| New articles - Uudet artikkelit
24.12.2007 - ISI Web of Knowledge & PubMed Search Alert |
|
Primary health care physicians' definitions on when to advise a
patient about weekly and binge drinking
Aalto, M. and Seppa, K. Addict Behav. 2007; 32(7): 1321-30. IF 1.849 OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the level of alcohol consumption at which physicians think that they should advise their patients to reduce drinking. This is especially true concerning the amounts consumed per one drinking occasion. The aim of the present study was to examine these issues and also characteristics of physicians possibly associated with their different opinions. METHOD: Cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire survey to all 3193 primary health care physicians in Finland. Response rate was 61.0%. RESULTS: The physicians reported that on average 14.8 drinks (one drink=12 g of absolute alcohol)/week for males and 10.6 drinks/week for females to be the threshold that would cause them to advise their patients. Corresponding figures for one drinking occasion were 6.6 and 4.9 drinks/week. In linear regression analyses physicians' AUDIT scores, use of brief intervention, experience as a physician and age explained the variance of all or some reported thresholds, but all the variables explained only about 10% of the phenomena. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the official Finnish recommendations regarding the definition of heavy drinking, the physicians reported similar levels of drinking per occasion for deciding to advise their patients, but rather low levels concerning weekly drinking. This may lead to extra workload for physicians and thus hamper implementation of brief intervention. Physicians' characteristics seem to be a decidedly minor issue in implementing drinking limits in health care. Abucejo-Ladesma, E., Simoes, E. A. F., Lupisan, S. P., Sombrero, L. T., Quiambao, B. P., Gozum, L. S., Herva, E. and Ruutu, P. Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2007; 39(11-12): 983-989. Article. IF 1.560 This paper describes the clinical profile and aetiology of bacterial meningitis in infants and children less than 5 y old admitted to a rural general hospital in the Philippines. A total of 989 infants and children 0-59 months old with suspected meningitis using a standardized guideline based on clinical signs and symptoms were prospectively enrolled from April 1994 to May 2000. Blood and CSF were drawn on admission for culture, antigen testing and cell count. All had blood cultures and 623 (63%) had CSF samples. Bacterial aetiology was found in 54 (5%). The most common bacterial pathogens were H. influenzae type b (Hib) (20, 37%) and S. pneumoniae (Pnc) (10, 18%). All of the Hib infections and 8 (80%) Pnc infections were in infants less than 1 y old. 12 (22%) of the subjects with bacterial meningitis died. All strains of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae were sensitive to chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole and ampicillin. In conclusion, S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae type b are the most common aetiological agents of bacterial meningitis in a rural area in the Philippines, and occur especially in infants less than 1 y old. Aetiological agents were susceptible to the currently recommended antimicrobial agents. Borodulin, K., Makinen, T., Fogelholm, M., Lahti-Koski, M. and Prattala, R. Prev Med. 2007; 45(2-3): 157-62. IF 2.390 OBJECTIVE: The aim was to study the associations of physical activity and socioeconomic status with overweight from 1978 to 2002 and to explore whether the trend in overweight was different across educational groups or leisure time and commuting physical activity groups. METHOD: The study population comprised 37,084 women and 34,191 men who participated in cross-sectional postal surveys carried out annually from 1978 to 2002. The surveys included independent nationally representative random samples of Finns aged 25 to 64 years. Information on weight, height, leisure time and commuting physical activity was self-reported. The level of education was obtained from national register data. Overweight was defined as a body mass index (kg/m2) of 25 or higher. RESULTS: Overweight was more prevalent among the physically inactive and lower educated. The prevalence of overweight increased over time. Across the study years, those men and women who participated in leisure time or commuting physical activity had a lower prevalence of overweight in all educational groups. The increase in the prevalence of overweight followed a similar pattern in all physical activity and education groups. CONCLUSION: Engagement in physical activity has not prevented an increase in the prevalence of overweight in any socioeconomic group among Finnish men and women from 1978 to 2002. Feng, P. C. H., Monday, S. R., Lacher, D. W., Allison, L., Siitonen, A., Keys, C., Eklund, M., Nagano, H., Karch, H., Keen, J. and Whittam, T. S. