In Finland all clinically diagnosed hepatitis C virus infections have been reported to National Infectious Disease Register (NIDR) starting at 1995. Between the years 1995 and 2011 approximately 24,000 HCV infections have been reported. Because of the changed policies in HCV reporting, same individuals may have been reported to NIDR several times at early stages of NIDR existence. Therefore we have characterized the epidemiology of HCV infection in individuals who were reported to NIDR with their social security number. This group contains nearly 20,000 individuals of whom almost 2000 were of foreign origin. Two-thirds of HCV cases are males. At the time of HCV diagnosis most people were young adults, between 20 and 30 years of age. There has been some fluctuation in the age group-specific trends. The incidence has been the highest among 20–24 years females and in 25–29 males during the last years. Regionally the highest HCV incidence (33/100,000) was found in the hospital district of Helsinki metropolitan area and lowest (6–10/100,000) in the hospital districts of Eastern Savo, Åland, Kainuu, Central and Southern Ostrobothnia. Almost half of the cases were found within Helsinki university hospital district. 17% of HCV cases have died by the end of the year 2011. The most common causes of death were either related to liver diseases: viral hepatitis, cirrhosis and cancer, caused by alcohol abuse and intoxications or by accidents or suicides. HCV-infected individuals appear to die younger than the average Finnish people. The most common way to contract HCV infection in Finland is intravenous drug use. HCV-antibody prevalence among intravenous drug users in Finland was over 60% in 2009 and over 40% among studied inmates in 2006. HCV prevalence among pregnant women has increased from 0.19% to 0.64% during 1985–2010. However, among blood donors HCV prevalence has been clearly decreasing being 0.006% in 2011. According to HCV-genotyping studies the main HCV-genotypes circulating in Finland belong to 3a, 1a, 1b and 2b subtypes.

CONTEXT:Vitamin D regulates 3% of the human genome, including effects on bone health throughout life. Maternal vitamin D status may program neonatal skeletal development. The objective here was to determine the association of mothers' vitamin D status with bone variables of their newborns.SUBJECTS AND METHODS:In a birth hospital, pregnant women (n = 125) participated in a cross-sectional study with a longitudinal follow-up of the pregnancy. The mean (sd) values for age, body mass index before pregnancy, pregnancy weight gain, and total vitamin D intake in mothers were 31 (4) yr, 23.5 (3.7) kg/m(2), 13.1 (4.3) kg, and 14.3 (5.8) microg, respectively. All newborns were full-term, 99% were appropriate for gestational age, and 53% were boys. Blood samples were collected from mothers during the first trimester and 2 d postpartum and from umbilical cords at birth for analysis of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (S-25-OHD), PTH, and bone remodeling markers. Bone variables were measured by pQCT at the 20% site of the newborn tibia on an average of 10 (11) d postpartum. Bone contour was analyzed with a single threshold of 180 mg/mm(3) for the detection of total bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), and cross-sectional area (CSA).RESULTS:Mean S-25-OHD was 41.0 (13.6), 45.1 (11.9), and 50.7 (14.9) nmol/liter during the first trimester, postpartum, and in the umbilical cord, respectively. The median value of the individual means for first trimester and the 2-d postpartum S-25-OHD was 42.6 nmol/liter, which was used as cutoff to define two equal-sized groups. Groups are called below median and above median in the text. Newborns below median were heavier (P = 0.05), and 60% were boys. Tibia bone mineral content was 0.047 (95% confidence interval, 0.011-0.082) g/cm higher (P = 0.01), and cross-sectional area was 12.3 (95% confidence interval, 2.0-22.6) mm(2) larger (P = 0.02), but no difference in bone mineral density was observed, above median compared with below median group. These results were adjusted for newborn Z-score birth weight, maternal height, and newborn age at the measurement. A positive, significant correlation was observed between remodeling markers in mothers at different time points and above median group in the cord.CONCLUSIONS:Although the mean total intake of vitamin D among mothers met current Nordic recommendations, 71% of women and 15% of newborns were vitamin D deficient during the pregnancy. Our results suggest that maternal vitamin D status affects bone mineral accrual during the intrauterine period and influences bone size. More efforts should be made to revise current nutrition recommendations for pregnant women that may have permanent effects on the well-being of children.

Introduction: Nutrition plays an important role in the acquisition and maintenance of skeletal integrity. There are some evidence that a well-balanced vegetarian diet may be consistent with good health and can potentially reduce the risk of several chronic diseases. On the other hand, people following a long-term vegetarian diet very often suffer from nutrient shortage like Ca, P, Fe, Zn, vitamin D or vitamin B12. The lack of vitamin B12 together with vitamin B6 and folate deficiency is close related to homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism. Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) was found to be associated with increased bone turnover markers and increased fracture risk. Thus, Hcy, vitamin B12 and folate may be regarded as novel risk factors for micronutrient-deficiency-related osteoporosis. The aim of our study was to assess the possible impact of vegetarian diet on bone mass density in cohort of Slovak vegetarian women. Materials and methods: The study was performed on group of 141 women on long-term ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet and control group of 131 women on standard western diet. Standard biochemical analyses, plasma vitamin B12, folate and Hcy concentrations were measured. Bone mineral density (BMD) for lumbar spine (L1–L4), right femoral neck (FN), trochanter (Tr) and total of femur (ToFN) were measured with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: The mean Hcy levels were beyond the normal range in both groups (>12.0 μmol/l) but significantly higher in vegetarians (p<0.001). HHcy was found in 78% of vegetarians and in 48% of nonvegetarians. Vitamin B12 levels were significantly higher in nonvegetarians in both subgroups (p<0.05) and inversely correlated with Hcy (r=−0., p<0.001). Folate plasma levels were in normal range in all probands. Significant inverse correlations were found between Hcy and FN-BMD (r=−0.1887, p<0.003), Tr-BMD (r=−0.1725, p<0.01) and ToFN-BMD (r=−0.2053, p<0.001). No correlations were confirmed in nonvegetarians when they were evaluated separately. Conclusion: Our results indicate a strong association between plasma Hcy levels and decreased BMD in vegetarians. It suggests that vegetarian women can be at higher risk for low BMD than nonvegetarian women. This work was supported by Research and Development Support Agency under the contract No: APVT-21-010104 a APVT-21-017704. Conflict of interest: None declared.