Our PhD student Hjalte and our two professors Marit Eika Jørgensen and Michael Lynge Pedersen have recently published a study on heart failure in Greenland.
Briefly about the study
Heart failure is a clinical syndrome that involves symptoms (shortness of breath, swelling of the legs and fatigue) caused by impaired function of the heart. Smoking, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and obesity are factors that increase the risk of heart failure. The prevalence of several of these factors is high in Greenland. This study uses health data from the electronic health record to find the incidence of heart failure in Greenland and the characteristics of the people who died.
What did the study show?
507 people were registered with a diagnosis of heart failure as of January 1, 2022, which corresponds to an incidence of 1.1% among people over 16 years of age. The average age was 65 years. More men than women had heart failure. Just over half (53%) of all people with heart failure had obesity (based on BMI over 30). 43% were daily smokers. The proportion of people with heart failure who also had atherosclerosis or blood clots in the heart was 33%.
Conclusion
The incidence of heart failure in Greenland is on a par with the incidence in other Western countries. Men in some age groups had a high incidence of heart failure compared to Denmark. Nearly half had obesity and/or were daily smokers. The proportion of atherosclerosis or blood clots in the heart was smaller compared to people with heart failure in other countries.
You can read the scientific article here.
