Suomen uhanalaisia lajeja: Nummimatara (Galium saxatile). Suojeluohjelma

Nummimatara (Galium saxatile) on pienikokoinen matarakasvien heimoon kuuluva kasvi, joka on luokiteltu Suomessa äärimmäisen uhanalaiseksi (CR). Se on luonnonsuojeluasetuksessa rauhoitettu ja erityisesti suojeltava laji. Suomessa nummimataraa tavataan vain Raumalla ja Raaseporissa, ja lajilla on alle kymmenen tunnettua nykyesiintymää. Tämä työ toimii uhanalaisen nummimataran yleisesittelyn lisäksi lajin suojeluohjelmana, jossa esitetään kasvupaikkakohtaisia suojelu- ja hoitosuosituksia lajin taantumiskehityksen hidastamiseksi. Nummimatara viihtyy avoimilla kasvupaikoilla kuten kedoilla, lehdesniityillä ja valoisissa metsissä. Se hyötyy laidunnuksesta, joka pitää kasvupaikat sopivan avoimina ja kilpailevan kasvillisuuden matalana. Lähes kaikki nummimataran kasvupaikat Suomessa ovat entisiä laidunmaita, jotka ovat laidunnuksen loputtua hiljalleen heinittyneet ja pensoittuneet. Laji on hävinnyt joiltakin kasvupaikoiltaan ja monet esiintymät ovat pienentyneet voimakkaasti. Oikein suunnatuilla hoitotoimenpiteillä esiintymien tilaa voidaan kuitenkin parantaa. Nummimatara hyötyy kasvupaikoilla säännöllisesti tehtävästä niitosta ja puiden taimien poistosta. Tarvittaessa myös yksittäisiä täysikokoisia puita voidaan poistaa kasvupaikkojen valaistusolojen parantamiseksi. Suojelemattomien kasvupaikkojen perustaminen luonnonsuojelualueiksi tai rajaaminen erityisesti suojeltavan lajin kasvupaikkoina on tärkeää, sillä laji on esiintymien vähäisen määrän takia erityisen suuressa vaarassa hävitä maastamme lähitulevaisuudessa

Suomen uhanalaisia lajeja: Kalliorikko (Saxifraga adscendens). Suojeluohjelma

Kalliorikko (Saxifraga adscendens) on rikkokasvien heimoon kuuluva pienikokoinen kasvi, joka on luokiteltu Suomessa vaarantuneeksi (VU). Se on luonnonsuojeluasetuksessa rauhoitettu ja erityisesti suojeltava laji. Viimeisen noin sadan vuoden aikana kalliorikon esiintymien lukumäärä on vähentynyt noin kolmanneksella. Tämä työ toimii lajin yleisesittelyn lisäksi suojeluohjelmana, jossa annetaan kasvupaikkakohtaisia suojelu- ja hoitosuosituksia lajin harvinaistumiskehityksen pysäyttämiseksi. Kalliorikko viihtyy paisteisilla, avoimilla ja kalkkipitoisilla kallioilla Etelä-Suomessa. Sitä tavataan Uudellamaalla Lohjanjärven alueella ja Lounais-Suomessa Kemiönsaaressa, Salossa ja Kaarinassa. Kalkkipitoiset kalliot ovat Suomessa luonnostaan harvinaisia, ja suurta osaa edustavimmista kalkkikallioistamme on louhittu. Monet kalliorikkoesiintymät ovat hävinneet rakentamisen seurauksena. Suurinta osaa nykyesiintymistä uhkaa umpeenkasvu metsäpalojen, metsälaidunnuksen ja puun kotitarvekeruun loputtua. Laakeille kallioalueille on myös monin paikoin istutettu metsää. Hoitotoimilla kasvupaikkoja voidaan kuitenkin palauttaa lajille sopiviksi ja esiintymien tilaa parantaa. Kalliorikko hyötyy varjostavan ja umpeuttavan puuston harvennuksesta ja puiden taimien poistosta. Kasvupaikoille kertyvän karikkeen sekä runsaimman sammal- ja jäkäläkasvuston laikuittainen poistaminen edistää kalliorikon siementen itämistä. Sopivilla hoitotoimilla laji voidaan myös saada maaperän siemenvarastosta palaamaan vanhoille kasvupaikoilleen. Suojelemattomien esiintymien perustaminen luonnonsuojelualueiksi tai rajaaminen erityisesti suojeltavan lajin kasvupaikkoina on tärkeää, jotta esiintymät eivät häviäisi esimerkiksi rakentamisen seurauksena

