source records attributed to Peter Bjerregaard.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Impact of public health research in Greenland.

In 1992, the Greenland Home Rule Government took over the responsibility for health care. There has since been a growing cooperation between the Directorate of Health and researchers in Denmark and Greenland, for instance by the Directorate supporting workshops and funding a chair in health research. Two health surveys have been carried out in Greenland by the National Institute of Public Health, and a follow-up is being planned together with the Directorate of Health. The results have been widely used by politicians, administrators, and health care professionals.

Greenland↗
PubMed2003

Low incidence of cardiovascular disease among the Inuit--what is the evidence?

BACKGROUND: The notion that the incidence of ischemic heart disease (IHD) is low among the Inuit subsisting on a traditional marine diet has attained axiomatic status. The scientific evidence for this is weak and rests on early clinical evidence and uncertain mortality statistics. METHODS: We reviewed the literature and performed new analyses of the mortality statistics from Greenland, Canada, and Alaska. FINDINGS: The evidence for a low mortality from IHD among the Inuit is fragile and rests on unreliable mortality statistics. Mortality from stroke, however, is higher among the Inuit than among other western populations. Based on the examination of 15 candidate gene polymorphisms, the Inuit genetic architecture does not obviously explain putative differences in cardiovascular disease prevalence. INTERPRETATION: The mortality from all cardiovascular diseases combined is not lower among the Inuit than in white comparison populations. If the mortality from IHD is low, it seems not to be associated with a low prevalence of general atherosclerosis. A decreasing trend in mortality from IHD in Inuit populations undergoing rapid westernization supports the need for a critical rethinking of cardiovascular epidemiology among the Inuit and the role of a marine diet in this population.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Blood pressure among the Inuit (Eskimo) populations in the Arctic.

AIMS: Studies of blood pressure among various Inuit (Eskimo) populations in the Arctic have given inconsistent results. Most studies reported lower blood pressure among the Inuit as compared with the predominantly white national populations. This has been attributed to traditional subsistence practices and lifestyle. This study compared the blood pressure among the major Inuit population groups with other populations and examined the associations with factors like age, gender, obesity and smoking. METHODS: The study comprised four Inuit populations from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland with participation rates ranging from 51% to 73%. In a cross-sectional design, 2,509 randomly selected adults from 31 villages were examined. Blood pressure, anthropometric measurements, smoking, and medication were recorded. RESULTS: Mean systolic blood pressures ranged from 116 to 124 mm Hg among men and 110 to 118 among women in the four populations. Mean diastolic blood pressures ranged from 75 to 78 mm Hg among men and from 71 to 73 among women. Systolic blood pressure increased with age. Male gender, obesity, being a non-smoker, and being on anti-hypertensive treatment were associated with high systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking, and anti-hypertensive treatment, blood pressure differed among the populations (p </= 0.001). Mean systolic blood pressure was low among the Inuit compared with most European populations of the INTERSALT study, but higher than in several Asian populations and the Amazonian Indians. CONCLUSIONS: Inuit blood pressures rank intermediate on a global scale but low in comparison with most European populations. The Inuit population is not homogeneous, and this is reflected in blood pressure differences among the four regional subgroups. The role of the traditional diet, a rural lifestyle with a low level of psychosocial stress, and genetics must be further explored.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Changes in causes of death and mortality rates among children in Greenland from 1987 - 91 to 1992 - 99.

AIMS: This study analysed the spontaneous trends in mortality among children in Greenland from 1987 - 91 to 1992 - 99 and describes the changes in the causes of death, mortality rates, and variation between regions. METHODS: The data are based on the Greenland Registry of Causes of Death and the birth registry of the Medical Office of Health in Greenland. The causes of death and relevant mortality rates, the trends over time and the differences between regions were analysed epidemiologically for 1992 - 99 and compared with those for 1987 - 91. RESULTS: From 1992 to 1999, 8709 children were born in Greenland. The data include information on 313 child deaths during this period: 64 stillbirths, 158 deaths before one year of age (infants) and 91 deaths between one and 14 years of age. There were fewer stillbirths due to placenta previa, abruptio placentae, and prematurity, fewer infants died from birth asphyxia and infectious diseases and fewer children aged 1 - 14 years died from accidents in 1992 - 99 compared with 1987 - 91. Infant mortality in Greenland declined from 25.2 per 1000 live births to 18.3 and mortality among children 1 - 14 years old from 122.7 per 100000 person-years to 80.4 between 1987 - 91 and 1992 - 99. Mortality dropped proportionally more in East Greenland. CONCLUSION: The decline in child mortality in all age groups probably resulted from general societal trends and general improvement in the healthcare system. Child mortality is still unacceptably high, and it is recommended that sectors other than healthcare become aware of their responsibility for preventing the high rate of child mortality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Studying health in Greenland: obligations and challenges.

