Search

The article highlights a prospective cohort study which examined the link between long-term temporal changes in resting heart rate (RHR) and the risk of deaths from ischemic heart disease (IHD) in Norway. RHR was measured two times, with around a ten year gap. The study revealed that an increase in RHR in men and women without known cardiovascular disease over ten years, was associated with an increase in risk of dying from IHD. An increase in RHR was also found to be associated with all-cause mortality.

Objective: To explore various contributors to people's reporting of self reported air pollution problems in area of living, including GIS-modeled air pollution, and to investigate whether those with respiratory or other chronic diseases tend to over-report air pollution problems, compared to healthy people. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the Oslo Health Study (2000-2001) were linked with GIS-modeled air pollution data from the Norwegian Institute of Air Research. Multivariate regression analyses were performed. 14 294 persons aged 30, 40, 45, 60 or 75 years old with complete information on modeled and self reported air pollution were included. Results: People who reported air pollution problems were exposed to significantly higher GIS-modeled air pollution levels than those who did not report such problems. People with chronic disease, reported significantly more air pollution problems after adjustment for modeled levels of nitrogen dioxides, socio-demographic variables, smoking, depression, dwelling conditions and an area deprivation index, even if they had a non-respiratory disease. No diseases, however, were significantly associated with levels of nitrogen dioxides. Conclusion: Self reported air pollution problems in area of living are strongly associated with increased levels of GIS-modeled air pollution. Over and above this, those who report to have a chronic disease tend to report more air pollution problems in area of living, despite no significant difference in air pollution exposure compared to healthy people, and no associations between these diseases and NO2. Studies on the association between self reported air pollution problems and health should be aware of the possibility that disease itself may influence the reporting of air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Epidemiological studies that have investigated the association between air pollution and atopy have found inconsistent results. Furthermore, often exposure to outdoor air pollution has had limited quality, and more individual exposure is needed. Objective To investigate the relations between early and lifetime exposure to residential outdoor air pollution and allergen sensitization in 9–10-year-old children in Oslo, Norway. Methods Sensitization to common allergens was measured by skin prick tests (SPTs), which were performed in 2244 children who had lived in Oslo since birth. Several definitions of positive SPT were used. Information on potential confounding variables was collected by a parental questionnaire. Exposure to outdoor air pollution was assessed by the EPISODE dispersion model, which calculates hourly concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM10) and <2.5 μm (PM2.5), respectively. Results We found no associations between long-term air pollution exposure and sensitization to any allergen, any indoor or any pollen allergen. However, lifetime air pollution exposure was associated with sensitization to the house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae. One interquartile increase of lifetime exposure to NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 was associated with 1.88 (adjusted odds ratio) (1.02, 3.47) [95% confidence interval (CI)], 1.61 (0.96, 2.72) and 1.46 (0.96, 2.22), respectively, for D. farinae. Lifetime exposure was also associated with sensitization to cat in a subpopulation. Both associations diminished after adjusting for a contextual socio-economic factor. Conclusion Long-term exposure to traffic-related pollutants was generally not associated with allergen sensitization in 9–10-year-old Oslo children. However, lifetime exposure was associated with sensitization to D. farinae, and with sensitization to cat in a subpopulation, which may be explained by socio-economic confounding or multiple comparisons. The air pollution levels in Oslo may be too low to reveal associations with sensitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies have concluded that atopy is more common in Western than in Eastern Europe. We aimed to study whether a similar difference exists between Norwegian and Russian adults living in geographically adjacent areas. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study was performed in Sør- Varanger municipality (Norway) and in the cities of Nikel and Zapolyarny (Russia). The Russian cities are heavily polluted by sulfur dioxide from local nickel industry. In addition to questionnaire information, results on IgE sensitization (S-Phadiatop, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Uppsala, Sweden) were obtained from 3134 Norwegian and 709 Russian participants. Results: A positive Phadiatop was found in 20.7% of the Norwegians (men 21.9%, women 19.7%) and in 27.5% of the Russians (men 35.7%, women 23.0%); the sex- and age-adjusted relative risk of testing positive in Russia being 1.49 (95% CI 1.23–1.81). The Norwegian participants reported more atopic dermatitis and hay fever, although this difference was statistically significant only for atopic dermatitis in women. Conclusion: IgE sensitization was more common in Russia than in Norway, unlike findings from other east–west European studies. The Russians did not, however, report more atopic diseases. This discrepancy might reflect different awareness of allergies in the two countries and demonstrates the need for objective markers of atopy when comparing prevalence in different populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to examine within and between individual variation detected during forced expiratory (FE) and forced inspiratory (FI) manoeuvers in a general population and to investigate the dependence of these variables on age, body size, and gender. A random sample of asymptomatic never smokers who had never been exposed occupationally to quartz or asbestos and who were living on the south-western coast of Norway were examined by spirometry; 81% of the individuals invited to attend did so. Of the 488 subjects between 18 and 73 years of age, 98% contributed three acceptable recordings for forced expiratory vital capacity (FVC) and one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), 94% contributed three acceptable recordings for forced inspiratory vital capacity (FIVC) and 85% contributed three acceptable recordings for one-second forced inspiratory volume (FIV1). The within-subject variation increased with body height and was considerably larger for FIV1 than for FVC, FEV1 or FIVC. A four-parameter model of pulmonary function measurement divided by height squared, including a gender term and a linear and quadratic term of age, fit the median of the observed values well. The residuals had a close-to-normal distribution, and the fifth-percentile values were estimated as the lower limit of normal. The peak value of dynamic lung volumes was observed into the middle of the fourth decade of life, and the decline thereafter did not differ greatly between the genders or among the different indices. The forced inspiratory volumes are the first reported in any reference population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]