Table 2.
Overview on the main results on Saami health and well-being
| References | Study topic | Results | Discussion and trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| [44, 46, 47, 57] | Mortality | Specific cause mortality among Saami and non-Saami population in Sweden, Norway and Finland rather similar | Recent findings are missing, however there seems to be a trend that cause-specific mortality is starting to resemble general population |
| [44], Sjölander P, Hassler S and Janlert U. Stroke and acute myocardial infarction in the Swedish Sami population: Incidence and mortality in relation to income and level of education. Scand J Public Health 2008: 36(1): 84–91.Doi:10.1177/1403494807085305. | Reindeer-herding Saami men had a lower risk of death from cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases and cancer in Sweden | ||
| [44] Norum J and Nieder C. Socioeconomic characteristics and health outcomes in Sami speaking municipalities and a control group in northern Norway. Int J Circumpolar Health 2012: 71: 19127. Doi:10.3402/ijch.v71i0.19127. | Life expectancy | Life expectancy greater among people living in Saami core areas in Norway compared with general population (females 79.5 and men 72.0 years). In Sweden, the life-expectance was similar among the Saami and non-Saami populations | |
| [34, 57], Hassler S, Sjolander P, Johansson R, Gronberg H and Damber L. Fatal accidents and suicide among reindeer-herding Sami in Sweden. Int J Circumpolar Health 2002: 63 Suppl 2: 384–388; Pekkarinen A. Changes in reindeer-herding work and their effect on occupational accidents. Int J Circumpolar Health 2006: 65(4): 357–364.Doi:10.3402/ijch.v65i4.18125. Sjolander P, Daerga L, Edin-Liljegren A and Jacobsson L. Musculoskeletal symptoms and perceived work strain among reindeer herders in Sweden. Occupational Medicine-Oxford 2008: 58(8): 572–579. Doi:10.1093/occmed/kqn153. |
Occupational accidents and health in reindeer herding | Off-road traffic-related deaths and accidents are more common among Saami compared with general population | Off-road traffic is essential for reindeer-herding work. Although recent findings are missing, it seems that off-road related deaths are not increasing among Saami population. |
| Other risks are musculoskeletal pain, mental stress and accidents in slaughtering. | Findings indicate that mental stress may become a serious concern for reindeer-herding livelihood. | ||
| Selnes A, Bolle R, Holt J and Lund E. Atopic diseases in Sami and Norse schoolchildren living in northern Norway. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 1999: 10(3): 216–220. Doi:10.1034/j.1399-3038.1999.00032.x. Selnes A, Bolle R, Holt J and Lund E. Cumulative incidence of asthma and allergy in north Norwegian schoolchildren in 1985 and 1995. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2002: 13(1): 58–63. Doi: 10.1034/j.1399-3038.2002.01009.x |
Asthma and allergies | Prevalence of asthma and allergies is increased among the Saami children in Norway | Changes in traditional lifestyle and diet are likely to explain the trend. Trend is alarming, since atopic diseases and asthma are major causes of morbidity. |
| [7] | Cardiovascular disease | No significant differences in occurrence of cardiovascular disease among Saami in Norway. Reindeer herding in Sweden Saami show lower incidences of cardiovascular diseases than other Saami. | The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is effected by way of life and diet and Saami with western lifestyle have higher risk for cardiovascular diseases. |
| Broderstad AR and Melhus M. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus in Sami and Norwegian populations. The SAMINOR - A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open 2016: 6(4). Doi::10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009474. Naseribafrouei A, Eliassen B, Melhus M and Broderstad AR. Ethnic difference in the prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes mellitus in regions with Sami and non-Sami populations in Norway - the SAMINOR1 study. Int J Circumpolar Health 2016: 75(1): 31697. Doi:10.3402/ijch.v75.31697. Edin-Liljegren A, Hassler S, Sjölander P and Daerga L. Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among Swedish Sami--a controlled cohort study. Int J Circumpolar Health 2004: 63 Suppl 2: 292–297. |
Diabetes mellitus and pre diabetes | No ethic differences in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among Saami compared with other populations in the same area in Norway. | There are regional differences and livelihood-related risks on the relative risk and prevalence of diabetes mellitus among Saami population. |