Hangon Furuvikin luonnonsuojelualueen seuranta ja hoito

Furuvikin luonnonsuojelualue sijaitsee Hankoniemen etelärannalla. Se perustettiin Uudenmaan ympäristökeskuksen päätöksellä vuonna 2008 harvinaisten ja uhanalaisten luontotyyppien ja lajien suojelemiseksi. Furuvikissä tavataan muun muassa luonnontilaisia Itämeren hiekkarantoja ja kasvipeitteisiä dyynejä, joita uhkaa virkistyskäytöstä johtuva kuluminen ja yleisestä rehevöitymiskehityksestä johtuva puuston tihentyminen. Myös dyyniluonnossa tehokkaasti leviävä vieraslaji, kurtturuusu (Rosa rugosa), uhkaa Furuvikin luontoa. Furuvik on lajistoltaan arvokas ja ainutlaatuinen kokonaisuus. Luonnonsuojelualueen rannoilla kasvavat muun muassa erittäin uhanalainen meriotakilokki (Salsola kali ssp. kali) ja harvinainen merikaali (Crambe maritima). Dyyneillä tavataan muun muassa kangasajuruohoa (Thymys serpyllum ssp. serpyllum), ketomarunaa (Artemisia campestris) ja hietikkonataa (Festuca polesica), joista lukuisat alueella elävät uhanalaiset hyönteiset ovat täysin riippuvaisia. Vuosikymmeniä Furuvikillä esteettä levinnyt kurtturuusu on muodostanut rannan yläosiin tiheän ja laajan vyöhykkeen, jossa alkuperäisille dyynienlajeille ei riitä elintilaa. Männyn taimet ova itäneet ruusupensaiden suojissa ja muodostaneet rannan yläosiin paikoin läpikulkemattomia tiheikköjä. Tihentynyt puusto ja laajat ruusupensaat ovat myös muuttaneet dyynien luontaista liikedynamiikkaa sitomalla hiekkaa paikoilleen. Furuvikillä on raivattu kurtturuusua koneellisesti ja talkoovoimin vuosina 2008-2009, ja paikoitellen kasvillisuudessa voidaan havaita elpymisen merkkejä. Sitkeä ja sopeutumiskykyinen kurtturuusu palautuu kuitenkin nopeasti vesomalla maahan jääneistä juuren paloista. Nuoret kasvit levittäytyvät tehokkaasti raivauksen jäljiltä paljaalla hiekalla ja muodostavat jälleen laajoja kasvustoja, jollei torjuntaa jatketa. Ainutlaatuisen ja arvokkaan ranta- ja dyyniluonnon sekä uhanalaisen lajiston suojelemiseksi kurtturuusun torjuntaa tulee jatkaa Furuvikillä säännöllisesti. Koneellinen poisto on tarpeen jälleen lähitulevaisuudessa. Myös ruusukasvustojen suojissa tihentynyttä puustoa tulee harventaa monin paikoin, jotta maisema dyynin yli avautuisi, dyynien luontainen liikedynamiikka elpyisi ja arvokas lajisto saisi jälleen lisää elintilaa

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Seasonal and inter-seasonal RSV activity in the European Region during the COVID-19 pandemic from autumn 2020 to summer 2022

