Pages 301-304 in G. Pétursdóttir et al., eds. Circumpolar Health 93. Proceedings of the 9th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Reykjavík, Iceland, June 20-25, 1993. Arctic Medical Research. 1994;53(Suppl.2)
Regional Institute of Occupational Health, Oulu Finland
Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, University of Oulu, Finland
Source
Pages 301-304 in G. Pétursdóttir et al., eds. Circumpolar Health 93. Proceedings of the 9th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Reykjavík, Iceland, June 20-25, 1993. Arctic Medical Research. 1994;53(Suppl.2)
Cardiovascular risk factors and their association with diet were examined in Saami (Lapp) and Finnish reindeer herders (total sample size 2705). The Saami men showed lower systolic blood pressure (130 mmHg) than the Finns (137 mmHg), higher serum total cholesterol (6.92 vs. 6.51 mmol/l) and triglycerides (1.32 vs. 1.11 mmol/l), and more Saami than Finnish men were smokers (34% vs. 27%). Subjects eating reindeer meat daily showed serum cholesterol 0.6 mmol/l higher than those who did so once a month or more rarely, the association being independent of age, season, body mass index, or consumption of coffee, milk, bread, fish, or alcohol. The high content of antioxidants of the Saami diet might explain why cardiovascular diseases are relatively uncommon in the Saami area despite the adverse risk factor pattern.