Social differences in smoking and snuff use among Norwegian adolescents: A population based survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A change in pattern of tobacco use has been observed in the last decade in Norway. Snuff use and occasional smoking have to some degree replaced daily smoking among adolescents and young adults. Daily smoking is known to be negatively associated with social background factors, but little is known about these associations for other types of tobacco use. Our aim was to study different types of tobacco use among adolescents according to gender, educational ambitions, family background factors, and urbanization.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional, school-based study with 15 931 participants and response-rate 87%, conducted among 15 and 16 year olds during 2000–2004.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>More girls (33.8%) than boys (26.4%) were daily or occasional smokers, while more boys (21.4%) than girls (3.5%) were daily or occasional snuff users. Daily smoking was more common among adolescents planning vocational education, with single parents or poor family economy. Occasional smoking and snuff use (daily or occasionally) showed a similar, but less pronounced pattern regarding education and single parent families. Adolescents with parents from foreign countries were less likely to use tobacco. One exception was boys with parents from Muslim majority countries who had an increased risk of daily smoking. A typical combination user of both tobacco types was a Norwegian boy with divorced parents and ambitions to complete vocational studies or only one year of upper secondary school.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tobacco use in adolescents is mainly associated with low educational ambitions and less affluent self-reported family economy. Adolescents with divorced parents use more tobacco than those living with both parents. Public health initiatives to avoid or reduce tobacco use should mainly target adolescents in vocational studies and those leaving school early.</p

Educational inequalities in mortality over four decades in Norway: prospective study of middle aged men and women followed for cause specific mortality, 1960-2000

Objectives To determine the extent to which educational inequalities in relation to mortality widened in Norway during 1960-2000 and which causes of death were the main drivers of this disparity

Validity of self-reported myocardial infarction and stroke in regions with Sami and Norwegian populations: The SAMINOR 1 Survey and the CVDNOR project

Published version. Source at http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012717 Objective: Updated knowledge on the validity of self- reported myocardial infarction (SMI) and self-reported stroke (SRS) is needed in Norway. Our objective was to compare questionnaire data and hospital discharge data from regions with Sami and Norwegian populations to assess the validity of these outcomes by ethnicity, sex, age and education. Design: Validation study using cross-sectional questionnaire data and hospital discharge data from all Norwegian somatic hospitals. Participants and setting: 16 865 men and women aged 30 and 36–79 years participated in the Population-based Study on Health and Living Conditions in Sami and Norwegian Populations (SAMINOR) 1 Survey in 2003–2004. Information on SMI and SRS was available from self-administered questionnaires for 15 005 and 15 088 of these participants, respectively. We compared this information with hospital discharge data from 1994 until SAMINOR 1 Survey attendance. Primary and secondary outcomes: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value and κ. Results: The sensitivity and PPV of SMI were 90.1% and 78.9%, respectively; the PPV increased to 93.1% when all ischaemic heart disease (IHD) diagnoses were included. The SMI prevalence estimate was 2.3% and hospital-based 2.0%. The sensitivity and PPV of SRS were 81.1% and 64.3%, respectively. The SRS prevalence estimate was 1.5% and hospitalisation- based 1.2%. Moderate to no variation was observed in validity according to ethnicity, sex, age and education. Conclusions: The sensitivity and PPV of SMI were high and moderate, respectively; for SRS, both of these measures were moderate. Our results show that SMI from the SAMINOR 1 Survey may be used in aetiological/analytical studies in this population due to a high IHD-specific PPV. The SAMINOR 1 questionnaire may also be used to estimate the prevalence of acute myocardial infarction and acute stroke

Life course socioeconomic position, alcohol drinking patterns in midlife, and cardiovascular mortality:Analysis of Norwegian population-based health surveys

<div><p>Background</p><p>Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups tend to experience more harm from the same level of exposure to alcohol as advantaged groups. Alcohol has multiple biological effects on the cardiovascular system, both potentially harmful and protective. We investigated whether the diverging relationships between alcohol drinking patterns and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality differed by life course socioeconomic position (SEP).</p><p>Methods and findings</p><p>From 3 cohorts (the Counties Studies, the Cohort of Norway, and the Age 40 Program, 1987–2003) containing data from population-based cardiovascular health surveys in Norway, we included participants with self-reported information on alcohol consumption frequency (<i>n</i> = 207,394) and binge drinking episodes (≥5 units per occasion, <i>n</i> = 32,616). We also used data from national registries obtained by linkage. Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD mortality was estimated using Cox models, including alcohol, life course SEP, age, gender, smoking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides, diabetes, history of CVD, and family history of coronary heart disease (CHD). Analyses were performed in the overall sample and stratified by high, middle, and low strata of life course SEP. A total of 8,435 CVD deaths occurred during the mean 17 years of follow-up. Compared to infrequent consumption (p = 0.002; middle versus high), 1.23 (95% CI 0.96, 1.58, <i>p</i> = 0.10; low versus high), and 0.96 (95% CI 0.76, 1.21, <i>p</i> = 0.73; low versus middle). In the group with data on binge drinking, 2,284 deaths (15 years) from CVDs occurred. In comparison to consumers who did not binge during the past year, HRs among frequent bingers (≥1 time per week) were 1.58 (95% CI 1.31, 1.91) overall, and 1.22 (95% CI 0.84, 1.76), 1.71 (95% CI 1.31, 2.23), and 1.85 (95% CI 1.16, 2.94) in the strata, respectively. HRs for effect modification were 1.36 (95% CI 0.87, 2.13, <i>p</i> = 0.18; middle versus high), 1.63 (95% CI 0.92, 2.91, <i>p</i> = 0.10; low versus high), and 1.32 (95% CI 0.79, 2.20, <i>p</i> = 0.29; low versus middle). A limitation of this study was the use of a single measurement to reflect lifetime alcohol consumption.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Moderately frequent consumers had a lower risk of CVD mortality compared with infrequent consumers, and we observed that this association was more pronounced among participants with higher SEP throughout their life course. Frequent binge drinking was associated with a higher risk of CVD mortality, but it was more uncertain whether the risk differed by life course SEP. It is unclear if these findings reflect differential confounding of alcohol consumption with health-protective or damaging exposures, or differing effects of alcohol on health across socioeconomic groups.</p></div

