Finnish life tables since 1751.

PIP: This paper presents the completed series of life tables from 1751 to 1995 that was used in identifying the four stages of mortality transition in Finland, separated by the years 1880, 1945, and 1970. The series documents all the different stages of mortality transition from high to low levels in an originally agricultural country experiencing many wars, famines, and other crises, as well as major political change. The cyclical fluctuation of the death rate in the 18th and 19th centuries is measured and examined in relation to epidemics, famines, and wars. Important permanent changes in mortality also took place in this period. Each of the successive stages of transition produced its own characteristic pattern of mortality change, which contrasted with those of the other stages. Finally, the age profile of the years added to life is drawn to illustrate the end result of each stage of mortality transition.^ieng

Dietary prevention of coronary heart disease in women: the Finnish mental hospital study.

A controlled intervention trial, with the purpose of testing the hypothesis that the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) could be decreased by the use of a serum-cholesterol-lowering (SCL) diet, was carried out in two mental hospitals near Helsinki in 1959-71. The subjects were hospitalized middle-aged women. One of the hospitals received the SCL diet, ie a diet low in saturated fats and cholesterol and relatively high in poly-unsaturated fats, while the other served as the control with a normal hospital diet. Six years later the diets were reversed, and the trial was continued another six years. The use of the SCL diet was associated with markedly lowered serum cholesterol values. The incidence of CHD, as measured by the appearance of certain electrocardiographic patterns and by the occurrence of coronary deaths, was in both hospitals during the SCL-diet periods lower than during the normal-diet periods. The differences, however, failed to reach statistical significance. An examination of a number of potential confounding variables indicated that the changes in them were small and failed to account for the reduction in the incidence of CHD. Although the results of this trial do not permit firm conclusions, they support the idea that also among female populations the SCL diet exerts a preventive effect on CHD.

[Not Available]. / Les causes des fluctuations annuelles du taux de mortalité finlandais entre 1750 et 1806.

PIP: The author first shows that there is no relationship between mortality and harvest variations in Finland between 1750 and 1806. A correlation is then established between mortality differentials and infectious diseases, particularly with outbreaks of smallpox and chicken pox (SUMMARY IN ENG)^ieng

Dietary prevention of coronary heart disease: the Finnish Mental Hospital Study.

A controlled intervention trial, with the purpose of testing the hypothesis that the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) could be decreased by the use of serum-cholesterol-lowering (SCL) diet, was carried out in 2 mental hospitals near Helsinki in 1959--71. The subjects were hospitalized middle-aged men. One of the hospitals received the SCL diet, i.e. a diet low in saturated fats and cholesterol and relatively high in polyunsaturated fats, while the other served as the control with a normal hospital diet. Six years later the diets were reversed, and the trial was continued another 6 years. The use of the SCL diet was associated with markedly lowered serum-cholesterol values. The incidence of CHD, as measured by the appearance of certain electrocardiographic patterns and by the occurrence of coronary deaths, was in both hospitals during the SCL-diet periods about half that during the normal-diet periods. An examination of a number of potential confounding variables indicated that the changes in them were small and failed to account for the considerable reduction in the incidence of CHD. It is concluded that the use of the serum-cholesterol-lowering diet exerted a substantial preventive effect on CHD.

Effect of cholesterol-lowering diet on mortality from coronary heart disease and other causes.

International statistics indicate that there is a close correlation between the consumption of saturated fats (dairy fats and meat fats) and the mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD), and this conception has been confirmed by many epidemiological studies. Such studies alone, however, cannot prove the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship between these two variables; dietary intervention trials are needed. The Finnish Mental Hospital Study was such a trial, conducted in two hospitals near Helsinki in 1959--1971. Practically total replacement of dairy fats by vegetable oils in the diets of these hospitals was followed by a substantial reduction in the mortality of men from CHD. Total mortality also appeared to be reduced. As to the causes of death other than CHD, none was significantly influenced by dietary change. This was also true for malignant neoplasms. To alleviate the burden of CHD on public health, many investigators have recommended important changes in the quantity and quality of dietary fats.

Fertility and mortality in Finland since 1750.

Summary In this paper the development of fertility and mortality in Finland, and their interrelations with each other and with economic factors is discussed. An analysis by individual years shows that rises and falls in mortality and fertility rates did not always coincide with poor and good harvests. Fertility in Finland decreased slightly at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but fell sharply over the period 1876-1925. This fall corresponded closely to changes in the death rate, especially for infants, and appears to justify the conclusion that the changes were connected. These population shifts have been called the first and second demographic transitions, of which the latter was the more dramatic. Factors tending to reduce mortality among infants and in other age groups during the second demographic transition are obvious; those underlying the first demographic transition are less clear. In this connection, the importance of breast feeding and campaigns designed to favour the practice are stressed. These helped to reduce infant mortality and were one of the main reasons for the first demographic transition. Finnish material also suggests that some kind of family planning existed during the pre-industrial period; it is only by making this assumption that the various figures can be made compatible.

Prevalence of cholelithiasis in men and women ingesting a serum-cholesterol-lowering diet.

This study was carried out to ascertain whether, as has been suggested, the ingestion of a serum-cholesterol-lowering diet would be conducive to cholelithiasis. The prevalence of gallstones was studied in autopsied male and female patients of two mental hospitals in connection with a long-term controlled trial on prevention of coronary heart disease by means of a diet with a high polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio. The prevalence of gallstones was in men: 20/89 (equals 22.5%) on cholesterol-lowering diet and 11/44 (equals 25%) on normal diet; and in women: 151/262 (equals 42%) on cholesterol-lowering diet and 29/62 (equals 47%) on normal diet. It was concluded that in our trial the cholesterol-lowering diet was not lithogenic.