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Aims To study changes over a 25-year period in the gender gap in discharge diagnoses of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other substance use disorder (SUD) in psychiatric in-patients. Design, setting and participants A register-based study of all admissions to psychiatric hospitals in Iceland between January 1983 and December 2007. Measurements Annual rate of admissions to psychiatric hospitals, adjusted for changes in the size of the population. Furthermore, gender-specific analysis of changes in discharge diagnoses of AUD solely and other SUD (including AUD with other SUDs). Findings Of all psychiatric admissions, the proportion of any SUD admissions increased considerably during the study period. This increase was most pronounced in SUDs other than solely AUD. AUD increased for women and decreased for men. The male to female ratio of AUD alone decreased from 4.2 to 1.5 (P

CarbFix, a combined industrial-academic pilot program, was developed in order to assess the feasibility of in situ CO2 mineral sequestration in basaltic rocks. Unique to CarbFix is its connection to the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant, allowing for capture of otherwise emitted CO2 in addition to CO2 transport and mineral sequestration. Extensive research has been conducted in order to characterize physical properties of the pilot injection site in Hellisheidi. Tracer tests have been carried out and continuous well-logging confirmed separation of the target formation from shallower groundwater systems. Alteration mineralogy in natural analogs has been mapped out in order to predict which minerals are likely to precipitate upon CO2 injection. In addition to carbonates, these include clays, zeolites, and poorly crystalline hydroxides. Some of the secondary minerals will compete with carbonates for cations dissolved from the rock matrix. Numerical modeling plays an important role in the CarbFix project as it provides tools to predict and optimize long-term management of the injection site as well as to quantify the amount of CO2 that can be mineralized. A reactive transport model has been developed and numerical simulations of the pilot CO2 injection are ongoing. Extensive monitoring provides the basis for testing, validating, and calibrating reactive transport models. It is anticipated that the results of CarbFix will be used to optimize the in situ carbon mineralization process, enabling it in basalt and ultramafic rock formations throughout the world. © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

A number of 2203 middle-aged Icelandic men (aged 34–61 years) participated in a health survey in Reykjavik in 1967-68. Blood glucose in the fasting state and during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) showed a unimodal distribution with a slight skewness towards higher values. A positive age gradient was established, which showed an increment of about 7 mg/dl per decade in capillary blood sugar values at 1 ½ hours after a 50 g oral glucose load. The age gradient was mostly independent of age-related changes in body weight. A 7 ½-year follow-up of the eligible participants (response rate >80%) showed an overall 1% incidence of metabolic deterioration to “overt diabetes” during this period. Those with positive screening tests (50 g OGTT) at baseline were at greater risk of developing diabetes, but the incidence of deterioration in this group was low, about 1% per year. The progression to diabetes was significantly related to body weight at baseline, suggesting that weight reduction might be beneficial in individuals showing impaired glucose tolerance at medical examination. This study, however, lends support to recent reports showing that mildly impaired glucose tolerance cannot be equated with early diabetes.

The participants in a community health survey in the Reykjavik area answered the question whether a first-degree relative had had myocardial infarction (MI), hypertension (HT) or cerebral stroke. The mean total serum cholesterol level was 5-10 mg/dl higher in the group with a positive history of MI than in the negative group. The frequency of hyperlipidaemia and the levels of other risk factors measured (blood pressure and body mass index) were similar in both groups. The group with a positive family history (FH) of HT had a mean systolic blood pressure 6-8 mmHg higher and diastolic hypertension (greater than 105 mmHg) on a single measurement twice as frequently as the negative group. The mean systolic blood pressure in the group with positive FH of stroke was 8-10 mmHg higher than in the negative group. The study thus suggests that positive FH of HT or stroke among first-degree relatives is a worthy indication for blood pressure measurements, at least after the age of 40.

