Bo Petersson

ALCOHOL-RELATED DEATH: A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO MORTALITY IN URBAN MIDDLE-AGED MEN

The role of alcohol abuse in mortality was studied in an unselected population of over 10,000 46-48-year-old men in Malmö, Sweden. During follow-up of 0-6 years (mean 3 years) 199 men died. In 61 men (30.7%) death was alcohol related. A theoretical calculation of excess deaths in men with an alcohol-positive history yielded 78 deaths (39.2%). In the official cause of death statistics 10 of the deaths had been assigned alcoholic aetiology (5.0%). These estimates indicate that alcohol was the commonest underlying factor in death in this sample of middle-aged men. The number of deaths with alcoholic aetiology in official cause of death statistics should be multiplied by a factor of six to eight to arrive at the true alcohol-related death rate.

Risk factors for premature death in middle aged men

The causes of premature death and the associated risk factors were analysed in a cohort of 7935 middle aged men participating in a preventive population programme in Malmö. They were screened when aged 46-48 and then followed up for 3½-8 years. Two hundred and eighteen died, of whom 181 (83%) underwent necropsy. Three major causes of death were established: cancer in 61 (28%), deaths related to consumption of alcohol in 55 (25%), and coronary heart disease in 50 (23%). Distinctly different patterns of risk factors were found to be associated with each of the three main causes of premature death. In death due to coronary heart disease smoking (p=0·0062), serum cholesterol concentration (p=0·00014), serum triglyceride concentration (p=0·00013), systolic blood pressure (p=0·000012), and diastolic blood pressure (p=0·0021) were the strongest single determinants but diastolic blood pressure ceased to be a predictive factor in a multivariate analysis whereas all the other variables could be combined in a highly predictive logistic model. In death related to consumption of alcohol equal or even stronger associations were found for serum γ glutamyltransferase activity (p<0·0001), points scored in a questionnaire screening for alcoholism (p<0·0001), and, inversely, serum cholesterol (p=0·0046) and serum creatinine (p<0·0001) concentrations both when applied independently and when combined in a logistic model. In death due to cancer significant associations were found for serum urate concentration (p=0·023) and, inversely, serum cholesterol concentration (p=0·056-0·031). Malignant diseases and diseases related to consumption of alcohol were at least as prominent as cardiovascular disorders in causing premature death in the cohort of men studied. All three types of conditions are potentially avoidable and seem to be associated with significant and distinctive patterns of risk factors. These patterns should be used, as blood pressure and serum lipid concentrations already are, to predict the risk of premature death and indicate preventive measures.

Political Mythmaking and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi : Olympism and the Russian Great Power Myth

The theoretical point of departure of this paper is that the perspective of political myth adds to the understanding of political developments in Russia. The upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014 are discursively constructed as a manifestation of Russias return to great power status. In official Russian discourse, there is an encounter between the Russian great power myth and the myth of Olympism, both of which are employed to strengthen the status of Russia and of President Putin personally. Thus, the Olympic values of humanism, internationalism, and progress are merged with Russian great power ideals. But there are also examples where the prevailing myths are turned around to criticise the regime and the Sochi Games. However, the most serious challenge to the Putin regime may stem from the great power myth itself, should the regime prove unable to deliver what it requires.

National Self-Images and Regional Identities in Russia

The dissolution of the Soviet Union sent shock-waves around the world. In its wake some of the most dramatic effects continue to be felt by a Russia in search of a new sense of civic national identity. This book explores the nexus between national identity and national self-images in contemporary Russia. Using in-depth interviews with Russian politicians, it explores how political division, the intense search for internal threats to national security, and centre-periphery tensions in light of the upsurge of regional identities has hampered the successful construction of overarching civic national identities. The book provides fascinating insights into the complicated Russian political scene, and provides a deeper understanding of the sentiments and societal milieu which brought Vladimir Putin to presidential power. (Less)

Alcohol abstention and premature mortality in middle-aged men.

A series of middle-aged men were investigated for total mortality up to five years after completing a questionnaire on alcohol consumption administered during a preventive medical screening programme in Malmö, Sweden. The aim was to test the hypothesis that small amounts of alcohol are beneficial to general and cardiovascular health. Relative mortality was increased among the men who had reported non-use of alcohol in the screening questionnaire. Most of these men, however, had chronic disease as the reason for their abstention, or even a past history of alcoholism.

