Parental and peer influences on smoking among young adults: ten-year follow-up of the Oslo youth study participants.

This study was designed to investigate the impact of family and peer role models during the early adolescent years on smoking onset and on subsequent daily smoking among young adults. Baseline data were collected from a sample of 827 students and their parents in 1979. Participating students were recruited among 5th, 6th and 7th graders (11-14 years old) attending six schools in Oslo, Norway. The same students were invited to participate in a 2-year follow-up survey in 1981 and in a 10-year follow-up survey in 1989 when their average age was 23.4 years. Both at baseline and in 1981, smoking (experimental or regular) was strongly associated with smoking behaviour of friends and siblings. Parental smoking and parents' educational level were not significant predictors of their offspring's smoking in 1979. While friends' smoking in 1979 or 1981 remained a significant bivariate predictor of daily smoking in 1989, mother's baseline smoking emerged, in multivariate analysis, as the most important long-term predictor of daily smoking among young adults. These results point to the importance of including parents in smoking prevention efforts targeting adolescents.

Ten-year follow-up of the Oslo Youth Study Smoking Prevention Program.

BACKGROUND: The Oslo Youth Study was designed to demonstrate that health education in schools can result in lowered rates of smoking and alcohol consumption, improved eating patterns, and increased physical activity. The study was conducted from 1979 to 1981 in six schools in Oslo, Norway. This article presents the 10-year follow-up outcomes of the Oslo Youth Study Smoking Prevention Program. METHODS: In the fall of 1989, former Oslo Youth Study participants were contacted through the mail and asked to complete a short questionnaire containing questions regarding smoking behavior. A total of 796 subjects participated (participation rate of 74.0%). RESULTS: Overall, there were no significant effects of the Oslo Youth Study Smoking Prevention Program on the onset of experimental smoking (ever having smoked) or regular smoking (weekly smoking). Significant intervention effects were observed, however, among baseline nonsmoking males; intervention students reported 30% less weekly smoking (35% vs 50%) and 25% greater nonsmoking status (58% vs 44%) in 1989 than did males having attended the reference schools. No treatment effects were observed for females. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the smoking prevention program might have contributed to reduced long-term onset of smoking among participating male subjects.

Reduced plasma fibrinogen, serum peroxides, lipids, and apolipoproteins after a 3-week vegetarian diet.

The influence of a 3-week vegetarian diet and fasting on serum concentration of peroxides, lipids, apolipoproteins, and plasma fibrinogen was studied in ten middle-aged fibromyalgia/fibrositis patients (eight women, two men). Mean serum peroxide concentration (estimated as thiobarbituric acid reacting substances) was reduced from 3.60 +/- 0.14 to 2.82 +/- 0.15 umol/l (p = 0.01) and plasma fibrinogen from 3.33 +/- 0.25 to 2.74 +/- 0.15 g/l (p = 0.02). Serum total cholesterol fell from 6.61 +/- 0.50 to 4.83 +/- 0.35 mmol/l (p < 0.0001), apolipoprotein B from 1.77 +/- 0.14 to 1.31 +/- 0.11 g/l (p < 0.0001), and apolipoprotein A from 1.41 +/- 0.09 to 1.23 +/- 0.05 g/l (p = 0.03). High density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration also decreased somewhat (from 1.26 +/- 0.09 to 1.07 +/- 0.04 mmol/l, p = 0.03) An atherogenic index, reflecting the balance between low and high density lipoproteins, was reduced by 31% (from 5.74 +/- 0.79 to 3.97 +/- 0.60, p = 0.02). The results suggest that vegetarian diet/fasting may have a beneficial influence on the concentration of serum peroxides and plasma fibrinogen concentration, and on the serum level of several lipoprotein-related coronary risk factors.

Physical fitness, physical activity, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents: the Oslo Youth Study.

Aerobic fitness, resting pulse rate, and self-reported physical activity were examined along with prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in a population-based study of 413 boys and 372 girls, ages 10 to 14 years. Cardiovascular fitness (VO2 max) was predicted from heart rate measured during submaximal bicycle exercise. For both genders, fitness level was significantly and inversely related to body weight, body mass index [weight in kilos/(height in meters)2], triceps skinfold thickness, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and pulse rate and positively related to high-density lipoprotein/total cholesterol ratio and physical activity. In addition, fitness level was positively related to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and negatively related to triglycerides in females; it was also negatively related to height, total cholesterol, and hematocrit in males. Analyses of covariance, controlling for sexual maturity ratings, revealed that students in the lowest quartiles of VO2 max had significantly higher body mass index and triceps skinfold thickness than students in the higher quartiles. After adjustment for body mass index and sexual maturity ratings, blood pressure and pulse rate in both genders were significantly higher among students in the lower quartiles of VO2 max than among the groups who scored higher on the fitness test. Higher levels of VO2 max were also associated with a more favorable lipid profile in females. In gender-specific multiple regression analysis, triceps skinfold thickness was the strongest predictor of VO2 max, followed by pulse rate. Our study provides evidence that higher levels of fitness are associated with more favorable risk profiles in adolescents.

Cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides during puberty: the Oslo Youth Study.

The relationships of serum total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and fasting triglycerides (adjusted for body mass index, wt/ht2) with stages of pubertal development were examined in a Norwegian population of 920 adolescents, aged 10 to 16 years. For 13- and 14-year-olds, all five stages of Tanner's maturity index were represented. For the whole population, total serum cholesterol showed a larger decrease when related to sexual maturity stage than to chronologic age. For females, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides increased significantly when related to age in years; this was not found when related to the maturity index. Triglycerides showed a larger increase when related to chronologic age in males as compared with sexual maturity stage. Both among 13- and 14-year-old males, the most mature had significantly lower values for total cholesterol than the least mature. For 12-year-old males, HDL cholesterol decreased significantly with increasing sexual maturation. Among females, the more mature 12-year-olds had significantly lower values for total cholesterol compared with the less mature. Early maturing 13-, 14- and 15-16-year-olds had lower levels of HDL cholesterol compared with late maturers. These findings suggest that age in years may be a poor index of development in adolescents and that a measure of physiologic developmental age should be included in epidemiologic studies of serum lipids among adolescents.

The relationship of white cell count, platelet count, and hematocrit to cigarette smoking in adolescents: the Oslo Youth Study.

This article reports on the relationship between cigarette smoking, white blood cell count (WBC), platelet count (PC), and hematocrit in a Norwegian adolescent population. Data were obtained on 439 youths, 14 to 16 years old, as part of the Oslo Youth Study, an investigation of risk factors and behaviors for cardiovascular disease and cancer among adolescents. Analyses of covariance, controlling for height, weight, age, sexual maturation, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and hematocrit revealed that both male and female regular smokers (those reporting smoking at least once a week) had significantly higher mean WBCs. Male regular smokers also had significantly higher PCs than nonsmokers, and female regular smokers had higher PCs than young women who smoked less often than once a month. Hematocrit, after adjustment for height, weight, age, sexual maturation, and HDL cholesterol, was significantly lower in male regular smokers, while female regular smokers had higher hematocrit values than nonsmokers or occasional smokers. Results of this study show that WBC and PC were increased in adolescents who started smoking relatively recently. This indicates that the increase in white cell count observed in smokers is unlikely to be due to a longstanding smoking-induced chronic disease condition.

Preventing the onset of cigarette smoking in Norwegian adolescents: the Oslo youth study.

As part of a 2-year multiple risk factor intervention study, a school-based, multicomponent smoking prevention program for 10- to 15-year-old students in Oslo, Norway, resulted in a significant reduction in the onset of smoking relative to a reference group. Based on reported smoking behavior, the intervention group (N = 278) experienced a smoking onset rate of 16.5% and the reference group (N = 208) a rate of 26.9%. Intervention students had a significantly larger increase in scores on a smoking knowledge index; they also reported a significantly larger increase in frequent exercise and a significantly smaller increase in consumption of alcoholic beverages. A stepwise discriminant analysis showed that the smoking prevention program was an important discriminator of smoking onset. In both reference and intervention groups, students who reported smoking at the follow-up survey had already displayed risk-taking tendencies at the time of the baseline survey 2 years earlier, whether or not they smoked at baseline. Follow-up smokers had more smoking friends and siblings at baseline and evidenced greater acceptability of smoking; they ate sweet, fatty, and salty snack foods more often, exercised less often, and drank more beer and hard liquor than students who were nonsmokers at the follow-up survey.

Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in Norwegian adolescent school children.

The frequency distribution of serum cholesterol and triglycerides in 172 boys and 232 girls, 13--16 years, from four elementary schools in Oslo has been determined. The cholesterol values were significantly higher for girls 15--16 years than for boys of the same age group. In the case of triglycerides boys 15--16 years had significantly higher values than boys 13--14 years. Otherwise no statistically significant differences with regard to sex and age were observed. The 85th percentiles have been suggested as appropriate upper normal limits. In all groups the 85th percentile for plasma cholesterol was slightly below 6 mmol/l. The corresponding plasma triglyceride value was below 2 mmol/l.

Smoking habits among Norwegian doctors 1974.

In the spring of 1974 a representative sample (N = 1200) of all doctors in Norway (6 000) received a mailed questionnaire regarding past and present smoking habits. Close to 95% responded. Among late responders there was a disproportionately high number of smokers. As compared with the general population, both male and female doctors constitute a small proportion of daily smokers and a large proportion of exsmokers. The greatest contrasts are observed in the younger age groups. The percentage of daily smokers in this crossectional study on the medical profession is approximately 50% lower than that found in the 1952--53 study on Norwegian doctors. There is also a shift away from cigarette smoking toward the use of pipe and cigars, which is not found in the general population. Answers to questions regarding reasons for quitting as well as certain attitudinal indicators show that the doctors' reduction in smoking is related to their professional involvement and high level of knowledge concerning the health consequences of smoking.