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2007; 13(11): 1701-1706. Article. IF 5.094 Escherichia coli O157:H7 variants were examined for trait mutations and by molecular subtyping to better define clonal complexes postulated on the O157:H7 evolution model. Strains of beta-glucuroniclase-positive, sorbitol-negative 0157:H7 isolated in United States and Japan were identical to A5 clonal strain and shared sequence type (ST)-65 by multilocus sequence typing (MLST); thus, they belong in A5. However, these strains exhibited pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profile differences that suggested genomic divergence between populations. Sorbitol-fermenting 0157 (SFO157) strains from Finland, Scotland, and Germany were identical to A4 clonal strain and belong in A4. Some SFO157 strains, isolated years apart and from different countries, had identical PFGE profiles, suggesting a common origin. Despite similarities, some Finnish and Scottish and all of the German strains have ST-75 ("German clone"), whereas others have ST-76, a new variant ("Scottish clone"). MLST of strains in other clonal complexes also discriminated strains thought to be identical and showed that genetic differences will further distinguish clonal populations into subclones. High-throughput assay for determining specificity and affinity of protein-DNA binding interactions Hallikas, O. and Taipale, J. Nature Protocols. 2006; 1(1): 215-222. Article. Limited information exists for the binding specificities of many important transcription factors. To address this, we have previously developed a microwell- based assay for directly measuring the affinity of DNA- protein binding interactions. We describe here the detailed protocol for determining sequence specificities of DNA- binding proteins using this assay. The described method is rapid; after preparation of the reagents, the assay can be run in a single day, and its throughput can be increased further by automation. The method is quantitative but requires prior knowledge of one high- affinity binding site for the protein of interest. The protocol can be adapted for determining the effect of protein modifications and protein- protein interactions on DNA- binding specificity, and for engineering proteins with new DNA- binding specificities. In addition, the method is suitable for high- throughput screening to identify proteins or small molecules that modulate protein- DNA binding interactions. Holmen, C., Elsheikh, E., Christensson, M., Liu, J., Johansson, A. S., Qureshi, A. R., Jalkanen, S. and Sumitran-Holgersson, S. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2007; 18(9): 2497-2508. Article. IF 7.371 The pathogenic role of anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) in vascular injury is debated. It was previously shown that many patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) have AECA that react with human kidney microvascular endothelial cells (EC). In addition, during active disease, renal endothelium strongly expresses the inflammatory molecules vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) and MHC class 1-related antigen A (MICA). This study sought to determine whether AECA mediates this upregulation of VAP-1 and MCA and to define better the signaling pathways that are activated by these autoantibodies upon binding to EC in the kidney. Stimulation of human kidney microvascular EC with AECA IgG upregulated surface expression of MICA and VAP-1, elicited a rapid Ca2+ flux, induced high levels of the chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and granulocyte chemotactic protein-2, induced specific phosphorylation of stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the transcription factors c-Jun and activating transcription factor-2, and activated NF-kappa B. Specific inhibitors of SAPK/JNK significantly reduced AECA-induced chemokine production and phosphorylation of c-Jun and activating transcription factor-2 and abrogated protein expression of MICA but not VAP-1. In kidney sections from patients with WG, infiltrating cells that expressed the ligand for MICA (NKG2D(+)) were identified, as were CD8(+) and 32 gamma delta(+) T cells. In conclusion, AECA may be involved in the pathogenesis of WG, and the SAPK/JNK pathway and the endothelial inflammatory protein VAP-1 may be novel therapeutic targets for vasculitis. Hu, G., Jousilahti, P., Borodulin, K., Barengo, N. C., Lakka, T. A., Nissinen, A. and Tuomilehto, J. Atherosclerosis. 