Are there differences in all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality between immigrants in Sweden and in their country of birth? A follow-up study of total populations

BACKGROUND: Mortality from cardiovascular diseases is higher among immigrants than native Swedes. It is not clear whether the high mortality persists from the country of birth or is a result of migration. The purpose of the present study was to analyse whether all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality differ between immigrants in Sweden and in the country of birth. METHODS: Two cohorts including the total population from Swedish national registers and WHO were defined. All-cause and CHD mortality are presented as age-adjusted incidence rates and incidence density ratios (IDR) in eight immigrant groups in Sweden and in their country of birth. The data were analysed using Poisson regression. RESULTS: The all-cause mortality risk was lower among seven of eight male immigrant groups (IDR 0.39–0.97) and among six of eight female immigrant groups (IDR 0.42–0.81) than in their country of birth. The CHD mortality risk was significantly lower in male immigrants from Norway (IDR = 0.84), Finland (IDR = 0.91), Germany (IDR = 0.84) and Hungary (IDR = 0.59) and among female immigrants from Germany (IDR = 0.66) and Hungary (IDR = 0.54) than in their country of birth. In contrast, there was a significantly higher CHD mortality risk in male immigrants from Southern Europe (IDR = 1.23) than in their country of birth. CONCLUSION: The all-cause mortality risk was lower in the majority of immigrant groups in Sweden than in their country of birth. The differences in CHD mortality risks were more complex. For countries with high CHD mortality, such as Finland and Hungary, the risk was lower among immigrants in Sweden than in their country of birth. For low-risk countries in South Europe, the risk was higher in immigrants in Sweden than in South Europe

Chronic Losartan Administration Reduces Mortality and Preserves Cardiac but Not Skeletal Muscle Function in Dystrophic Mice

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a degenerative disorder affecting skeletal and cardiac muscle for which there is no effective therapy. Angiotension receptor blockade (ARB) has excellent therapeutic potential in DMD based on recent data demonstrating attenuation of skeletal muscle disease progression during 6–9 months of therapy in the mdx mouse model of DMD. Since cardiac-related death is major cause of mortality in DMD, it is important to evaluate the effect of any novel treatment on the heart. Therefore, we evaluated the long-term impact of ARB on both the skeletal muscle and cardiac phenotype of the mdx mouse. Mdx mice received either losartan (0.6 g/L) (n = 8) or standard drinking water (n = 9) for two years, after which echocardiography was performed to assess cardiac function. Skeletal muscle weight, morphology, and function were assessed. Fibrosis was evaluated in the diaphragm and heart by Trichrome stain and by determination of tissue hydroxyproline content. By the study endpoint, 88% of treated mice were alive compared to only 44% of untreated (p = 0.05). No difference in skeletal muscle morphology, function, or fibrosis was noted in losartan-treated animals. Cardiac function was significantly preserved with losartan treatment, with a trend towards reduction in cardiac fibrosis. We saw no impact on the skeletal muscle disease progression, suggesting that other pathways that trigger fibrosis dominate over angiotensin II in skeletal muscle long term, unlike the situation in the heart. Our study suggests that ARB may be an important prophylactic treatment for DMD-associated cardiomyopathy, but will not impact skeletal muscle disease

Grading systems in head and neck dysplasia: their prognostic value, weaknesses and utility

Contains fulltext : 80594.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Grading of dysplasia, including head and neck lesions, continues to be a hotly debated subject. It is subjective and lacks intra- and inter-observer reproducibility due to the insufficiency of validated morphological criteria and the biological nature of dysplasia. Moreover, due to the absence of a consensus, several systems are currently employed. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this review are to:1) Highlight the significance of dysplasia and the importance of a valid method for assessing precursor lesions of the head and neck.2) Review the different histopathological classification systems for grading intraepithelial lesions of the head and neck.3) Discuss and review quality requirements for these grading systems. CONCLUSION: Regarding the different classification systems, data concerning the WHO classification system are the most available in current literature. There is no simple relationship or overlapping between the classification systems. Further studies should be done to see whether other systems have advantages above the current WHO system and to discover indications that could lead to an universal classification system for intraepithelial lesions of the head and neck

