Markus Juonala profile picture
Markus
Juonala
Professor, Internal Medicine
Professor
Cardiovascular epidemiology, Young Finns Study, i3c consortium

Contact

+358 29 450 2754
+358 50 478 3572

Areas of expertise

Internal medicine
endocrinology
cardiovascular risk

Biography

Professor Markus Juonala (MD, PhD, University of Turku) is a specialist in internal medicine and endocrinology at the Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. Since 2001, he has been conducting research on longitudinal studies examining the importance of childhood risk factors on later cardiovascular health. His PhD work was based primarily on the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (University of Turku, April 2005). Since 2008, he has had a major involvement in the development of the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) Consortium that combines the efforts of the main longitudinal studies worldwide. In June 2014, he was appointed as Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Turku. In 2014-2015 and 2018-2019 he has been working as the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Fellow in Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI). 

His career publications total is 270 (h-index 44) with published highlights including a first-author paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, the first-ranked general medicine journal, one paper in JAMA, the third-ranked general medicine journal and 30 papers (11 as first/last author) published in either the number one, two, or three ranked cardiovascular disease journals (17 in Circulation, five in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, eight in the European Heart Journal). 

Teaching

Teaching responsibilities: 1) Internal medicine for medical students, 2) Internal medicine specialisation programme for MDs

Special interest areas: Acute internal medicine, endocrinology, lipidology

  

Research

Professor Juonala’s principal research focus has been to provide novel information on the effects of childhood risk factors on cardiovascular health in adulthood. Beginning from the summer of 2008 he has led a research group within the Young Finns Study and i3c consortium with special interest on cardiometabolic risk factors. The most important findings of his research have provided information on childhood and early adulthood risk factors for atherosclerosis, suggesting that childhood risk factors, such as dyslipidaemia, elevated blood pressure and smoking, predict early atherosclerosis and its progression independent of adult risk factors levels. Concerning cardiometabolic risk factors, his group has been able to show that overweight and metabolic syndrome diagnosed either in childhood or adulthood is predictive of carotid atherosclerosis and its progression in adulthood. However, at the time of obesity epidemic, the most important findings concern the reversibility of cardiovascular risk. His work has demonstrated that although overweight and metabolic syndrome are predictive of early atherosclerosis, favourable changes in lifestyle associated with weight maintenance or reduction improve cardiovascular health.

 


Publications

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Ideal cardiovascular health in childhood-Longitudinal associations with cardiac structure and function: The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) and the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS) (2017)

International Journal of Cardiology
Laitinen TT, Ruohonen S, Juonala M, Magnussen CG, Mikkila V, Mikola H, Hutri-Kahonen N, Laitinen T, Tossavainen P, Jokinen E, Niinikoski H, Jula A, Viikari JSA, Ronnemaa T, Raitakari OT, Pahkala K
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

An interaction map of circulating metabolites, immune gene networks, and their genetic regulation (2017)

Genome Biology
Nath AP, Ritchie SC, Byars SG, Fearnley LG, Havulinna AS, Joensuu A, Kangas AJ, Soininen P, Wennerstrom A, Milani L, Metspalu A, Mannisto S, Wurtz P, Kettunen J, Raitoharju E, Kahonen M, Juonala M, Palotie A, Ala-Korpela M, Ripatti S, Lehtimaki T, Juonala M, Raitakari O, Salomaa V, Perola M, Inouye M
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Risk of Fatty Liver: The Young Finns Study (2017)

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
Palve KS, Pahkala K, Suomela E, Aatola H, Hulkkonen J, Juonala M, Lehtimaki T, Ronnemaa T, Viikari JSA, Kahonen M, Hutri-Kahonen N, Telama R, Tammelin T, Raitakari OT
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Genome-wide meta-analysis of 241,258 adults accounting for smoking behaviour identifies novel loci for obesity traits (2017)