2007; 194(2): 490-497. Article. IF 3.811 Objective: To examine the association of different levels of occupational, commuting, and leisure-time physical activity with the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events. Methods and results: The study comprised 47,840 Finnish participants aged 25-64 years without history of CHD and stroke at baseline. During a mean follow-up of 18.9 years, 4660 new CHD events were documented. The multivariable-adjusted (age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, education, alcohol consumption, smoking, history of diabetes, and other two types of physical activity) hazard ratios (HRs) of CHD events associated with low, moderate, and high occupational activity were 1.00, 0.87, and 0.90 (P-trend = 0.019) for men, and 1.00, 0.75, and 0.80 (P-trend < 0.001) for women, respectively. The multivariable-adjusted HRs of CHD events associated with low, moderate, and high leisure-time physical activity were 1.00, 0.95, and 0.84 (P-trend = 0.026) for men, and 1.00, 0.85, and 0.77 (P-trend = 0.003) for women, respectively. Active commuting had a significant inverse association with the risk of CHD events in women but not in men. Conclusion: Moderate or high levels of occupational or leisure-time physical activity are associated with a reduced risk of CHD. Daily walking or cycling to and from work is associated with a decreased risk of CHD among women. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Functional interaction of AIRE with PIAS1 in transcriptional regulation Ilmarinen, T., Kangas, H., Kytomaa, T., Eskelin, P., Saharinen, J., Seeler, J. S., Tanhuanpaa, K., Chan, F. Y., Slattery, R. M., Alakurtti, K., Palvimo, J. J. and Ulmanen, I. Mol Immunol. 2007. IF 4.768 AIRE (autoimmune regulator) promotes the establishment of self-tolerance by regulating gene expression in the thymus. Mutations in AIRE lead to an autoimmune disease, APECED. Here we have identified PIAS proteins as novel AIRE interaction partners. Although PIAS proteins function as E3 SUMO ligases, AIRE is not sumoylated. We expressed AIRE, wt PIAS1, and PIAS1 mutants with deleted SP-RING domain or SUMO interaction motif (SIM) in different cell lines and demonstrate that AIRE and PIAS1 localize to adjacent nuclear bodies (NBs). The expression of AIRE enhances the formation of PIAS1 NBs. The ability of PIAS1 to localize into NBs and interconnect with AIRE is neither dependent on the SP-RING domain nor the SIM. Further, we show that PIAS1 is able to attract AIRE into SUMO1-containing complexes and that the process is dependent on the SIM of PIAS1. PIAS1 and AIRE concurrently activate the human insulin promoter, a known target gene of AIRE, and the SP-RING is required for this activation. Moreover, AIRE represses and PIAS1 activates the CSTB promoter, used as a model for a housekeeping promoter, and both the SP-RING and SIM are needed for its activation by PIAS1. Collectively, our data suggest that AIRE and PIAS1 interact functionally to regulate the activities of the target genes of AIRE. Karden-Lilja, M., Ibrahem, S., Vuopio-Varkila, J., Salmenlinna, S., Lyytikainen, O., Siira, L. and Virolainen, A. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2007; 26(10): 729-33. IF 2.330 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains from Finland covering years 1997-1999 were studied for the presence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) gene loci, and the clinically well-defined community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) strains (n = 108) also for staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) and multilocus sequence types (MLST). Only a minority (12%) of the CA-MRSA strains contained the PVL gene loci and possessed genotypes formerly described as typical to CA-MRSA strains. The majority of these strains were heterogenous by MLST and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis but, however, harboured the SCCmec cassette type IV. In conclusion, it seems doubtful to consider only molecular characteristics such as the presence of PVL genes as definite markers for CA-MRSA strains. Staphylococcus aureus colonization among nursing home residents in a large Finnish nursing home Kerttula, A. M., Lyytikainen, O., Virolainen, A., Finne-Soveri, H., Agthe, N. and Vuopio-Varkila, J. Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2007; 39(11-12): 996-1001. Article. IF 1.560 We studied colonization with methicillin-resistant and -sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, MSSA) in the second largest nursing home in Finland, in which the residents volunteered had their nostrils, throats, perineums, skin lesions, and catheter exit sites swabbed, and catheter urines cultured. The specimens were cultured onto non-selective and selective agar, with or without enrichment in salt-containing trypticase soy broth (TSB). S. aureus was identified by routine methods, methicillin resistance was detected by oxacillin and cefoxitin disk diffusion and MIC E-tests, and GenoType MRSA (R) -test was used for mecA gene confirmation. A total of 663 cultures were obtained from 213 residents. Of those, 165 specimens (25%) from 94 residents (44%) were positive for S. aureus, and 3 specimens (0.4%) from 2 (0.9%) residents were positive for MRSA. Of the 165 S. aureus isolates, 31 (19%) from 25 (27%) residents were found only from sites other than nostrils (30 MSSA and 1 MRSA). TSB enrichment detected additional 33 (5%) S. aureus isolates (32 MSSA and 1 MRSA), resulting in 8 (5%) additional residents. None of the MRSA strains would have been found if only nostrils and throat had been screened, and no enrichment broth had been used. Keski-Nisula, L., Jarvelin, M. R. and Pekkanen, J. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2007; 17(6): 416-7. IF 1.028 SNPs in PPARG Associate with Type 2 Diabetes and Interact with Physical Activity Kilpealinen, T. O., Lakka, T. A., Laaksonen, D. E., Lindstorm, J., Eriksson, J. G., Valle, T. T., Hamalainen, H., Ilanne-Parikka, P., Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, S., Lindi, V., Tuomilehto, J., Uusitupa, M. and Laakso, M. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007. IF 2.909 PURPOSE:: To study the associations of seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) gene with the conversion from impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) to type 2 diabetes (T2D), and the interactions of the SNPs with physical activity (PA). METHODS:: Overweight individuals with IGT who participated in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) (N = 479) were followed, on average, 4.2 yr. PA was assessed yearly with a 12-month validated questionnaire. RESULTS:: In Cox regression analyses, the rare alleles of rs17036314 and rs1801282 (Pro12Ala) predicted conversion to T2D (P = 0.038 and 0.037, respectively), but only rs17036314 predicted T2D after adjustment for baseline fasting glucose (P = 0.030). The change in the total amount of PA, stratified by median, modified the association of rs17036314 and rs1801282 with the risk of T2D during the intervention (P = 0.002 and 0.031, respectively, for interaction between PA change and genotype); an increase in PA seemed to remove the effect of the risk alleles. The distinct rs1152003 polymorphism interacted with the study group on the conversion to T2D (P = 0.027) and tended to increase the risk of T2D in the intervention group (P = 0.050). No interaction between rs1152003 and the change in PA was found. CONCLUSIONS:: The rs17036314, rs1801282 (Pro12Ala), and rs1152003 were associated with the risk of T2D in the DPS. Increased PA seemed to decrease the effect of the risk alleles of rs17036314 and rs1801282 on the conversion to T2D. The effect of rs1152003 was modified by other lifestyle changes or the lifestyle intervention as a whole. Field trial of timed bright light exposure for jet lag among airline cabin crew Lahti, T. J., Terttunen, J., Leppamaki, S., Lonnqvist, J. and Partonen, T. