Contemporary Use of Traditional and Imported Food among Greenlandic Inuit

A health interview survey was carried out in Greenland in 1993-94 among randomly selected adult Inuit (N = 1580) to gather information about people's perceptions of their own health and living conditions. Questions about preference for and frequency of consumption of selected traditional and imported food items were included in the questionnaire. Preference ratings show that traditional food was well liked in all age groups, but especially by the elders. The questionnaire showed more pronounced differences between age groups in how frequently traditional foods were consumed. Residence in a village or a remote part of the country, male gender, and a trditional upbringing were also good predictors of a high consumption of traditional food. On average, seal meat was the most frequently consumed traditional food, eaten daily by 20% of respondents, followed by fish (17%), wildfowl (10%), whale meat (6%), and terrestrial animals (2%). Imported food items like potatoes, cheese, and fruit syrup were consumed daily by more than 70%. Two concerns for the future are the decreasing consumption of traditional food among the younger generations and the possible contribution of contaminants in traditional food to this trend.Une enquête par entrevue sur la santé a été menée au Groenland en 1993-1994 parmi des Inuits adultes (N = 1580) pris au hasard, afin de collecter de l'information sur la perception qu'avaient les gens de leur propre santé et de leurs conditions de de leur consommation. Les taux de préférence montrent que les aliments traditionnels étaient très appréciés dans tous les groupes d'âges, mais surtout par les aînés. Le questionnaire révélait des différences plus nettes entre les groupes d'âges quant à la fréquence à laquelle les aliments traditionnels étaient consommés. Le fait d'habiter un village ou une région reculée du pays, l'appartenance au sexe masculin et une éducation traditionnelle étaient également de bons paramètres de prévision d'une grande consommation d'aliments traditionnels. En moyenne, la viande de phoque était l'aliment traditionnel consommé le plus fréquemment, soit sur une base quotidienne par 20 p. cent des répondants, suivie par le poisson (17 p. cent), le gibier à plume (10 p. cent), la viande de baleine (6 p. cent) et les animaux terrestres (2 p. cent). Des aliments importés comme la pomme de terre, le fromage et le sirop de fruit étaient consommés sur une base quotidienne par plus de 70 p. cent des répondants. La diminution chez les jeunes générations de la consommation d'aliments traditionnels et la contribution possible à cette tendance de la présence de contaminants dans les aliments traditionnels constituent deux sujets de préoccupation

Trends in time to invasive examination and treatment from 2001 to 2009 in patients admitted first time with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction or unstable angina in Denmark

OBJECTIVE: To investigate trends in time to invasive examination and treatment for patient with first time diagnosis of non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and unstable angina during the period from 2001 to 2009 in Denmark. DESIGN: From 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2009 all first time hospitalisations with NSTEMI and unstable angina were identified in the National Patient Registry (n=65 909). Time from admission to initiation of coronary angiography (CAG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) was calculated. We described the development in invasive examination and treatment probability (CAG, PCI and CABG at 3, 7, 10, 30 and 60 days) for the years 2001–2009, taking the competing risk of death into account using Aalen–Johansen estimators and a Fine-Gray model. SETTING: Nationwide Danish cohort. RESULTS: The proportion of patients receiving a CAG and PCI increased substantially over time while the proportion receiving a CABG decreased for both NSTEMI and unstable angina. For both NSTEMI and unstable angina, a significant increase in invasive examination and treatment probability at 3 days for CAG and PCI were seen especially from 2007 through to 2009. For NSTEMI, the CAG examination probability at 3 days leaped from 20% in 2007 to 32% in 2008 and 39% in 2009, and for PCI the same was true with a leap in treatment probability from 19% to 28% from 2008 to 2009. CONCLUSIONS: In Denmark the use of CAG and PCI in treatment of NSTEMI and unstable angina has increased from 2001 to 2009, while the use of CABG has decreased. During the same period, there was a marked increase in invasive examination and treatment probability at 3 days, that is, more patients were treated faster which is in line with the political aim of reducing time to treatment

Associations of Personality with Body Mass Index and Obesity in a Large Late Midlife Community Sample

Objective: The study examined cross-sectional associations of personality with BMI and obesity among men and women in a large late midlife community sample. Methods: The sample comprised 5,286 Danish individuals aged 49-63 years from the Copenhagen Ageing and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) with complete information on measured BMI, personality assessed by the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO FFI), and sociodemographic factors including sex, age and educational length. Analysis of variance and logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between personality and BMI as well as obesity. Personality traits were analyzed separately and combined in the same model. Results: All personality traits except for neuroticism were significantly associated with BMI, with extraversion (p value ranged from Conclusion: Personality was significantly associated with BMI and to a lesser extent with obesity, and these associations differed between men and women. Also, it was suggested that the interrelations of the five personality traits should be considered in future research of personality and health outcomes

Cognitive Change during the Life Course and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Late Middle-Aged Men

AbstractImportance: Cognitive skills are known to decline through the lifespan with large individual differences. The molecular mechanisms for this decline are incompletely understood. Although leukocyte telomere length provides an index of cellular age that predicts the incidence of age-related diseases, it is unclear whether there is an association between cognitive decline and leukocyte telomere length. Objective: To examine the association between changes in cognitive function during adult life and leukocyte telomere length after adjusting for confounding factors such as education, mental health and life style. Design, setting and participants: Two groups of men with negative (n=97) and positive (n=93) change in cognitive performance were selected from a birth cohort of 1985 Danish men born in 1953. Cognitive performance of each individual was assessed at age ~20 and ~56 years. Leukocyte telomere length at age ~58 was measured using qPCR. Linear regression models were used to investigate the association between cognitive function and leukocyte telomere length. Results: Men with negative change in cognitive performance during adult life had significantly shorter mean leukocyte telomere length than men with positive change in cognitive performance (unadjusted difference β= - 0.09, 95% CI -0.16 - -0.02, p= 0.02). This association remained significant after adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, leisure time activity, body mass index and cholesterol (adjusted difference β= -0.09, 95% CI -0.17 - -0.01, p= 0.02) but was nonsignificant after adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, leisure time activity, body mass index cholesterol, current cognitive function, depression and education (adjusted difference β= -0.07, 95% CI -0.16 - -0.01, p= 0.08). Conclusion and relevance: Preclinical cognitive changes may be associated with leukocyte telomere length

Sub-Clinical Cognitive Decline and Resting Cerebral Blood Flow in Middle Aged Men

Although dementia is associated with both global and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes, little is known about cerebral perfusion in the early pre-clinical stages of cognitive decline preceding overt cognitive dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of early sub-clinical cognitive decline with CBF. The study participants were recruited from a cohort of Danish men born in 1953. Based on a regression model we selected men who performed better (Group A, n=94) and poorer (Group B, n=95) on cognitive testing at age 57 than expected from testing at age 20. Participants underwent supplementary cognitive testing, blood sampling and MRI including measurements of regional and global CBF. Regional CBF was lower in group B than in group A in the posterior cingulate gyrus and the precuneus. The associations were attenuated when corrected for global atrophy, but remained significant in regions of interest based analysis adjusting for regional gray matter volume and vascular risk factors. No influence of group on global CBF was observed. We conclude that early sub-clinical cognitive decline is associated with reduced perfusion in the precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus independently of regional atrophy and vascular risk factors, but cannot be statistically separated from an association with global atrophy