Sex, age, deprivation and patterns in life expectancy in Quebec, Canada: a population-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little research has evaluated disparities in life expectancy according to material deprivation taking into account differences across the lifespan between men and women. This study investigated age- and sex-specific life expectancy differentials related to area-level material deprivation for the province of Québec, Canada from 1989-2004.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Age- and sex-specific life expectancy across the lifespan was calculated for three periods (1989-1992, 1995-1998, and 2001-2004) for the entire Québec population residing in 162 community groupings ranked according to decile of material deprivation. Absolute and relative measures were calculated to summarize differences between the most and least deprived deciles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Life expectancy differentials between the most and least deprived deciles were greatest for men. Over time, male differentials increased for age 20 or more, with little change occurring at younger ages. For women, differentials increased across the lifespan and were comparable to men at advanced ages. Despite gains in life expectancy among men relative to women, differentials between men and women were greater for most deprived relative to least deprived deciles.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Similar to the US, differentials in life expectancy associated with area-level material deprivation increased steadily in Québec from 1989-2004 for males and females of all ages. Differentials were comparable between men and women at advanced ages. Previous research indicating that life expectancy differentials between most and least deprived areas are greater in men may be due to a focus on younger age groups.</p

Trends in cancer of the cervix uteri in Sweden following cytological screening

Trends in cervical cancer incidence following the introduction of screening have mostly been studied using cross-sectional data and not analysed separately for squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinomas. Using Swedish nationwide data on incidence and mortality, we analysed trends during more than 3 decades and fitted Poisson-based age-period-cohort models, and also investigated whether screening has reduced the incidence of adenocarcinomas of the cervix. The incidence of reported cancer in situ increased rapidly during 1958–1967. Incidence rates of squamous cell cancer, fairly stable before 1968, decreased thereafter by 4–6% yearly in women aged 40–64, with a much smaller magnitude in younger and older women. An age-cohort model indicated a stable 70–75% reduction in incidence for women born 1940 and later compared with those born around 1923. The incidence of adenocarcinomas doubled during the 35-year study period. The mortality rate increased by 3.6% before 1968 and decreased by 4.0% yearly thereafter. Although a combination of organized and opportunistic screening can reduce the incidence of squamous cell cancer substantially, the incidence of adenocarcinomas appears uninfluenced by screening. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

A case-control study of diet and prostate cancer.

We interviewed 328 men diagnosed with prostate cancer before the age of 75 years and 328 age-matched population controls. The principal hypotheses were that risk would increase with a high intake of total or saturated fat and would decrease with a high intake of carotene (beta-carotene equivalents) or lycopene. We also examined the associations of other nutrients and foods with risk. There was no evidence for an association between fat intake and risk, although the average fat intake was high and the range of fat intakes was narrow (medians of lower and upper thirds of percentage of energy from fat among controls were 34.3% and 42.9% respectively). Risk was lower in subjects with higher carotene intake: odds ratios 0.65 (95% CI 0.45-0.94) and 0.76 (0.53-1.10) in the middle and upper thirds of carotene intake respectively (P for trend = 0.150). Lycopene was not associated with risk. Among 13 other nutrients examined, the odds ratios in the top third of intake were below 0.8 for: potassium, 0.74 (0.51-1.09; P for trend = 0.054); zinc, 0.73 (0.49-1.08; P for trend = 0.126); iodine, 0.75 (0.51-1.11; P for trend = 0.077); vitamin B6 food only, 0.77 (0.53-1.12; P for trend = 0.077); and vitamin B6 including supplements, 0.70 (0.48-1.03; P for trend = 0.029). Among 18 foods examined, statistically significant associations were observed for: garlic as food, > or = 2/week vs never, 0.56 (0.33-0.93); garlic including supplements, > or = 2/week vs never, 0.60 (0.37-0.96); baked beans, > or = 2/week vs or = 5/week vs < or = 3/month, 0.35 (0.13-0.91). This study does not support the hypothesis that fat increases risk and is equivocal in relation to carotene. The possible relationships of vitamin B6, garlic, beans and peas with risk for prostate cancer should be further investigated