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2007; 66(4): 365-9. I OBJECTIVES: Commercial airlines' flight crew members on transmeridian long-haul flights are constantly exposed to rapid changes in external time. Following rapid changes in circadian rhythm may lead to several symptoms known as jet lag. Our aim was to alleviate jet-lag symptoms by timed exposure to bright light (natural sunlight if present, otherwise artificial bright light). STUDY DESIGN: Observational field trial with bright light against jet lag. METHODS: Information on the effects of bright lights on health was delivered through corporate level wellness programs. Volunteer study subjects were cabin crew members on long-haul flights. Subjects filled in a 16-Item Columbia Jet Lag Scale (maximum score 64) before the flight (expected symptoms based on previous flights), on the third day at the destination and again on the third day after returning home. Changes in scores were compared relative to the timed exposure to bright light, and to flights eastwards or westwards, and in summer or winter. RESULTS: Out of 75 subjects, 15 returned the questionnaires for a total of 28 flights. The mean estimated effect of bright light was a decrease of 5.3 points on the symptom scale. The difference was not significant (SE = 3.4, df = 11, t = -1.6, p = 0.15). The flight had no influence on the estimate. CONCLUSIONS: The results do not give support to the hypothesis that timed exposure to bright light would alleviate jet lag symptoms, although the small sample size was a problem. More field studies are needed to establish the feasibility of bright light for reducing jet lag. Atherogenic, enlarged, and dysfunctional HDL in human PLTP/apoA-I double transgenic mice Moerland, M., Samyn, H., van Gent, T., Jauhiainen, M., Metso, J., van Haperen, R., Grosveld, F., van Tol, A. and de Crom, R. Journal of Lipid Research. 2007; 48(12): 2622-2631. Article. IF 4.357 In low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR)-deficient mice, overexpression of human plasma phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) results in increased atherosclerosis. PLTP strongly decreases HDL levels and might alter the antiatherogenic properties of HDL particles. To study the potential interaction between human PLTP and apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), double transgenic animals (hPLTPtg/hApoAItg) were compared with hApoAItg mice. PLTP activity was increased 4.5-fold. Plasma total cholesterol and phospholipid were decreased. Average HDL size (analyzed by gel filtration) increased strongly, hPLTPtg/hApoAItg mice having very large, LDL-sized, HDL particles. Also, after density gradient ultracentrifugation, a substantial part of the apoA-I-containing lipoproteins in hPLTPtg/ hApoAItg mice was found in the LDL density range. In cholesterol efflux studies from macrophages, HDL isolated from hPLTPtg/ hApoAItg mice was less efficient than HDL isolated from hApoAItg mice. Furthermore, it was found that the largest subfraction of the HDL particles present in hPLTPtg/ hApoAItg mice was markedly inferior as a cholesterol acceptor, as no labeled cholesterol was transferred to this fraction. In an LDLR-deficient background, the human PLTP-expressing mouse line showed a 2.2-fold increased atherosclerotic lesion area. These data demonstrate that the action of human PLTP in the presence of human apoA-I results in the formation of a dysfunctional HDL subfraction, which is less efficient in the uptake of cholesterol from cholesterol-laden macrophages. Locating potential enhancer elements by comparative genomics using the EEL software Palin, K., Taipale, J. and Ukkonen, E. Nature Protocols. 2006; 1(1): 368-374. Article. This protocol describes the use of Enhancer Element Locator ( EEL), a computer program that was designed to locate distal enhancer elements in long mammalian sequences. EEL will predict the location and structure of conserved enhancers after being provided with two orthologous DNA sequences and binding specificity matrices for the transcription factors ( TFs) that are expected to contribute to the function of the enhancers to be identified. The freely available EEL software can analyze two 1-Mb sequences with 100 TF motifs in about 15 min on a modern Windows, Linux or Mac computer. The output provides several hypotheses about enhancer location and structure for further evaluation by an expert on enhancer function. Pulkki, J., Rautakorpi, U. M., Huikko, S., Honkanen, P., Klaukkas, T., Makela, M., Palva, E., Roine, R., Sarkkinen, H., Huovinen, P. and Varonen, H. Rhinology. 