No abstract

A cross‐sectional study was conducted to determine the impact of previous athleticism on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors in 168 middle‐aged men and 147 middle‐aged women in Estonia. Participants were divided into four groups: physically active ex‐athletes (AA), sedentary ex‐athletes (SA), recreational exercisers (RE), and non‐exercisers (NE). The Sharkey's questionnaire was applied to determine the CHD risk factors, health habits, medical, safety, personal, psychological and women's risk factors scores. Anthropometric characteristics, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure values (SBP, DBP), and physical working capacity (PWC170) were measured. Concentrations of total cholesterol (CHOL), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), triacylglycerols (TG), and glucose were determined. Low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) and HDL‐C/CHOL ratio were computed. From the questionnaire results, significant differences in CHD risk scores in both sex groups in favour of AA and RE were found. DBP in men was significantly higher in SA, and SBP in women was significantly higher in NE in comparison with other groups. PWC170 and PWC170/kg was highest in AA and lowest in NE in both sex groups. There were no significant differences for blood biochemical parameters between women's groups. In men, AA had a lower CHOL level in comparison with SA and NE, and lower concentrations of TG and LDL‐C than other groups. AA and RE had a higher HDL‐C concentration and HDL‐C/CHOL ratio in comparison with the other groups. In conclusion, differences in CHD risk factors were related to current physical activity, and were more expressed in men than in women.

This study provides a comparative time-trend evaluation of injury mortality in local communities in Sweden and the three Baltic States, considering their national socio-political and economic situations and with analysis of local injury prevention structures and activities. Data for the period from 1990 to 2002 were gathered from national statistical offices for the cities of Borås, Tartu, Jelgava and Kaunas and from WHO databases for national level analyses. The death rates for Borås remained relatively stable over the time period, while the Baltic communities had increasing rates until 1994 and seemed to stabilize after 1997. The differences in injury mortality in the studied communities were highest for the 0 - 19 year age group and especially in the 20 - 64 year age group, but not for the 65+ year age group. Local communities in the Baltic States should consider coordinated safety promotion and injury prevention programmes as a complement to national safety promotion framework.

Traffic fatalities are the leading cause of death among the young and middle-aged population in Estonia. The objective of this study was to reveal the pattern of traffic fatalities among the population aged 15 - 64 years and to determine the role of alcohol in their fatalities. The data were collected from post-mortem reports at the Estonian Bureau of Forensic Medicine from 2000 to 2002. Alcohol-related deaths were those with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) equal or above 0.05 g/100 ml. Out of 512 victims, 401 were males and 111 were females. The greatest group were car occupants (58%) followed by pedestrians (31%). The portion of alcohol-related deaths was 70% among men and 44% among women. The mean BAC and percentage of alcohol-related deaths was significantly higher in pedestrian than in driver fatalities. Alcohol intoxication was identified as the most powerful contributing factor to traffic fatalities. The results provide more evidence for politicians to tackle alcohol abuse and unsafe traffic environments.

Background: The objective of this study is to sum up the dietary selenium intake of the Estonian people according to the serum selenium concentrations. Subjects/methods: This research compiles the information published in the literature about the levels of selenium in the serum of the Estonian people. We compare these results with the findings obtained from the analyses of serum samples gathered by us in the 1990s in Estonia.Results: The selenium concentration in sera of 404 Estonians ranged from 26 to 116 mg/l; the mean was 75 mg/l. The selenium contents of Estonians were at a similar level as reported for Finns before the selenium supplementation of fertilizers carried out in Finland in 1984. Conclusion: In view of the selenium concentration in the sera, we suggest that the dietary selenium intake among the Estonian people might be scarce, and Estonian authorities should consider in their nutrition policies the possible low intake of selenium of Estonians.