Objective: To describe the dietary patterns of 10 European countries and their socio-demographic determinants, using the comparable between-countries DAFNE data. Design: Analysis of standardized and postharmonized data collected through the national household budget surveys. Setting: Nationally representative surveys undertaken in 10 European countries, generally in the second half of the 1990s. Results: The differences in the fruit and vegetable consumption previously identified between Mediterranean and Northern European countries seem to be leveling out, particularly in relation to fruit consumption. Pulses, however, still characterize the diet of the Mediterraneans. Straying from their traditional food choices, Mediterraneans recorded high availability of unprocessed red meat, while Central and Northern Europeans preferably consumed meat products. The household availability of beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) is generally higher among Central and Northern European populations. Principal component (PC) analysis led to the identification of two dietary patterns in each of the 10 countries. The first was similar in all countries and indicated 'wide-range' food buyers. The second was slightly more varied and described 'beverage and convenience' food buyers. PC1 was common among households of retired and elderly members, while PC2 was common among households located in urban or semi-urban areas and among adult Scandinavians living alone. Conclusions: The dietary patterns identified point towards a progressive narrowing of dietary differences between North and South European countries. The comparable between-countries DAFNE data could prove useful in ecological studies, in the formulation of dietary guidelines and public health initiatives addressing specific population groups. Sponsorship: European Commission.

The development in the prevalence of back pain, back diseases diagnosed by a physician, and joint pain were studied in Finland during the period 1978/9-1992. The data consisted of annual surveys of representative national samples (n = 5000) of 15-64 year old Finns. The effects of sex, age-group, and study year on the proportions of those with a disorder were studied by logistic regression analyses. All prevalences increased with age. Symptoms were more common among women. The prevalence rates of the symptoms remained stationary through the time period. There were further no systematic changes in the prevalence of diagnosed back diseases. The lower prevalence levels from the year 1985 onwards were probably because of a change in the questionnaire layout, and the two periods were modelled separately. Possible reasons for the discrepancy between the present results and those from previous surveys in Finland are discussed.

Dentists need to provide patients with counseling on tobacco use because of the desire of many smokers to quit. Counseling of smokers by the oral health team requires special attention and skills, because smokers' health behaviors and attitudes appear to be less favorable to oral health compared to nonsmokers.

Worldwide dietary data for nutrition monitoring and surveillance are commonly derived from food balance sheets (FBS) and household budget surveys (HBS). We have compared food supply from FBS and food availability data from HBS among eighteen European countries and have estimated the extent to which they correlate, focusing on food groups which are comparably captured by FBS and HBS and for which there is epidemiological evidence that they can have a noticeable impact on population mortality. Spearman's correlation coefficient was þ0·78 (P,10 23 ) for vegetables (including legumes), þ 0·76 (P,10 23 ) for fruits, þ0·69 (P,10 23 ) for fish and seafood and þ0·93 (P,10 23 ) for olive oil. With respect to meat and meat products, the coefficient was lower at þ0·39 (P¼0·08). Moreover, we have examined whether the supply (FBS) or the availability (HBS) of food groups known or presumed to have beneficial effect on the occurrence of CHD and total cancer can predict overall, coronary and cancer mortality in ecological analyses. After controlling for purchasing power parity-adjusted gross domestic product and tobacco smoking we found that for vegetables, fruits, fish and seafood, as well as for olive oil, both the FBS and the HBS estimates were inversely associated with all three indicators of mortality, although the number of countries with complete information on all study variables hindered formal statistical documentation (P.0·05 in some instances). FBS and HBS have their own strengths and weaknesses, but they may complement each other in dietary assessments at the population level.

Objective: To assess how well supermarket sales data from a major supermarket chain can reflect on regional differences in dietary behaviour by comparing the sales data with the results provided by the annual health behaviour surveys. Design: Cross-sectional observational study.