Atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents. XII. Smoking behaviour and its determinants in 12-18-year-old subjects.

The cross-sectional study of 1980 for atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents aimed at a wide coverage of the relevant relationships of the smoking behaviour to socioeconomic and psychosocial factors. The initiation and establishment of the smoking habits were primarily viewed as a function of the youngsters' main socializing agents: the peer group and the family. A subpopulation comprising 1,790 children and adolescents aged 12, 15 and 18 years of the total sample was included in the study on smoking behaviour. The information on smoking habits was collected in connection with the medical examination in a solitary room where the youngsters could respond undisturbed. Data on the children's families were obtained by means of a general questionnaire filled out by the parents. The prevalence of daily smoking was 1% in the 12-year-old, 10% in the 15-year-old, and 30% in the 18-year-old subjects. The best friend's behaviour was the best predictor of an adolescent's smoking behaviour, although the family had retained its role as an important model as regards the learning of smoking behaviour. Quitting school turned out to be a major event leading to an increased risk of becoming a habitual smoker. No clear associations between socioeconomic status of the family and daily smoking were found, except that farmers' children had generally lower rates of daily smoking than children from other socioeconomic groups. First contacts with tobacco formed part of a normal behaviour pattern at a certain age, and this experimentation was unrelated to a later regular habit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents. IX. Socioeconomic status and risk factors of coronary heart disease.

Relationships between parental socioeconomic status and CHD risk factors were examined in the Finnish Multicentre Study on Atherosclerosis Precursors comprising a material of 3,596 study subjects aged 3-18 years in five university cities and 12 rural communes. The work is based on the hypothesis that socioeconomic status has associations with important lifestyle factors related to the evolution of CHD risk factors. Although there is some indication that parental status variables correlate with CHD risk factors, the majority of the data point to the conclusion that socioeconomic status indicators have little relevance for children's CHD risk factor levels. The main exceptions to the above stated were the lower P/S ratio of the diet in farmers' children compared to the other socioeconomic groups in all age cohorts, and the higher serum total and LDL-cholesterol levels in the farmers' children as compared to the others in some age cohorts. The explanation to these findings is the dietary practice in farmers' households, full milk and butter being favoured instead of other milk types and vegetable margarine, respectively. Our findings illustrate the importance of the families' dietary habits with regard to certain CHD risk factors.

Atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents. I. General description of the cross-sectional study of 1980, and an account of the children's and families' state of health.

The paper describes the general outline of a multicentre study on the risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD) and their determinants in children of various ages in different parts of Finland. The study was a cross-sectional one, and was carried out in 1980 in five university cities of Finland with medical schools and in 12 rural communities in their vicinity. The randomized sample included an equal number of boys and girls, aged 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 years, and an equal number of urban and rural population in each area. The total sample size was 4,320 subjects, and of these 3,596 participated (83.1%). The families received before the medical examination of the child, questionnaires on the socioeconomic background the child's general health and development, the parents' and grandparents' health status, and the child's food and exercise habits. At the physical examination also a fasting blood sample (lipids, insulin, trace elements) was taken, a bundle of hair was cut for trace element analysis, and a 48-hour recall on food intake was obtained from every second subject. 19.5% of the children had in their history some long-term disease, allergic diseases being the most common. CHD and other cardiovascular diseases were significantly more frequent among the grandparents and parents in eastern than in western Finland. The study is meant to be a basis for a longitudinal study.