Which Sámi? Sámi inclusion criteria in population-based studies of Sámi health and living conditions in Norway – an exploratory study exemplified with data from the SAMINOR study

Figures & data

Fig. 1.  Municipalities included in the SAMINOR study.

Fig. 2.  Sámi regions defined for this study*. *Detailed Region labels: 1, Inner Language Area (2 municipalities); 2, Outer Language Area (4 municipalities); 3, Areas of Northern Troms/Finnmark (6 municipalities); 4, Alta municipality; 5, Areas of Nordland/Southern Troms (4 municipalities). The 6 municipalities in Region 1 and 2 together with 2 of those in Region 5 (the southernmost and the northernmost) make up those 8 municipalities in the Sámi Language Administrative District in 2013 that are included in our study area.

Fig. 3.  Schematic illustration of 4 Sámi populations aged 36–79 years as of 2003–2004 in 17 municipalities in Norway north of the Arctic Circle – defined according to different but partially overlapping Sámi inclusion criteria*. *The size and relative position of each circle is indicative. Assignment to I1–I3 is based on self-reported data.

Table I Five Sámi and 2 non-Sámi populations aged 36–79 years as of 2003–2004 in 17 municipalities in Norway north of the Arctic Circle – defined according to different but partially overlapping Sámi inclusion/exclusion criteria*

	n	%
Geographically based Sámi populations
G0) Resident in the study area (17 municipalities)	14,797	100.0
G1) Resident in the Language Area (8 municipalities)	5,677	38.4
Individual-based Sámi populations
I1) Sámi linguistic connection objective criterion^#	5,249	35.5
I2) Self-identification as Sámi=subjective criterion	3,112	21.0
I3) Sámi as active language	2,614	17.7
Non-Sámi populations – geographically and individual-based
N0) Resident in the study area – no reported Sámi inclusion criteria, cf. G0	9,409	63.9
N1) Resident in the Language Area – no reported Sámi inclusion criteria, cf. G1	2,220	39.1

* Assignment to I1–I3 and N0–N1 is based on self-reported data. Due to missing values 60 participants were included neither in I1–I3 nor in N1–N2. Percentages for these populations take into account the missing values.

# The criterion for enrolment in the Sámediggi electoral roll applies to 4 generations, our data cover 3.

Table II Distribution of characteristics of 5 Sámi populations aged 36–79 years per 2003–2004 in 17 municipalities in Norway north of the Arctic Circle – defined according to different but partially overlapping Sámi inclusion criteria

	Based on geography – residence in a Sámi settlement area				Based on the criteria for enrolment in the Sámediggi electoral roll				Based on the use of Sámi language
	G0) Resident in the study area – 17 municipalities (n=14,797)		G1) Resident in the Language Area – 8 municipalities (n=5677)		I1) Sámi linguistic connection objective criterion^# (n=5249*)		I2) Self-identification as Sámi=subjective criterion (n=3112*)		I3) Sámi as active language (n=2614*)
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Gender
Men	7,162	48.4	2,773	48.9	2,641	50.3	1,541	49.5	1,309	50.1
Women	7,635	51.6	2,904	51.2	2,608	49.7	1,571	50.5	1,305	49.9
Age
36–48 years	4,998	33.8	1,916	33.8	1,757	33.5	1,089	35.0	797	30.5
49–61 years	5,749	38.9	2,205	38.8	2,035	38.8	1,196	38.4	998	38.2
62–79 years	4,050	27.4	1,556	27.4	1,457	27.8	827	26.6	819	31.3
Region
1 Inner Language Area (2 municipalities)	1,507	10.2	1,507	26.6	1,309	24.9	1,245	40.0	1,204	46.1
2 Outer Language Area (4 municipalities)	3,370	22.8	3,370	59.4	1,928	36.7	1,135	36.5	967	37.0
3 Areas of Northern Troms/Finnmark (6 municipalities)	3,240	21.9	–	–	901	17.2	232	7.5	123	4.7
4 Alta muni.	4,626	31.3	–	–	770	14.7	255	8.2	151	5.8
5 Areas of Nordland/Southern Troms (4 municipalities)	2,054	13.9	800	14.1	341	6.5	245	7.9	169	6.5
Self-reported length of education**
≤12 years	8,854	67.4	3,119	68.0	3,066	70.4	1,607	65.4	1,418	71.2
>12 years	4,274	32.6	1,467	32.0	1,292	29.7	851	34.6	573	28.8
Self-reported household income**
≤Kr. 300,000	5,151	38.6	2,209	43.4	2,156	45.7	1,291	46.0	1,156	50.0
>Kr. 300,000	8,181	61.4	2,886	56.6	2,559	54.3	1,514	54.0	1,157	50.0
Self-rated health**
Not good	4,537	32.8	1,597	33.1	1,637	35.5	889	34.3	761	35.9
Good	9,308	67.2	3,232	66.9	2,973	64.5	1,703	65.7	1,361	64.1