Premature death and associated risk factors in urban middle-aged men

The full range of premature mortality and associated risk factors was analyzed for a follow-up period of three and a half to eight years in a uniform group of 7,935 middle-aged males (46 to 48 years old at screening) participating between the years 1975 and 1979 in the preventive population program in Malmö (participation rate 76.7 percent). Of the 218 deaths that occurred, necropsy was performed in 181 (83.0 percent). Three major causes of death were established: cancer (61/218), alcohol-related deaths (55/218), and coronary heart disease (50/218). In these three main categories of male premature mortality, significant and distinctly differential risk factor patterns were found. In coronary heart disease, smoking (p = 0.0062), serum cholesterol level (p = 0.00014), serum triglyceride level (p = 0.00013), systolic blood pressure (p = 0.000012), and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.0021) were the strongest single determinants, but the independent role of the diastolic blood pressure disappeared in a multivariate analysis whereas all the others could be combined in a highly predictive logistic model. In the alcohol-related group, equal or stronger risk factor associations were present for serum gamma-glutamyltransferase level (p less than 0.0001), questionnaire alcoholism screening response (p less than 0.0001) and, inversely, serum cholesterol level (p = 0.0046) and serum creatinine level (p less than 0.0001), all of which were independent and could be combined in an even more predictive logistic model than in the coronary heart disease group. In the cancer deaths, significant associations were found for serum urate level (p = 0.023) and, inversely, serum cholesterol level (p = 0.056 - 0.031). Malignant and alcohol-related diseases constituted at least equally prominent groups as the cardiovascular disorders of the total premature deaths that occurred during middle age in these cohorts of Malmö males. All of these conditions are potentially avoidable and seem to be associated with significant and distinctive risk factor patterns. It seems possible that these factors may be applied, in current alcohol-related disorders and in future malignant diseases, both as indicators of the respective risks and as signals and instruments for directed preventive measures like the previously well established and tested methods for the regulation of blood pressure, serum lipids levels, and so on.

The return of the Kings: Temporality in the construction of EU identity

The authors analyze how pro-federative representatives of the European Commission exploit the temporal dimension of identity construction within the EU. The paper shows, through the analysis of speeches and statements of Commission members, how efforts are made to construct a common past and visualize a common future to enhance common identities within the EU. The common past is invoked through recurrent claims that Europe is on the point of being reunified, and, most prominently, through references to the words and deeds of the Founding Fathers of the EU, notably Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman. This near past seems to make up the affective glue most counted upon to promote common identifications. Furthermore, the temporal dimension is used to invoke visions pertaining to the near future, here labelled the common near. Most often, these visions deal with the favourable and harmonious conditions to arise once the current enlargement is completed.

Still Embodying the Myth?: Russia's Recognition as a Great Power and the Sochi Winter Games

By communicating Russias return to great-power status and the defeat of insurgents in the volatile North Caucasus, the Sochi Winter Games strengthen Putins legitimacy and may mute criticism of his policies, but this is a calculated, high-stakes political risk.

Serum Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase and a Somatic Health Score in Middle-Aged Men

In an ongoing population investigation of middle-aged men in Malmö, Sweden, several health screening variables showed strong but crude individual covariations with the level of the hepatic enzyme, serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). These variables were combined, according to an analysis of their normal distributions, into a score index which exhibited a much smoother correlation with low, normal, and elevated levels of GGT when tested in a random population subsample. It is concluded that this scoring system may find further utilisation as a general descriptive method of recording statistical covariations between health screening tests and sum them up.

Coveted, detested and unattainable? Images of the US superpower role and self-images of Russia in Russian print media discourse

•This article explores how the image of the USA has developed in two major Russian daily newspapers, Izvestiya and Komsomolskaya Pravda, in a time period comprised of a total 20 weeks’ of study in the years of 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2009. For Russia this time span was dramatic: it moved from seemingly stable superpower in the 1980s, over the chaos after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, to the partial comeback to great power status at the beginning of the 21st century. While telling the story of how the image of the USA has evolved, the article also describes how Russian self-images have developed. The image projected of the USA was Manichean in the 1980s, whereas the most benevolent images were found in the 1990s. The examples from 2004 and 2009 reflect an assertive Russia that is back on the world stage. The USA is here again often criticized, but also — as before — comprises the scale against which Russia itself is measured. •