Regional variation in cardiovascular risk factors and ischemic heart disease mortality in Greenland

In a random sample of 264 indigenous Greenlanders, behavioral and biochemical risk factors for cardiovascular disease were compared between the capital, Nuuk, and the rest of the country ("the Coast") while the whole sample was compared with Denmark. In Nuuk consumption of marine food averaged 23 meals per month, compared with 38 on the Coast. N6/N3 ratio was higher in Nuuk but HDL concentrations were similar. There were fewer current smokers in Nuuk, but the prevalence of hypertension and mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) were similar. IHD mortality is lower in Greenland than in Denmark (352 and 434 per 100,000). This is in agreement with the dietary differences, and with the low N6/N3 ratio and the high HDL concentration in Greenland, but opposed to a high proportion of smokers and a high prevalence of hypertension in Greenland compared with Denmark. IHD mortality is apparently decreasing in Greenland concurrently with a Westernization of the lifestyle. This paradox may be due to the fact that societal changes are recent, and the situation may change in the future.