A population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden, is presented. The women were representative of the total female population in Gothenburg in the age strata 38, 46, 50, 54 and 60 years. Altogether 1 462 women participated in the examination, the participation rate being 90.1%. Social data of participants and non‐participants are given. The performance of the examination is described and research projects are outlined. It is concluded that the selection of a strictly representative sample, together with careful uniformity of performance and high participation rate, will make it possible to draw valid conclusions about the total population of middle‐aged women in Gothenburg.

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A controlled study of hematological changes was performed on 14 patients with the Norrbottnian type of Gaucher disease, seven of whom had been splenectomized at least one year before the study. Each patient had two controls matched to age, sex and habitation. Before splenectomy the patients had slight to moderate microcytic, hypochromic anemia which changed after splenectomy to macrocytic, hypochromic anemia. The splenectomized patients had a high percentage of target cells (mean frequency 33%) and a significantly increased hypo-osmotic resistance of the erythrocytes which showed a positive correlation with the number of target cells. Before removal of the spleen the patients had slight leukopenia with a relative increase of mononuclear cells and moderate thrombocytopenia. In the splenectomized patients the thrombocyte count was normal and there was moderate leukocytosis with a persistent relative increase of lymphocytes.

Anaemic women (Hb concentration < 120 g/l) who participated in a population study of women in Goteborg, Sweden were compared to the women in the population sample as a whole. Due to the way of sampling and a high participation rate the sample was representative of women in Goteborg in the ages studied (age strata between 38 and 60). In the same way the anaemic women were representative of anaemic women in the same general population. Iron deficiency was found to be the main reason for the anaemia in the ages of 38-50 years. Except for big menstrual blood losses in anaemic women no reason for iron deficiency could be found. History of infectious diseases was about as common in anaemic women as in women in the total population sample. Sleeping habits, time off work and physical activity at work and during leisure time were similar in anaemic women and in women in the general population. The proportion of women who reported a subjective feeling of tiredness was also similar.Correspondence to: Calle Bengtsson, Med. klin. 11, Sahlgrenska sjukhuset, S-413 45 Goteborg, SwedenDuring the years 1968-1969 a population study of women was carried out in Goteborg, Sweden. One of the main purposes was to study the prevalence of anaemia and iron deficiency in the population. A previous communication has described e.g. means and extreme values of Hb concentration, haematocrit (PCV) and red cell count (Tibblin et a1 1978). The purpose of the present paper is to describe characteristics of anaemic women with special refer-ence to cause of anaemia and symptoms from anaemia. MATERIAL AND METHODSAltogether 1462 women in five age strata (38, 46, 50, 54 and 60 years old) were examined in a population study (Bengtsson et a1 1973). The selection of the sample was made in such a way as to assure that it was representative of the female population in Goteborg of the ages studied. A high participation rate (90.1 % of those sampled) Scand J Haematol (1979) 22