2007; 45(3): 197-201. IF 1.096 We studied the use of symptomatic medication in the treatment of acute maxillary sinusitis (AMS) in primary care and whether this use is in accordance with national guidelines. The data was collected annually in the Antimicrobial Treatment Strategies (MIKSTRA) Program in 30 primary health care centres throughout Finland during one week in November in the years from 1998 to 2002. Physicians and nurses collected the data about the diagnoses, prescription-only medicines and over the counter medicines prescribed or recommended for all patients with an infection during the study weeks. The MIKSTRA data comprised of 23.002 first consultations for an infection: 2.448 patients were diagnosed as having AMS. Altogether, 41% of them received some symptomatic medicine. Antihistamines with or without sympathomimetics were the most commonly prescribed or recommended symptomatic medicines (23% of the patients). For comparison, systemic antibacterial agents were prescribed for 93% of the AMS patients. We conclude that Finnish physicians recommend or prescribe more symptomatic medication without proven efficacy for AMS than recommended by the national guidelines. Especially, the use of antihistamines with or without sympathomimetics, mostly the combination of acrivastine and pseudoephedrine, was common although antihistamines were recommended only for patients with allergy or nasal polyps. Genetics of tension-type headache: A population based twin study Russell, M. B., Levi, N. and Kaprio, J. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B-Neuropsychiatric Genetics. 2007; 144B(8): 982-986. Article. IF 4.463 The purpose was to investigate the importance of genetic and environmental factors in tension-type headache using a genetic modeling analysis. Twins age 12-41 years old from the population based Danish Twin Registry received a validated posted questionnaire about tension-type headache and migraine. Inclusion required that both twins in a pairs replied on the questionnaire and known zygosity. Twin pairs where one or both twins had co-occurrence of migraine were excluded. Migraine significantly increases the risk as well as the frequency of tension-type headache. The quantitative genetic modeling included 2,437 monozygotic (MZ), 2,720 same gender dizygotic (DZ), and 2,203 opposite gender DZ twin pairs without co-occurrence of migraine. Polychoric correlations were significantly higher in MZ than same gender DZ twin pairs analyzed separately by gender, while polychoric correlation were higher in same gender than opposite gender DZ twin pairs, although this was not significant in the comparison with male same gender DZ twin pairs. The best fitting model is based on gender specific prevalence and variance components without gender specific genetic effects. Heritability estimates of 48% in men and 44% in women were obtained. Genetic effects contribute to nearly half of variance in the liability to tension-type headache. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Simell, B., Melin, M., Lahdenkari, M., Briles, D. E., Hollingshead, S. K., Kilpi, T. M. and Kayhty, H. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2007; 196(10): 1528-1536. Article. IF 5.363 Background. Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) is a highly variable yet cross-reactive protein that exists as 2 major families. We assessed the development of human serum and salivary antibodies against the PspA families 1 (PspA1) and 2 (PspA2) in early childhood and their role in the prevention of pneumococcal acute otitis media (AOM). Methods. Serum levels of IgG and salivary levels of IgA antibodies to PspA1 and PspA2 were measured by use of enzyme immunoassay from the samples from the Finnish Otitis Media Cohort Study obtained at the ages of 12 months (287 and 160 samples, respectively) and 18 months (258 and 131 samples, respectively). The Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate the relative risk (RR) of pneumococcal AOM during the 6 months after sampling relative to concentration of serum or presence of salivary anti-PspA in the samples. Results. Anti-PspA1 and anti-PspA2 concentrations at 12 and 18 months were related to prior culture-confirmed pneumococcal exposure. The concentrations of serum anti-PspA were not significantly associated with the risk of pneumococcal AOM. At 18 months, the presence of salivary anti-PspA was significantly associated with a lower risk of pneumococcal AOM during the 6 months after sampling (RR, 0.27 [95% confidence interval, 0.11 -0.69]). Conclusions. The lowered risk of pneumococcal AOM associated with the presence of salivary anti-PspA at 18 months suggests that mucosal anti-PspA antibodies have a role in the prevention of pneumococcal AOM. Stengard, J. H., Frikke-Schmidt, R., Tybjaerg-Hansen, A., Nordestgaard, B. G. and Sing, C. F. Ann Hum Genet. 