Browsing by Author "Asikainen, Aleksanteri"

Currently, Finland’s most salient risk factors for disease are high blood pressure, high alcohol and tobacco use, obesity, and low educational level. While the health and health-related behavior profiles of Finnish men in their thirties are well known since the 1970s, knowledge from the 1950s –60s remains scarce. This study aimed to characterize change and stasis in the health profiles of Finnish men in their thirties during 1958, 1981 and 2010-2012, and to explore the differences in these profiles by educational levels. The data are based on three extensive Finnish health profile surveys: Inheritance of Drinking behavior (1958), the Older Finnish Twin Cohort wave 2 (1981), FinnTwin16 Cohort wave 5 (2010–2012). We ascertained 1,804, 4,284, and 1,890 participants who met our study criteria (a Finnish man in his thirties), respectively. We computed risk factor and disease prevalence rates for the general population analysis, and calculated odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the educational level comparison. In addition, we performed sensitivity analyses to make the educational level comparison more representative. Smoking prevalence decreased significantly during the study period, whereas alcohol use, obesity, and educational level increased considerably. Highly educated participants were less likely to smoke cigarettes, less likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking, and less likely to be overweight and obese at all time points (except overweight and obesity in 1958). Further health intervention measures are needed for the general population, and health promotion should be targeted at those with lower educational levels.