Thrainsdottir IS, Hardarson Th, Thorgeirsson G, Sigvaldason H, Sigfusson N (National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland). Survival and trends of occurrence of left ventricular hypertrophy, gender differences, 1967–92: The Reykjavik Study. J Intern Med 2003; 253: 418–424. Objective. We estimated the prevalence, incidence and risk factors of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in a prospective cohort study of 26 489 participants. Material and methods. The LVH was defined as Minnesota Code 310 on electrocardiogram (ECG). Everyone with this code at first visit was defined as a prevalence case and those who developed it between subsequent visits were incidence cases. The comparison cohort were all other participants in the Reykjavik Study stages I–V. Results. A total of 297 men and 49 women were found to have LVH of 3.2% and 0.5%, respectively. The incidence was 25 per 1000 per year amongst men and six per 1000 per year amongst women. Prevalence in both genders increased with increasing age. Risk factors at the time of diagnosis were systolic blood pressure [odds ratio (OR) per mmHg 1.02; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–1.03], age (OR per year 1.04; 95% CI: 1.02–1.05), silent myocardial infarction (MI) (OR 3.18; 95% CI: 1.39–7.27) and ST-T changes (OR 3.06; 95% CI: 2.14–4.38) amongst men and systolic blood pressure and age for women with similar odds ratio. Predictive factors for acquiring LVH were systolic blood pressure [incidence ratio (IR) 1.01; 95% CI: 1.01–1.02] and angina with ECG changes (IR 2.33; 95% CI: 1.08–5.02) amongst men and systolic blood pressure amongst women (IR 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01–1.04). The risk for coronary mortality was significantly increased amongst women with hypertrophy [hazard ratio (HR) 3.07; 95% CI: 1.5–6.31] and their total survival was poorer with increasing time from diagnosis of LVH (HR 2.17; 95% CI: 1.36–3.48). Conclusions. We conclude that the presence of LVH and its appearance is associated with age and increased blood pressure amongst both genders. Women with LVH have poorer survival than other women and they are at threefold risk of dying of ischaemic heart disease.

Levels of serum lipids and lipoproteins, and the fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids, were measured in two genetically comparable, but widely separated, populations. The 1975 mortality rates for ischemic heart disease were significantly higher in one of these populations, the Manitoban residents of pure Icelandic descent, than in the other, a rural population from Northeastern Iceland. Two study populations, Icelanders and Icelandic-Canadians, were drawn from these larger populations. The study populations were matched for age and sex and divided into three age groups, 20-39, 40-59, and 60-69 years. In comparison to the Icelandic-Canadians, the Icelanders exhibited significantly higher levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but lower triglyceride levels. Their plasma phospholipids contained significantly lower levels of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids, and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA); but their n-3 PUFA levels were three times as high. It was additionally found that fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids differed among Icelanders of different ages. SFA levels were significantly lower, and n-6 PUFA levels significantly higher, in the 20-39 year group than in the 60-69 year group, possibly due to different dietary fat consumption patterns between generations. No corresponding age-related difference in the fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids was found in the Icelandic-Canadian study population. As the Icelandic and Icelandic-Canadian groups are assumed to be genetically similar, the biochemical differences between them are evidently due to environmental, probably dietary, differences. The findings indicate that n-3 PUFA may be cardioprotective in the context of an otherwise atherogenic diet.

Evidence about the influence of hypertension in pregnancy on later health and in particular the risk of cardiovascular disorders is conflicting, although a link has been suggested. In a population-based study with a long follow-up time the potential association between hypertension in pregnancy, preeclampsia and eclampsia with increased death rates from ischemic heart disease (IHD) was investigated.All 7543 case records at the main maternity hospital in Iceland during 1931-1947 were reviewed to identify women with hypertension in pregnancy, subdivided by parity and severity of disease into those with eclampsia, preeclampsia and hypertension alone. Information on those who had died was obtained from death certificates, supplemented by autopsy reports and hospital records. Death rates from IHD were compared to population data from public health and census reports during corresponding periods and between study groups.Of 374 hypertensive women 177 had died. The death rate was slightly higher among women with any hypertension in pregnancy than in the reference population (RR = 1.20; 95% CI 1.01-1.42). About half of the increase was attributed to excess mortality from IHD with a relative risk of dying of 1.47 (95% CI 1.05-2.02). The relative risk of dying from IHD was significantly higher among eclamptic women (RR = 2.61; 95% CI 1.11-6.12) and those with preeclampsia (RR = 1.90; 95% CI 1.02-3.52) than those with hypertension alone. Parous women at the index pregnancy had a twofold higher risk of dying from IHD than primigravid women (RR = 2.05; 95% CI 1.19-3.55; p = 0.01).There is an indication of increased death rates among women with a history of hypertension in pregnancy, where ischemic heart disease may be more common than in the general population.