2007; 71(Pt 6): 762-71. IF 2.727 The objective of this study was to evaluate whether an increased hazard of developing ischemic heart disease (IHD) is associated with any of the three genotypes A560T832/A560T832, A560T832/A560G832 and A560T832/T560T832, defined by variations in two non-coding SNPs in the 5' promoter region of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. These genotypes were selected because they distinguished between high and low levels of HDL-C, TG and/or T-C in our earlier study of multiple samples defined by gender and population. We found a significant increase (p<0.05) in the hazard of IHD in females with the A560T832/T560T832 genotype that remained significant after fitting the effects of dyslipidemia, other established risk factors, and the structural isoform variations of the ApoE molecule. We discuss why this statistically significant genetic predictor may not be an appropriate screening test for IHD in the Danish population at large. Sulander, T. T. and Uutela, A. K. Prev Med. 2007; 45(2-3): 153-6. IF 2.390 OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to analyze trends and disparities in obesity by education among Finnish men and women aged 65-84 years from 1993 to 2003. METHOD.: Data were derived from nationally representative monitoring surveys conducted biennially from 1993 to 2003 by the National Public Health Institute (KTL). In total, 5740 men and 5746 women were included in the study (response rate 80%). Obesity was set as body mass index (BMI) >or=30, based on self-reported measurements. Age adjusted trends were examined by education and gender. A logistic regression model was used to study educational disparities in obesity. RESULTS: Obesity trends were similar among men and women. The prevalence of obesity increased in both educational groups over the ten-year period. Throughout the period, those with lower education had higher risk of obesity, and educational disparities persisted at about the same level. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is increasing among older people. Information on continuing socioeconomic disparities in obesity is important for those targeting health promotion activities. Trend in Sports Injuries among Young People in Finland Tiirikainen, K., Lounamaa, A., Paavola, M., Kumpula, H. and Parkkari, J. Int J Sports Med. 2007. IF 1.240 The main purpose of this study was to explore how the number of home, sports, and other leisure time injuries among young people aged 15 - 25 years has developed in Finland in 1988 - 2003. In 1988, 2559 people aged 15 - 25 years were interviewed by Statistics Finland. In 1993, 1997 and 2003 those amounts were 751, 1638 and 1382. The subjects were asked in a telephone interview to report the injuries in which they had been involved during the previous 12 months. The crude injury incidence in 2003 was 364 per 1000 person years in men and 246 in women. The total number of injuries increased 49 % between the years 1988 and 2003. The number of sports injuries increased the most. The increase was greater among men than women, and the injury rate was higher among both men and women aged 15 - 19 years than those aged 20 - 25 years. More research is needed on whether and how exercise and time at home have changed and become riskier among young people. It is also essential to find out which prevention methods are the most effective among young people and implement these measures in a well-planned and targeted manner. Tiirola, T., Sinisalo, J., Nieminen, M. S., Silvennoinen-Kassinen, S., Paldanius, M., Saikku, P., Jauhiainen, M. and Leinonen, M. Atherosclerosis. 2007; 194(2): 403-407. Article. IF 3.811 Infections, Chlamydia pneumoniae as a major candidate, have been suggested to participate in inflammatory processes ultimately leading to atherosclerosis. In the present study we measured serum levels of chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (cLPS) and highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients (n = 145). During ACS, both cLPS and hsCRP were elevated and significant correlation (P = 0.003, r = 0.25) between them was observed. Both cLPS and hsCRP levels decreased after the event and correlation remained significant during the follow-up period. Our results suggest that cLPS is liberated from the damaged tissue persistently infected with C pneumoniae during the ACS event. The significant correlation between cLPS and hsCRP levels further point to the possibility that both levels reflect the magnitude of tissue damage. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. |