Health research in Greenland has contributed with several findings of interest for the global scientific community and has documented health problems and risk factors of importance for planning the local health care system. The study of how health develops in small, scattered communities during rapid epidemiological transition carries prospects of global significance. The Inuit are a genetically distinct people living under extreme physical conditions. Their traditional living conditions and diet are currently undergoing a transformation, which may approach their disease pattern to that of the industrialized world, while still including local outbreaks of tuberculosis. Health research in Greenland is logistically difficult and costly, but offers opportunities not found elsewhere in the world. A long tradition of registration enhances the possibilities for research. A number of research institutions in Denmark and Greenland have conducted health research in Greenland for many years in cooperation with, among others, researchers in Canada and Alaska. National and international cooperation is supported by the Danish/Greenlandic Society for Circumpolar Health, the International Union for Circumpolar Health, and the Commission for Research in Greenland. Health news are regularly reported to international and local congresses and to the scientific journals.

Arctic Regions↗
PubMed2003

Indigenous Greenlanders have a higher sero-prevalence of IgG antibodies to Helicobacter pylori than Danes.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the sero-prevalence of IgG antibodies to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in Greenlanders and compare with the sero-prevalence in Caucasian Danes. METHODS: 71 randomly recruited indigenous Greenlanders (29 men) with a median age of 39 years (range 22-76), living in the capital, Nuuk, and the town of Ilulissat, and participating in a population survey carried out in 1993-1994. The results were compared with those obtained in a 1983-1984 population survey in Copenhagen County, comprising 2794 Caucasian Danes (1425 men) with a median age of 41 years (range 30-60). Serum IgG antibody levels to H. pylori were determined by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 1995 and categorised as negative, borderline (equivocal), or positive. RESULTS: Greenlanders: 48.3% of men and 45.2% of women had positive serum IgG antibody levels to H. pylori In the entire series, 46.5% had positive IgG antibody levels, 25.4% displayed borderline antibody levels and 28.2% had negative antibody levels. There were no age, or gender differences concerning the prevalences of the three H. pylori IgG antibody subgroups. Danes: 25.6% of men, and of women, had positive IgG antibody levels against H. pylori. In the entire series, 25.6% had positive IgG antibody levels, 19.0% displayed borderline antibody levels and 55.4% had negative antibody levels. There was no gender difference concerning the sero-prevalence of IgG antibodies, but the sero-prevalence increased significantly with age. The prevalence of positive serum IgG antibodies against H. pylori was markedly higher in Greenlanders than in Danes (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Indigenous Greenlanders have a significantly higher infection rate with H. pylori than Danes. The results suggest that Greenlanders become infected with H. pylori early in life.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Cultural change and mental health in Greenland: the association of childhood conditions, language, and urbanization with mental health and suicidal thoughts among the Inuit of Greenland.

In Greenland, the rapid sociocultural change of the last 50 years has been paralleled by an epidemiological transition characterized by a reduction in infectious diseases, an increase in cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and an increased prevalence of mental health problems. During 1993-94 and 1997-98, two health interview surveys were conducted among Inuit in Greenland and Inuit migrants in Denmark. The response rates were 71 and 55%. Information on mental health was obtained from 1388 and 1769 adults. As indicators of mental health, the prevalence of potential psychiatric cases according to the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the prevalence of suicidal thoughts were studied in relation to childhood residence and father's occupation, current residence, and language. The statistical methods included logistic regression and graphical independence models. The results indicated a U-shaped association in Greenland of GHQ-cases with age and a high prevalence of suicidal thoughts among young people; a low prevalence of GHQ-cases among those who were bilingual or spoke only Danish; and a high prevalence of suicidal thoughts among migrants who grew up in Denmark and among residents of the capital of Greenland. In Greenland, women were more often GHQ-cases and had suicidal thoughts more often than men. The association between language and GHQ-cases is presumed to operate through socioeconomic factors. It is necessary to modify the common notion that rapid societal development is in itself a cause of poor mental health: as a result of successful integration into the modern Greenlandic society, some population groups have better mental health compared to other groups.

Acculturation↗
PubMed2002

Violence, sexual abuse and health in Greenland.

The purposes of the study were to analyse the lifetime prevalence of violence and sexual abuse among the Inuit in Greenland and to study the associations between health and having been the victim of violence or sexual abuse. Associations were studied with specific attention to possible differences between women and men. Further, response rates were analysed specifically in order to understand consequences of including questions on violence and sexual abuse in the questionnaire survey. The analyses were based on material from a cross-sectional health interview survey conducted during 1993-94 with participation from a random sample of the Inuit population in Greenland (N = 1393). The prevalence of ever having been a victim of violence was 47% among women and 48% among men. Women had more often than men been sexually abused (25% and 6%) (p < 0,001) and had more often been sexually abused in childhood (8% and 3%) (p = 0.001). Having been the victim of violence or sexual abuse was significantly associated with a number of health problems: chronic disease, recent illness, poor self-rated health, and mental health problems. The associations between having been the victim of violence or sexual abuse and health was stronger for women than for men. It is possible to secure a reasonably high response rate in a general health survey that includes questions on violence and sexual abuse.

Adolescent↗