Young Adults In Finland Research Articles

Longitudinal changes in diet from childhood into adulthood with respect to risk of cardiovascular diseases: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

To assess nutrient intakes relevant in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among young adults in Finland and to find past and present determinants of quality of diet. Prospective study, 21 years of follow-up. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, Finland. At baseline in 1980: 3569 children aged 3-18 y participated (83% of those invited), and every second of them (1780) were selected to the dietary study. At follow-ups in 1986 and 2001: 1200 and 1037 of the original sample, respectively, participated. Food consumption was assessed using 48-h dietary recall. Intakes in 2001 were compared with those obtained in 1980 and 1986. Nutrients selected for further examination were those implicated in the risk of CVD: saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and n-3 fatty acids, fibre and salt. An index describing the quality of adulthood diet was constructed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent childhood and adulthood determinants of the quality index. The average intakes showed substantial changes since 1980. Intakes of fat and saturated fat had decreased, while the consumption of vegetables and fruit had increased. However, a great disparity was present between the recommended levels and actual intakes for many of the nutrients, particularly salt, saturated fat and fibre. Intake of fat and consumption of vegetables in childhood and physical activity in adulthood were important health behavioural determinants of the cardiovascular quality of the adult diet. Socio-demographic factors, including education of the subject and their parents, had no significant associations with diet. While intakes of energy and nutrients have changed favourably in Finnish young adults between 1980 and 2001 with regard to the risk of CVD, they are still far from recommended levels. Childhood diet is a significant determinant of adult diet even after 21 y. This study was supported by the Academy of Finland (grant 77841) and Juho Vainio Foundation.

The 21-year follow-up of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study: risk factor levels, secular trends and east-west difference.

The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study is an on-going multicentre study of atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and young adults. We have collected risk factor data in the 21-year follow-up performed in 2001. The aims of this analysis were to examine the levels, secular trends and east-west difference in risk factors amongst young adults. Population based follow-up study. A total of 2283 participants aged 24-39 years in 2001 (63.5% of the original cohort). Levels of serum lipids, apolipoproteins, blood pressure and smoking. The mean serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in 24-39-year-old adults were 5.16, 3.27, 1.29 and 1.34 mmol L(-1), respectively. Total cholesterol (5.21 vs. 5.12 mmol L(-1), P = 0.046), HDL cholesterol (1.31 vs. 1.28 mmol L(-1), P = 0.027), systolic blood pressure (118 vs. 115 mmHg, P < 0.0001) and diastolic blood pressure (72 vs. 70 mmHg, P < 0.0001) were higher in subjects originating from eastern Finland compared with those from western Finland. Significant secular trends between 1986 and 2001 in 24-year-old subjects (n = 783) included an increase in serum triglycerides and body mass index (BMI), a decrease in blood pressure and HDL cholesterol and a modest 5% decrease in total cholesterol levels. During the past 15 years, BMI and triglyceride levels have increased in young adults in Finland. At the same time, the reduction in cholesterol concentration has been slow. Consistent with persistent regional differences in cardiovascular morbidity within Finland, our data demonstrate significant differences in the levels of cardiovascular risk factors between subjects originating from eastern and western Finland.

Seroepidemiological study of Helicobacter pylori infection in infancy.

The incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection in very young children was determined, based on the emergence of specific IgG antibodies in sequential serum samples from birth to 2 years of age. The risk of acquiring H pylori infection in infancy as a result of maternal exposure to the organism was also assessed, based on the determination of maternal cord-blood antibodies. Serum IgG class H pylori antibodies were analysed in the cord blood samples of 195 newborns and in their follow up samples until the age of 2 years. Maternal antibodies were detected in the cord-blood samples of 21 children (10.6%). These antibodies disappeared in all but one child before 7 months of age and no new seroconversions occurred in these children. Ten originally cord-blood negative children seroconverted up to the age of 2 years (5.1%). It is concluded that a major proportion of H pylori infections observed in young adults in Finland are acquired during the first two years of life. Maternal seropositivity is not a straightforward risk factor for acquiring H pylori infection in infancy.