© 2023 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Background: The emergence of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in early 2020 and subsequent implementation of public health and social measures (PHSM) disrupted the epidemiology of respiratory viruses. This work describes the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) observed during two winter seasons (weeks 40–20) and inter-seasonal periods (weeks 21–39) during the pandemic between October 2020 and September 2022. Methods: Using data submitted to The European Surveillance System (TESSy) by countries or territories in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region between weeks 40/2020 and 39/2022, we aggregated country-specific weekly RSV counts of sentinel, non-sentinel and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) surveillance specimens and calculated percentage positivity. Results for both 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons and inter-seasons were compared with pre-pandemic 2016/17 to 2019/20 seasons and inter-seasons. Results: Although more specimens were tested than in pre-COVID-19 pandemic seasons, very few RSV detections were reported during the 2020/21 season in all surveillance systems. During the 2021 inter-season, a gradual increase in detections was observed in all systems. In 2021/22, all systems saw early peaks of RSV infection, and during the 2022 inter-seasonal period, patterns of detections were closer to those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: RSV surveillance continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with an initial reduction in transmission, followed by very high and out-of-season RSV circulation (summer 2021) and then an early start of the 2021/22 season. As of the 2022/23 season, RSV circulation had not yet normalised.Peer reviewe

Worldwide trends in hypertension prevalence and progress in treatment and control from 1990 to 2019: a pooled analysis of 1201 population-representative studies with 104 million participants.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension can be detected at the primary health-care level and low-cost treatments can effectively control hypertension. We aimed to measure the prevalence of hypertension and progress in its detection, treatment, and control from 1990 to 2019 for 200 countries and territories. METHODS: We used data from 1990 to 2019 on people aged 30-79 years from population-representative studies with measurement of blood pressure and data on blood pressure treatment. We defined hypertension as having systolic blood pressure 140 mm Hg or greater, diastolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg or greater, or taking medication for hypertension. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and the proportion of people with hypertension who had a previous diagnosis (detection), who were taking medication for hypertension (treatment), and whose hypertension was controlled to below 140/90 mm Hg (control). The model allowed for trends over time to be non-linear and to vary by age. FINDINGS: The number of people aged 30-79 years with hypertension doubled from 1990 to 2019, from 331 (95% credible interval 306-359) million women and 317 (292-344) million men in 1990 to 626 (584-668) million women and 652 (604-698) million men in 2019, despite stable global age-standardised prevalence. In 2019, age-standardised hypertension prevalence was lowest in Canada and Peru for both men and women; in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and some countries in western Europe including Switzerland, Spain, and the UK for women; and in several low-income and middle-income countries such as Eritrea, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Solomon Islands for men. Hypertension prevalence surpassed 50% for women in two countries and men in nine countries, in central and eastern Europe, central Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. Globally, 59% (55-62) of women and 49% (46-52) of men with hypertension reported a previous diagnosis of hypertension in 2019, and 47% (43-51) of women and 38% (35-41) of men were treated. Control rates among people with hypertension in 2019 were 23% (20-27) for women and 18% (16-21) for men. In 2019, treatment and control rates were highest in South Korea, Canada, and Iceland (treatment >70%; control >50%), followed by the USA, Costa Rica, Germany, Portugal, and Taiwan. Treatment rates were less than 25% for women and less than 20% for men in Nepal, Indonesia, and some countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Control rates were below 10% for women and men in these countries and for men in some countries in north Africa, central and south Asia, and eastern Europe. Treatment and control rates have improved in most countries since 1990, but we found little change in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Improvements were largest in high-income countries, central Europe, and some upper-middle-income and recently high-income countries including Costa Rica, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Turkey, and Iran. INTERPRETATION: Improvements in the detection, treatment, and control of hypertension have varied substantially across countries, with some middle-income countries now outperforming most high-income nations. The dual approach of reducing hypertension prevalence through primary prevention and enhancing its treatment and control is achievable not only in high-income countries but also in low-income and middle-income settings. FUNDING: WHO