Scandinavian Journal of Public Health

In Finnmark county in Norway, 12329 males and females aged 20–49 years participated in two screening examinations with an interval of 3 years. The primary health service attempted, without receiving any extra resources, to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by means of a personal intervention programme among high-risk individuals and a health education programme directed at all residents in the county. During these 3 years the serum total-cholesterol (cross-sectionally) level decreased on average by about 0.3 mmol/l due to: firstly, a decrease among persons recommended a follow-up examination and secondly a decrease among household members of persons followed-up. The effect of a recommendation to attend a follow-up examination because of high blood pressure was doubtful. Cigarette consumption (cross-sectionally) decreased 12% for males and 4% for females. The joint decrease (improvement) in risk factors indicates a possible health benefit of about 20%, calculated in terms of myocardial infarction over 10 years.

In a population study of injuries in two samples from the general population of Göteborg, Sweden, of altogether about 1200 50-and 60-year-old men, the non-participation rates were 25% and 19% respectively. The aim of this report was to estimate the size of the bias caused by non-participation. Besides comparing official register data, e.g., marital status, dwelling conditions and mortality between non-participants and participants, it was also possible to measure certain morbidity variables by using the register of an emergency department over a 7-year period. The non-participants had less stable dwelling conditions and were more often unmarried, divorced or widowed than the participants. They also had more accidents per person and more head injuries, were more often transported to the emergency department by ambulance, tended to have more serious injuries and had a higher mortality rate during follow-up. The non-participants were about six times more often inebriated at the attendance and the differences seemed to be associated mainly with the alcohol factor and less with the participation factor. In conclusion, the bias in incidence estimates caused by non-participation appears to be small to moderate in this type of study as long as the non-participation rate can be kept on the same level as in this study or lower.

The purpose of the present prospective investigation was to study the epidemiology of head injuries sustained in road traffic accidents. The characteristics of all 503 headinjured patients admitted to hospitals in the two counties of Trøndelag province, Norway, in 1979 and 1980 are described. The annual incidence was 89 per 100000 inhabitants. There was a male preponderance in all categories of victims. The highest male to female ratio was found in motorcyclists and mopedists (6.3:1). Pedal cycle accidents accounted for 33% of all accidents, constituting the most common cause of head injury on the roads in the period from May to the end of September. There were more pedal cycle accidents in the present series than in previous studies on road traffic accidents.

Questionnaire information on smoking habits in pregnancy was collated in 341 monozygotic (MZ) and 321 dizygotic (DZ) female twin pair cases from a population-based Norwegian Twin Panel. In a multifactorial model, the intra-pair correlation in smoking was 0.797 (±0.042) in monozygotic (MZ) and 0.443 (±0.075) in dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs, indicating a substantial genetic influence on liability to smoke in pregnancy. The questionnaire information was linked with birth records in the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, and birth weights of offspring of 62 MZ and 100 DZ smoking-discordant twin pairs were studied. Offspring of smoking MZ twins weighed 127 g less than birth order matched offspring of the non-smoking co-twins. This finding is additional evidence that smoking is a direct cause of reduced birth weight in offspring.

The aim of the present study was to obtain information about a group of young drug addicts' dental habits, knowledge, and attitudes. Semistructured interviews with openended questions based on well-defined hypotheses were obtained with 20 intravenous drug addicts attending a Danish addiction clinic. All the interviews were taped and typed out verbatim. The analysis of the interviews was primarily carried out qualitatively. Almost all the addicts had been enrolled in the Public Child Dental Care system and the majority vividly remembered this as an unpleasant experience. None of the addicts attended a dentist regularly after having finished school, when the drug abuse usually started. Only a need for acute relief could generally motivate the addicts to visit a dentist, and in the few instances they were questioned about any drug abuse or viral hepatitis infection they usually concealed this. They evidenced very limited knowledge concerning the causes and prevention of dental decay and periodontal disease, and the high prevalence of dental caries was often believed to be caused solely or partly by the ascorbic acid or citric acid that is mixed and injected together with the drugs. A distinct behaviour with a neglected oral hygiene and an excessive intake of candy, soft drinks, and other food with a high sugar content was common. The dietary habits were related to the injection of the drugs in a ritual manner. The drug addicts only realized how deplorable their dental health had become during periods of abstinence, and then they were often embarrassed or ashamed of their esthetic appearance, although this was not perceived to have a negative influence on attempts at resocialization.

Any improvement in the dental behaviour in this group and a decrease in their dental disease is undoubtedly closely connected with stopping drug abuse, or at least reducing it, together with an improvement in these individuals' entire situation.

Six years after tubal sterilization 16 of 208 women reported serious regret. The desire for another child in a new relationship was given as the main reason for later regret, although other causes were also reported. No association between age, parity, time or type of tubal sterilization and later regret was demonstrated. However, a greater proportion of regretters than of the remainder had been recommended the sterilization by a doctor at abortion application. The regretters had undergone more abortions before their sterilization, and the study revealed more unstable marriages with consequently less support from the spouse at sterilization in the regretting group. Post-sterilization regret is discussed within the framework of life events and social support.