Finnish Heart Study

Nonetheless, the inverse relationship between unsaturated fat and CVD is supported by the results from prospective cohort studies such as the Ireland-Boston Diet Heart Study (Kushi et al., 1985) and the Nurses Health Study (Hu et al., 1997) and long-term intervention studies such as the Los Angeles Veteran Study and the Finnish Mental Hospital Study (Dayton et al., 1965 Turpeinen et al., 1979). In the Indo-Mediterranean Diet Heart Study (Singh et al., 2002) and the Lyon Diet Heart Study (de Lorgeril et al., 1999), a diet high in unsaturated fat and complex carbohydrates were proven to be potent to reduce coronary events. It has been difficult to prove a clear relationship between saturated fat and future cardiovascular events in prospective cohort studies, and this is highlighted by the recent meta-analysis described below. 

Essential hypertension, whose prevalence is increased nearly two-fold in the diabetic population, may be another source of free-radical activity. The vascular lesions of hypertension can be produced by free-radical reactions (Selwign, 1983). In the recent Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Risk Factor Study in Finnish men, a marked elevation of blood pressure was associated with low levels of both plasma ascorbate and serum selenium (Salonen etal., 1988). A few studies report a hypotensive effect of supplementary ascorbate in patients with hypertension, but the actual changes in both systolic and diastolic pressure after ascorbate were not statistically significant in comparison with placebo (Trout, 1991). 

Mursu J, Voutilainen S, Nurmi T, Tuomainen TP, Kurl S, Salonen JT. 2008. Flavonoid intake and the risk of ischaemic stroke and CVD mortality in middle-aged Finnish men The Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Br J Nutr 100 890-895. 

Turpeinen, O., Karvonen, M. J., Pekkarinen, M., Miettinen, M., Elosuo, R., and Paavilainen, E. (1979). Dietary prevention of coronary heart disease The Finnish Mental Hospital Study. Int. J. Epidemiol. 8, 99-118. 

The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (Dolecek, 1992) included over 12,000 men over an 8-year period. The results showed that higher ALA intakes were associated with lower risks of death due to coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, a 28% reduction in risk of stroke was associated with a 0.06% increase in the ALA content of serum phospholipids (Simon et al., 1995). Other studies have since supported the association between ALA and reduction in stroke risk (Leng et al., 1999 Vartiainen et al., 1994). Vartiainen et al. (1994) followed a Finnish population of approximately 28,000 men and women over 20 years and found that a 60% reduction in mortality from stroke was associated with increased ALA consumption. In a study involving approximately 1,100 subjects, individuals suffering a stroke had significantly lower ALA concentrations in the red blood cell (Leng et al., 1999). 

Cambridge Heart Antioxidant Study DATATOR Deprenyl and Tocopherol Antioxidative Therapy of Rarkinsonism FMC, Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey GISSI, Gruppo Italiano Studio Soprawivenza Infarto HOPE, Heart Outcome Prevention Evaluation HPFS, Health Professional Follow-up Study NHS, Nurses Health Study PPR Primary Prevention Project SPACE, Secondary Prevention with Antioxidants of Cardiovascular disease in End-stage renal disease VEAPS, Vitamin E Atherosclerosis Prevention Study VECAT Vitamin E Cataract Age-related maculopathy Trial. 

I 90 Pietinen P Rimm EB, Korkonen R et al, Intake of dietary fiber and risk of coronary heart disease in a cohort of Finnish men. The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study. Circulation 1996 94 2720-2727,... 

An epidemiological study in a Finnish population indicated an association between moderate iron overload (measured by serum ferritin see Iron Proteins for Storage Transport their Synthetic Analogs) and increased incidence of coronary heart disease. This remarkable association has not been coirfirmed and further investigation will be necessary to determine whether excessive iron storage may relate to coronary heart disease. ... 

Finnish researchers worked with ninety-four study participants who had hypertension and were not taking antihypertensive drugs. They got either 150 ml of fermented milk or a control beverage twice daily for ten weeks. The milk reduced their systolic pressure by an average of 4 points and the diastolic pressure by 2 points. An insignificant improvement, you sniff Studies have shown that a 3-point reduction in systolic blood pressure cuts one s stroke risk by 10 to 13 percent and the chances of having a heart attack by 7 percent. That s very significant. 

A follow-up study of 343 Finnish viscose rayon workers was performed to examine the incidence of cardiovascular mortality from 1967 to 1982 (Nurminen and Hemberg 1985). Exposure to carbon disulfide varied greatly (approximately 22 ppm to <10 ppm), with a decrease in exposures after 1972. Within the first 5 years of follow-up (1967-1972), there was a 4.7-fold increase in ischemic and heart disease mortality compared with a cohort of paper mill workers. In the period of 1972-1974, the relative risk ratio was 3. 2. After all workers with high coronary risk factors were removed from exposure (19% of the cohort was exposed in 1977 compared to 53% in 1972), the risk of cardiovascular death was reduced to a ratio of 1.0 in the years 1974-1982. This study indicates that the cardiotoxic effects of carbon disulfide may be reversible with removal of individuals from the toxic environment. Caution must be used in interpreting these data because of the increase in the incidence of cardiovascular events in the aging cohort population and the possibility that carbon disulfide accelerates death in high-risk individuals. 

Pietinen, P. A. Ascherio P. Kothonen A.M. Hartman W.C. Willett D. Albanes J. Virtamo. Intake of fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease in a cohort of Finnish men The alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study. Am. J. Epidemiol 1997, 145, 876—887. 

In addition, five prospective within-population cohort studies have been carried out, four of them on coronary heart disease and one on strokes. The four coronary heart disease studies were carried out in The Netherlands (Zutphen) [139], the USA (Health Professionals study) [140], the U.K. (the Caerphilly study) [141], and Finland [142]. In the Zutphen study, coronary heart disease was inversely associated with flavonol intake, in which a maximum intake of 42 mg/day and a minimum of 12mg/day were recorded. A clear dose-response correlation was observed. In the Health Professionals study, a modest non-significant inverse association was found (flavonoid intake between 40 mg/day and 7 mg/day). The Finnish study indicated a weak inversely associated correlation, while the Caerphilly study involving Welsh men showed that flavonoid intake increased the mortality. 

Juutilainen, A, Lehto, S, Ronnemaa, T, Pyorala, K, Laakso, M Type 2 diabetes as a coronary heart disease equivalent an 18-year prospective population-based study in Finnish subjects. Diabetes Care 28 2901-2907, 2005. 

It is a fallacy to believe that individuals with risk factors for cardiovascular events like smoking, hypertension, or hyperlipidemia can neutralize or minimize their adverse effects by exercise. In the Seven Countries Study (23,24), Finland had the highest overall prevalence of coronary heart disease. The Finnish population consumes large amounts of animal fat. Fiimish lumberjacks are an example of physically active people in whom the risk for coronary heart disease remains high (25). The approach to prevent coronary heart disease should be multifaceted... 

---