Hypertension prevalence in Portugal: results from the first Portuguese Health Examination Survey 2015

O estudo teve como objetivo estimar a distribuição da prevalência de hipertensão, seu conhecimento (awareness), tratamento e controlo na população portuguesa em 2015. Realizou-se um inquérito nacional com uma amostra representativa de 4911 indivíduos, com idade compreendida entre 25 e 74 anos e residentes em Portugal há mais de 12 meses. O inquérito foi realizado por profissionais de saúde com treino específico nos procedimentos do estudo e compreendeu a realização de uma entrevista, exame físico e colheita de sangue. A medição da tensão arterial (no braço direito, três medições, com um minuto de intervalo) e as definições adotadas foram efetuadas de acordo com os procedimentos do European Health Examination Survey. A prevalência de hipertensão arterial, seu conhecimento, tratamento e controlo foi estratificada por sexo, grupo etário e região de saúde. Estimou-se uma prevalência de hipertensão arterial de 36,0% (IC95%:34,3-37,7), tendo sido observados valores mais elevados no sexo masculino [39,6%; (IC95%:36,5- 42,8)] e no grupo etários dos 65 aos 74 anos [71,3%; (IC95%:65,7-76,4)]. Entre os indivíduos hipertensos, 69,8% (IC95%: 64,8-74,3) referiu ter conhecimento da sua condição de saúde, 69,4% (IC95%:65,2-73,3) estava sob tratamento e destes, 71,3% (IC95%:67,6-74,7) tinha valores normais de tensão arterial. Quando comparados com estudos anteriores realizados em Portugal, (PAP, 2003; PHYSA, 2011-2012), estes resultados sugerem uma redução na prevalência de hipertensão arterial e um melhor controlo dos valores tensionais dos indivíduos com hipertensão arterial. No entanto, foram encontradas diferenças na prevalência da hipertensão arterial entre grupos específicos da população.The aim of this study was to estimate the distribution of prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hyper tension in the Portuguese population in 2015. A National survey using a representative sample of 4911 individuals, living in Portugal for more than 12 months and aged between 25 and 74 years old, was implemented. Trained nurses per formed a health inter view and a physical examination, which comprised blood pressure measurement (right arm, 3 measurements, 1- minute intervals). Parameters’ estimates were defined according to the European Health Examination Survey procedures. Prevalence of hyper tension, awareness, treatment and control were stratified by sex, age group and health region. The overall hyper tension prevalence was 36.0% (IC95%:34.3-37.7). Highest values were observed in males [39.6%; (IC95%:36.5-42.8)] and in individuals aged between 65 and 74 years old [71.3%; (IC95%:65.7-76.4)]. Among the hyper tensive individuals, 69.8% (IC95%:64.8-74.3) were aware of their condition, 69.4% (IC95%:65.2-73.3) were under treatment and of these, 71.3% (IC95%:67.6-74.7) were controlled. Results suggest a reduction in hyper tension prevalence and a more effective control, when comparing to similar previous studies per formed in Portugal (PAP, 2003; PHYSA, 2011-2012). However, important differences in hyper tension prevalence were found between specific population groups.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Review of Health Examination Surveys in Europe

Information on the health, health risks and use of health services and medicines of the population are needed for planning and evaluating health policies and health care. Typical data sources for health information are various registers, such as mortality registers for total and cause-specific mortality and population surveys, which provide a cross-section of health and its determinants in the population. Different data sources provide information on different aspects of health, and therefore they are largely complementary

Early menopause, association with tobacco smoking, coffee consumption and other lifestyle factors: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early onset of menopause is a risk factor for several health problems. The objective was primarily to investigate the association between early menopause and current, past active and passive smoking. A second aim was to investigate the association between coffee and alcohol consumption and early menopause.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The present population-based cross-sectional study included a sub-sample of 2123 postmenopausal women born in 1940–41 who participated in the Oslo Health Study. Early menopause was defined as menopause occurring at an age of less than 45 years. We applied logistic regression analyses (crude and adjusted odds ratio (OR)) to examine the association between early menopause and selected lifestyle factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Current smoking was significantly associated with early menopause (adj. OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.11–2.28). Stopping smoking more than 10 years before menopause considerably reduced the risk of early menopause (adj. OR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.05–0.33). Total exposure to smoking (the product of number of cigarettes per day and time as a smoker) was positively related to early menopause and, at the highest doses, nearly doubled the odds (adj. OR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.12–3.30). These data suggest a possible dose-response relationship between total exposure to smoking and early menopause, but no dose-response relationship was detected for the other variables examined. We found no significant association of coffee or alcohol consumption with early menopause. Of the lifestyle factors tested, high educational level (adj. OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.34–0.72) and high social participation (adj. OR, 0.60, 95% CI, 0.39–0.98) were negatively associated with early menopause.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This cross-sectional study shows an association between current smoking and early menopause. The data also suggest that the earlier a woman stops smoking the more protected she is from early menopause. Early menopause was not significantly associated with passive smoking, or alcohol or coffee consumption.</p