Twenty-four-hour blood pressure among Greenlanders and Danes: relationship to diet and lifestyle

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

Jacobsen

Lynge

2010

Objectives. To estimate the prevalence of micro-and macrovascular complications and risk factors among Greenlanders and Danes with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Nuuk, Greenland. Study design. Observational and cross-sectional study, based on a review of medical records and patient interviews. Methods. Review of the electronic medical records and interviews obtained from T2DM patients connected to the Center of Primary Health Care in Nuuk. Results. A total of 123 patients (81 Greenlanders and 42 Danes) with T2DM for a mean of 6 years were included. Fifty-seven percent of the Greenlanders were diagnosed within the last 3 years. Ninety-one percent of the patients had BMI≥25 kg/m², 42% had 1 or more first-degree relatives with diabetes, 43% were current smokers, 69% were categorized as leading a very physically active lifestyle and 60% described a healthy diet pattern. Sixty-eight percent of all the patients suffered from at least 1 complication -51% neuropathy, 14% retinopathy, 10% macrovascular complication and 43% microalbuminuria. The number of complications was significantly correlated to the duration of diabetes (p=0.008) and low physical activity (p=0.037). Retinopathy was correlated to Danish ethnicity (p=0.020). Conclusion. The majority of the Greenlandic patients (57%) were diagnosed within the last 3 years, which may indicate either the beginning of an epidemic or an increased awareness of T2DM, or both. The high prevalence of microvascular complications and risk factors such as smoking and microalbuminuria are a matter of concern. Efforts to reduce smoking and increase physical activity could be considered as prime targets for initiatives.

Section: Blood Pressure and Biochemical Resultsmentioning

confidence: 52%

Micro-and macrovascular complications among Greenlanders and Danes with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Nuuk, Greenland

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

Jacobsen

Lynge

2010

“…Data from the present study have been published previously to analyze the relationship between 24-h ambulatory blood pressure on the one hand and life style, vasoactive hormones, and mercury in blood on the other (Jorgensen et al, 2002;Jorgensen et al, 2003;Pedersen et al, 2005). The present study is the first report about pAA in Greenlanders with measurements during both summer and winter.…”

mentioning

confidence: 78%

Plasma amino acids in Greenlanders and Danes. influence of seasons, residence, ethnicity, and diet

Jørgensen

et al. 2005

American J Hum Biol

Basal metabolic rate is elevated among circumpolar populations. It has been our hypotheses that this is reflected in the levels of plasma amino acids, that amino acid concentration in plasma differs between Greenlanders and Danes, and that this difference is related to residence, ethnicity, diet, and season. The purpose of the study was to measure plasma amino acids in Greenlanders and Danes and to analyze the influence of residence, ethnicity, diet, and season. Amino acids in plasma were measured in four groups of healthy subjects both during summer and winter: Group 1, Danes living in Denmark consuming European food; Group 2, Greenlanders living in Denmark consuming European food; Group 3, Greenlanders living in Greenland consuming European food; and Group 4, Greenlanders living in Greenland consuming mainly traditional Greenlandic food. Amino acids were determined by pre-column derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with gradient elution and fluorescence detection. Most plasma amino acids were lower during summer than winter in Greenlanders living in Greenland. Comparison of the four groups showed that residence in Greenland was the most important influencing factor for the concentration of plasma amino acids, whereas ethnicity and diet had only a very modest or no effect. These findings could not be attributed to changes in thyroid function. However, the level of physical activity was significantly higher in Groups 3 and 4 than in Groups 1 and 2. Because exercise reduces the amino acid pool in plasma, it is possibly that the higher physical activity among Greenlanders living in Greenland explains the reduction in plasma amino acids during summer. It is concluded that plasma amino acids were lower during summer than winter in Greenlanders living in Greenland compared with Greenlanders in Denmark and Danes. This difference might be due to the higher level of physical activity among Greenlanders in Greenland during the summer period.

“…The frequency categories were 'daily', '4-6 times a week', '1-3 times a week', '2-3 times a month', 'once a month or less often' and 'never'. The food questionnaire has been used in several surveys in Greenland [15][16][17] and was validated with biomarkers in one study. 18 Because of the number of categories in the questionnaire and the small sample numbers in some of the categories, we condensed the diet categories into two groups for the regression analyses.…”

Section: Dietary Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the effects of arctic dietary intake on lung health

et al. 2015