Læknablaðið - 01.10.1967, Qupperneq 38

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LÆKNABLAÐIÐ
9. Rignér, K. G„ Brante, G., Ólafsson, Ól., Taube, A.: „A Population
Study in Eskilstuna with an Attempt to Evaluate the Possible Gains
of Health Control." Acta Socio-Med. Vol. 1. 1967.
10. Studies on the Prevalence of Ischsemic Heart Disease. Report on
Technical Meeting of the World Health Organization. Euro 179, 3,
London.
SUMMARY
In the article „Epidemiology and General Health Surveys", the dif-
ference in clinical medicine and epidemiology is stressed. Clinicians deal
with a selective part of the population, but the epidemiologists with the
population as a whole. Thus the epidemiological method often helps to
complete the clinical picture and the natural history of disease.
Some results from epidemiological studies are presented:
1. Population studies on 45—65 years old people reveal that 20—25%
of them have unknown disease such as myocardial infarction.
Among people with high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, anæmia
and bacteriuria (women) these figures are higher.
2. A greater proportion of women than men over 45 years old have
high blood pressure, 35% and 20% respectively. In the male popuia-
tion however, one does not find less cases with hypertensive com-
plications. The conventional criteria for high blood pressure might
be wrong.
3. ST depression in E.C.G. is much more common in 60—65 years old
women than men of same age.
4. Epidemiological studies are giving us a more reliable “normal
values” for laboratory tests for instance the ESR sedimentation
rate etc. These studies have shown that high blood lipids (cholest-
erol, lipoprotein) and high blood pressure are much more common
in women than men (age group 45—65). These factors are consider-
ed as risk factor in Myocardial infarction = M.I., but nevertheless
women suffer less from M.I. than men, therefore, these factors play
a less role in the pathogenesis of this disease in women than men.
P.B.I. is higher in women than in men, but specific gravity of
urine is lower.
5. The population studies are important in evaluating the possible
gains of any profylactic approach and to measure, whom to treat
and how to treat by performing follow-up studies.
At last some results from a pilot study of so called health control in
Eskilstuna, Sweden, 1964, are presented. These results are based on a two
years follow-up and show that a health control may favour the individual
more than the economy of society. For the individual in the age brackets
45—65 years, gains are attainable in up to 20% of the subjects, these gains
being along lines of iife improvement rather than of life prolongation.