The influence of incisal malocclusion on the social attractiveness of young adults in Finland

The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of dentofacial appearance on the perceived social attractiveness of young adults in Finland. The dental arrangements studied were incisal crowding, median diastema, protruding incisors, and ideal incisal occlusion. Facial photographs of six young adults were obtained and modified, so that for each face, four different dental arrangements could be portrayed. The photographs were shown to 1007 Finnish students to estimate social and personal characteristics of the person in the photograph. Dental arrangement had a significant influence on the perceived beauty and success of the persons. Test faces with incisal crowding and median diastema were ranked as significantly less intelligent, beautiful and sexually attractive, and judged to belong to lower social class than the same faces with ideal occlusion. Protruded incisors did not affect the ratings compared to ideal occlusion. On the average, female test faces were judged more favourably than the male ones. The results indicate that among Finnish students conspicuous incisal crowding or spacing represent a social disadvantage compared to normal or protruded incisors.

Comparing Drinking Cultures: Finnish and Spanish Drinking Stories in Interviews with Young Adults

In this article drinkmg stories among young adults in Finland and Spain are compared. The study is based on qualitative interviews with students attending commercial colleges. The analysis of the drinking stories gives an insight into the interviewees' personal experiences of drinking and drunkenness. Two ideal types of both Finnish and Spanish drinking stories are constructed. It was found that in both Finland and Spain young adults generally had some experience of drunkenness, and that drunkenness coexisted with sociable drinking. In Spam, however, drinking seemed to bring men and women together, whereas in Finland it seemed to set them apart.

The Novel for Young Adults in Finland

Just as children's literature began to develop only after the concept of the child as a person in his or her own right had emerged, so did literature for teenagers appear only after the existence of adults, living in the no-man's-land between childhood and adult life, had been recognized in Western societies. Today's teenagers are well aware of their social significance, and they also comprise a sizable group of consumers. Nevertheless, they are still dependent on grownups and do not write books of their own. Indeed, a new literary genre was conceived in order to satisfy what are considered to be their own special needs: a short in which readers could perceive and identify themselves and could learn to cope with their problems.' The novel for young adults, or teenage fiction, first appeared in the 1950s and is today a well-established genre (Bator 1983: 303). However, its raison d'etre has at times been questioned: Should teenagers not be able to read anything? Do they really need a literature of their own? In defense of the genre, there are those who claim that literature for adults does not address some of the problems that are of crucial interest to teenagers (see, e.g., Klingberg 1969 [1967]: 186; Donelson and Nilsen 1980: 181).

Prevalence and sociodemographic variance of type A behavior in Finnish preadolescents, adolescents, and young adults.

The prevalence and sociodemographic variance of Type A behavior was studied among 1,721 preadolescents, adolescents, and young adults in Finland. The AFMS questionnaire (Type A behavior questionnaire for the Finnish Multicenter Study), as self-rated and assessed by mothers, and the Hunter-Wolf A-B Rating Scale (HWolf) were used. There was considerable variation between measures: On the AFMS boys scored higher, whereas on the Hwolf girls scored higher. In contrast to earlier findings, Type A behavior was more prevalent among rural subjects than among urban subjects. Economic and occupational status of the family were of no importance. The notion that the Type A behavior pattern characterizes urban, middle-to upper-class males was not validated in this group of Finnish children and young adults.

Effects of fluoride and regular dental care on personal dental expenditures of young adults in Finland.

This paper analyzes the relationship among presence of fluoride in the drinking water, oral health and dental expenditures in four towns in Finland. A two-stage least-squares model is used to determine the effect of fluoridated water and other independent variables on the number of missing teeth and per capita annual dental service expenditures for 555 adults. The results show that regularity of dental visits is the only significant factor explaining per capita expenditures. In contrast, many factors affect the number of missing teeth; most importantly, the number of dentists per capita, level of fluoride, age, education, use of services and smoking habits. These findings suggest that fluoride significantly improves oral health status but does not reduce adult per capita dental expenditures.