| Hassler S, Soininen L, Sjolander P and Pukkala, P. Cancer among the Sami--a review on the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish Sami populations. Int J Circumpolar Health 2008: 67(5): 421–432. Doi:10.3402/ijch.v67i5.18351. | Cancer | Overall risk of cancer does not differ significantly from the general population. Saami on Sweden have higher risk for ovarian cancer, Skolt Saami in Finland and Swedish Saami have higher risk for stomach cancer | |
| Harbo, H. F., Utsi, E., Lorentzen, Å. R., Kampman, M. T., Celius, E. G., Myhr, K. et al., Low frequency of the disease-associated DRB1*15-DQB1*06 haplotype may contribute to the low prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Sami. Tissue Antigens, 2007: 69: 299–304. doi:10.1111/j.1399-0039.2007.00803.x | Neurological diseases | Prevalence of MS lower among Saami than in Norwegian population | |
| [46, 57, 63] Silviken A, Haldorsen T and Kvernmo S. Suicide among Indigenous Sami in Arctic Norway, 1970–1998. Eur J Epidemiol 2006: 21(9): 707–713. Doi:10.1007/s10654-006-9052-7 |
Mental health | Increased risk of suicide among the Saami men in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Mental health of Saami adolescents and Saami in reindeer herding is a concern. In general, risk for suicide among Saami adolescents is slightly elevated compared with other population. However, there are no ethnic differences on actual suicide attempts. | Findings indicate that loss of traditional livelihoods, Saami language, living outside Saami core areas and socioeconomic pressure from surrounding society seem to expose Saami to mental health problems. Findings indicate that the trend is increasing. |
| Alinaghizadeh H, Tondel M and Walinder R. Cancer incidence in northern Sweden before and after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Radiat Environ Biophys 2014: 53(3): 495–504. Doi:10.1007/s00411-014-0545-6.; Mehli H, Skuterud L, Mosdøl A and Tønnessen A. The impact of Chernobyl fallout on the Southern Saami reindeer herders of Norway in 1996. Health Phys 2000: 79(6): 682–690. |
Nuclear fallout | Main source of 137Cesium exposure for Saami is reindeer meat and parts. The epidemiologic studies rule out any major effect of the nuclear fallout on cancer incidence among the exposed population. However, the prevention measures have effected the diet, economy, social life and livelihoods of Saami |
Levels are significantly reduced also in most contaminated areas in Sápmi. |
| [48–50] | Diet and lifestyle | Saami traditional diet and lifestyle seem to protect Saami from lifestyle diseases | Findings indicate that Saami lifestyle and diet is changing to resemble the majority population. Change or loss in traditional diet also indicates change in cultural values, livelihoods and lifestyle |
| [55, 56] | Substance use | There are no significant ethnic differences on the use of substances | |
| [52, 61, 64]. | Cultural well-being | Strong Saami ethnic identity seems to be important for physical and mental health of Saami. | Cultural well- being of Saami is associated with environmental relationship, traditions, livelihoods, Saami language, living in Saami core areas, social network and kin. |
| [58, 60–62] | Discrimination and violence | Saami have been subjected to discrimination and violence more than general population | However, Saami with strong ethnic identity have high resilience towards discrimination. |
| Daerga L, Sjölander P, Jacobsson L and Edin-Liljegren A. The confidence in health care and social services in northern Sweden – a comparison between reindeer-herding Sami and the non-Sami majority population. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 2012: 40(6): 516–522. Doi:10.1177/1403494812453971; Norum J and Nieder C.Socioeconomic characteristics and health outcomes in Sami speaking municipalities and a control group in northern Norway. Int J Circumpolar Health 2012: 71: 19127. Doi:10.3402/ijch.v71i0.19127; Nystad T, Melhus M and Lund E. Sami speakers are less satisfied with general practitioners’ services. Int J Circumpolar Health 2008: 67(1): 114–121.Doi: 10.3402/ijch.v67i1.18246 |
Access to social and health services and implications to health outcome | The findings indicate that the Saami have equal access to social and health services and similar health outcomes compared with reference population | However, Saami speakers have reported lower satisfaction and communication difficulties in health services |