* Assignment is based on self-reported data.

# The criterion for enrolment in the Sámediggi electoral roll applies to 4 generations, our data cover 3.

** Varying n because of missing values.

Table III Distribution of characteristics of 2 non-Sámi populations aged 36–79 years as of 2003/2004 in 17 municipalities in Norway north of the Arctic Circle – defined according to not having reported self-identification as Sámi or Sámi linguistic connection within 3 generations*

	N0) Resident in the study area – 17 municipalities (n=9,409)		N1) Resident in the language area – 8 municipalities (n=2,220)
	n	%	n	%
Gender
Men	4,435	47.1	1,040	46.9
Women	4,974	52.9	1,180	53.2
Age
36–48 years	3,196	34.0	708	31.9
49–61 years	3,656	38.9	871	39.3
62–79 years	2,557	27.1	641	28.9
Region
1 Inner Language Area (2 municipalities)	175	1.9	175	7.9
2 Outer Language Area (4 municipalities)	1,394	14.8	1,394	62.8
3 Areas of Northern Troms/Finnmark (6 municipalities)	2,314	24.6	–	–
4 Alta municipalities	3,832	40.7	–	–
5 Areas of Nordland/Southern Troms (4 municipalities)	1,694	18.0	651	29.3
Self-reported length of education**
≤12 years	5,731	66.1	1,260	65.9
>12 years	2,943	33.9	651	34.1
Self-reported household income**
≤Kr. 300,000	2,952	34.7	749	37.7
>Kr. 300,000	5,568	65.4	1,236	62.3
Self-rated health**
Not good	2,872	31.5	660	32.9
Good	6,248	68.5	1,345	67.1

* Due to missing values, 60 participants were included neither in the populations I1–I3 nor in N1–N2.

** Varying n because of missing values.

Table IV Adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for education, household income and self-rated health when 4 partially overlapping Sámi populations aged 36–79 years as of 2003–2004 in 17 municipalities in Norway north of the Arctic Circle are related to each population's respective non-Sámi proportion of the study sample*

	OR	95% CI	p
Self-reported length of education: >12 vs. ≤12 years
G1) Resident in the Language Area – 8 municipalities (n=5,677)	0.96	0.89–1.05	0.386
I1) Sámi linguistic connection≈objective criterion^# (n=5,249*)	0.81	0.75–0.88	**
I2) Self-identification as Sámi=subjective criterion (n=3,112*)	1.09	0.99–1.21	0.070
I3) Sámi as active language (n=2,614*)	0.87	0.78–0.97	***
Self-reported household income: >300,000 vs. ≤300,000 NOK
G1) Resident in the Language Area – 8 municipalities (n=5,677)	0.69	0.63–0.74	**
I1) Sámi linguistic connection≈objective criterion^# (n=5,249*)	0.57	0.53–0.62	**
I2) Self-identification as Sámi=subjective criterion (n=3,112*)	0.60	0.55–0.67	**
I3) Sámi as active language (n=2,614*)	0.55	0.50–0.61	**
Self-rated health: good vs. not good
G1) Resident in the Language Area – 8 municipalities (n=5,677)	0.98	0.91–1.06	0.641
I1) Sámi linguistic connection≈objective criterion^# (n=5,249*)	0.83	0.77–0.89	**
I2) Self-identification as Sámi=subjective criterion (n=3,112*)	0.89	0.81–0.98	***
I3) Sámi as active language (n=2,614*)	0.88	0.80–0.98	***

* Assignment to I1–I3 is based on self-reported data. All OR adjusted for sex and age and take into account that n varies because of missing values.

# The criterion for enrolment in the Sámediggi electoral roll applies to 4 generations, our data cover 3.

** p<0.0001, ***p<0.05.