Comparative Studies of Icelandic People Living in Canada and Iceland
201 COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF ICELANDIC PEOPLE LIVING IN CANADA AND ICELAND J6hann Axelsson, Jens 6.P. Palsson, Gudrun Petursd6ttir, Nikulas Sigfusson and Antony B. Way Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Institute of Anthropology, University of Iceland, The Heart Preventive Clinic, Reykjavik, Iceland, and Texas Tech University, Health Sciences Center, Texas, U.S.A. Icelandic populations provide unique opportu carried out. nities for epidemiological and anthropological The first phase of the study took place in research, because of their genetic homogeneity and Canada in 1975, 1977 and 1978, when Piilsson the availability of detailed geneological inform continued his demographic, genealogical and ation concerning them. anthropological research on Vestur-lslendingar. In This paper describes a comparative study of all, nearly 700 adults and 300 school children were Icelanders and people of Icelandic descent living in investigated (20, 21, 22). Canada, commonly called Vestur-lslendingar. It The second phase, a field study of Icelanders aims mainly at assessing the relative importance of inhabiting the Fljotsdalur District ( Fljotsdals genetic and environmental factors in chronic herad) in Eastern leeland (Fig. 1), wa conducted disease, emphasizing cardiovascular risk factors. in 1979and1980. Asimilarstudyofthe Icelandic In Canada we investigate descendatns of Ice population in Canada is planned in 1982-83. landers who emigrated in the late 19th century and the beginning of this century. Both mono- and BACKGROUND polyfactorial traits will be used to assess the gene Iceland is an island bordering on the arctic circle. tic relations of these people to those in Iceland. It has an area of 103.000 km2, and its population An interdisciplinary comparative study will be is close to 230.000, half of whom live in the 6tf' tef' Fig.
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