Overweight and Fatness in Dalmatia, Croatia: Comparison with the U.S. Population Reference

Subscapular skinfold, elbow breadth and upper arm indicators of nutritional status were studied in the population of Dalmatia in Croatia. Age- and sex-specific percentiles were obtained from 4373 subjects, 18 to 74 years of age, and compared to the U.S. NHANES I and II reference data. There were significant differences between these data sets in all studied variables. The results complement those reported previously for BMI and triceps skinfold and indicate that high prevalence of overweight in Dalmatians largely reflects their muscularity and skeletal robustness rather than excess body fatness. The findings suggest that the U.S. upper percentiles of BMI and skinfolds are inadequate for the assessment of excess body fatness in Dalmatian population. The obtained population-specific percentile distributions should be used provisionally as the reference data for group comparisons in the Dalmatian region

Ventilatory capacity in stone saw-mill workers

Ispitali smo da li brački vapnenac, koji sadrži neznatnu količinu silicija, utječe na poremetnju ventilacijskih funkcija muškaraca zaposlenih u pilani kamena. Ispitane su ventilacijske funkcije: VK, FEV1, FEV 1% VK, MEF25, MEF50, i MEF75, a uzorak ispitanika analiziran je s obzirom na nepušače i pušače. Analiza varijance utvrdila je homogenu raspodjelu parametra VK, dok su ostale bile heterogeno distribuirane. To se može objasniti navikom pušenja kao ponderalnim faktorom, a ne ekspozicijom prašini vapnenca. Pretpostavlja se da proces obrade bračkog vapnenca u pilani kamena ne uzrokuje poremećaj ventilacijskih funkcija.The study aims at assessing whether occupational exposure to Brae limestone, which contains a minute amount of silica, induces disorders of ventilatory capacity. It included 71 male workers employed in a stone saw-mill and 134 controls. The ventilatory functions VC, FEV1, FEY 1% VC, MEF25, MEF50 i MEF75 were examined, and the values analysed in respect to smoking habit. Variance analysis established a homogenous distribution of VC parameters, while others were heterogeneously distributed. This can be explained by smoking habit as assessable factor, and not by exposure to limestone dust. It is assumed that the production of Brae limestone in the stone saw-mill does not cause disorders in ventilatory function

A Large Cross-Sectional Study of Health Attitudes, Knowledge, Behaviour and Risks in the Post-War Croatian Population (The First Croatian Health Project*)

As the liberation of occupied Croatian territories ended the war in the country in 1995, the Ministry of Health and Croatian Health Insurance Institute have agreed to create the new framework for developing a long-term strategy of public health planning, prevention and intervention. They provided financial resources to develop the First Cro-atian Health Project, the rest of the support coming from the World Bank loan and the National Institute of Public Health. A large cross-sectional study was designed aiming to assess health attitudes, knowledge, behaviour and risks in the post-war Croatian population. The large field study was carried out by the Institute for Anthropological Research with technical support from the National Institute of Public Health. The field study was completed between 1995–1997. It included about 10,000 adult volunteers from all 21 Croatian counties. The geographic distribution of the sample covered both coastal and continental areas of Croatia and included rural and urban environments. The specific measurements included antropometry (body mass index and blood pressure). From each examinee a blood sample was collected from which the levels of total plasma cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL-cholesterol (High Density Lipoprotein), LDL-cholesterol (Low Density Lipoprotein), lipoprotein Lp(a), and haemostatic risk factor fibrinogen (F) were determined. The detailed data were collected on the general knowledge and attitudes on health issues, followed by specific investigation of smoking history, alcohol consumption, nutrition habits, physical activity, family history of chronic non-communicable diseases and occupational exposures. From the initial database a targeted sample of 5,840 persons of both sexes, aged 18–65, was created corresponding by age, sex and geographic distribution to the general Croatian population. This paper summarises and discusses the main findings of the project within this representative sample of Croatian population

Inbreeding and Learning Disability in Croatian Island Isolates

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of learning disability (LD) in isolate populations with different inbreeding coefficients (F). Prevalence of LD and F were determined in 10 villages from five Croatian islands: Bra~, Hvar, Kor~ula, Lastovo and Susak. For the purpose of this study, LD was defined as the inability to attend the public school system. As the elementary schools (grade 1–8) in the place of the study are both public and compulsory, the assessment of child\u27s inability to attend the school is performed at the age of six. This is required by all children in the country based on standard set of tests of cognitive performance defined by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Croatia. The average inbreeding coefficients in each village population (F) were estimated in a random sample of 20–30% adults in each of the 10 villages based on 4 ancestral generations and using Wright\u27s path method. Prevalence of LD ranged from 0.43% to 2.47%, and the inbreeding coefficients ranged from 0.8% to 4.9%. The Pearson\u27s correlation coefficient between F and LD prevalence was 0.80 (p<0.01). Although the relative risk per 5% inbreeding appeared very high (about 10), the absolute risk only increased from 0.18% to 1.77%. The genetic effect of inbreeding (GEI) was approximately 0.69% and the population-attributable fraction 76.6%. A review of the literature and the results of this study lead to a conclusion that a very large number of predominantly recessive genetic factors might mediate the genetic susceptibility to various forms of LD in these populations

Anthropometric Variation and Population Structure of the Island of Pag, Croatia

Anthropometric variation in the population of the island of Pag (eastern Adriatic, Croatia) was investigated by using data on 14 head and 24 body dimensions. The data were related to past and present migration patterns, geography, and linguistics. The analyses revealed heterogeneity among three population groups inhabiting geographically defined regions of the island and heterogeneity among the village populations. The congruence between anthropometric variation, migration history, geographic distances, and current linguistic features says much for the strength of the isolating factors on this ecologically uniform island, which have effected the genetic structure of the population