Nature Communications
Justice AE, Winkler TW, Feitosa MF, Graff M, Fisher VA, Young K, Barata L, Deng X, Czajkowski J, Hadley D, Ngwa JS, Ahluwalia TS, Chu AY, Heard-Costa NL, Lim E, Perez J, Eicher JD, Kutalik Z, Xue L, Mahajan A, Renstrom F, Wu J, Qi QB, Ahmad S, Alfred T, Amin N, Bielak LF, Bonnefond A, Bragg J, Cadby G, Chittani M, Coggeshall S, Corre T, Direk N, Eriksson J, Fischer K, Gorski M, Harder MN, Horikoshi M, Huang T, Huffman JE, Jackson AU, Justesen JM, Kanoni S, Kinnunen L, Kleber ME, Komulainen P, Kumari M, Lim U, Luan J, Lyytikainen LP, Mangino M, Manichaikul A, Marten J, Middelberg RPS, Mueller-Nurasyid M, Navarro P, Perusse L, Pervjakova N, Sarti C, Smith AV, Smith JA, Stancakova A, Strawbridge RJ, Stringham HM, Sung YJ, Tanaka T, Teumer A, Trompet S, van der Laan SW, van der Most PJ, Van Vliet-Ostaptchouk JV, Vedantam SL, Verweij N, Vink JM, Vitart V, Wu Y, Yengo L, Zhang WH, Zhao JH, Zimmermann ME, Zubair N, Abecasis GR, Adair LS, Afaq S, Afzal U, Bakker SJL, Bartz TM, Beilby J, Bergman RN, Bergmann S, Biffar R, Blangero J, Boerwinkle E, Bonnycastle LL, Bottinger E, Braga D, Buckley BM, Buyske S, Campbell H, Chambers JC, Collins FS, Curran JE, de Borst GJ, de Craen AJM, de Geus EJC, Dedoussis G, Delgado GE, den Ruijter HM, Eiriksdottir G, Eriksson AL, Esko T, Faul JD, Ford I, Forrester T, Gertow K, Gigante B, Glorioso N, Gong J, Grallert H, Grammer TB, Grarup N, Haitjema S, Hallmans G, Hamsten A, Hansen T, Harris TB, Hartman CA, Hassinen M, Hastie ND, Heath AC, Hernandez D, Hindorff L, Hocking LJ, Hollensted M, Holmen OL, Homuth G, Hottenga JJ, Huang J, Hung J, Hutri-Kahonen N, Ingelsson E, James AL, Jansson JO, Jarvelin MR, Jhun MA, Jorgensen ME, Juonala M, Kahonen M, Karlsson M, Koistinen HA, Kolcic I, Kolovou G, Kooperberg C, Kramer BK, Kuusisto J, Kvaloy K, Lakka TA, Langenberg C, Launer LJ, Leander K, Lee NR, Lind L, Lindgren CM, Linneberg A, Lobbens S, Loh M, Lorentzon M, Luben R, Lubke G, Ludolph-Donislawski A, Lupoli S, Madden PAF, Mannikko R, Marques-Vidal P, Martin NG, McKenzie CA, McKnight B, Mellstrom D, Menni C, Montgomery GW, Musk AW, Narisu N, Nauck M, Nolte IM, Oldehinkel AJ, Olden M, Ong KK, Padmanabhan S, Peyser PA, Pisinger C, Porteous DJ, Raitakari OT, Rankinen T, Rao DC, Rasmussen-Torvik LJ, Rawal R, Rice T, Ridker PM, Rose LM, Bien SA, Rudan I, Sanna S, Sarzynski MA, Sattar N, Savonen K, Schlessinger D, Scholtens S, Schurmann C, Scott RA, Sennblad B, Siemelink MA, Silbernagel G, Slagboom PE, Snieder H, Staessen JA, Stott DJ, Swertz MA, Swift AJ, Taylor KD, Tayo BO, Thorand B, Thuillier D, Tuomilehto J, Uitterlinden AG, Vandenput L, Vohl MC, Volzke H, Vonk JM, Waeber G, Waldenberger M, Westendorp RGJ, Wild S, Willemsen G, Wolffenbuttel BHR, Wong A, Wright AF, Zhao W, Zillikens MC, Baldassarre D, Balkau B, Bandinelli S, Boger CA, Boomsma DI, Bouchard C, Bruinenberg M, Chasman DI, Chen YDI, Chines PS, Cooper RS, Cucca F, Cusi D, de Faire U, Ferrucci L, Franks PW, Froguel P, Gordon-Larsen P, Grabe HJ, Gudnason V, Haiman CA, Hayward C, Hveem K, Johnson AD, Jukema W, Kardia SLR, Kivimaki M, Kooner JS, Kuh D, Laakso M, Lehtimaki T, Le Marchand L, Marz W, McCarthy MI, Metspalu A, Morris AP, Ohlsson C, Palmer LJ, Pasterkamp G, Pedersen O, Peters A, Peters U, Polasek O, Psaty BM, Qi L, Rauramaa R, Smith BH, Sorensen TIA, Strauch K, Tiemeier H, Tremoli E, Van der Harst P, Vestergaard H, Vollenweider P, Wareham NJ, Weir DR, Whitfield JB, Wilson JF, Tyrrell J, Frayling TM, Barroso I, Boehnke M, Deloukas P, Fox CS, Hirschhorn JN, Hunter DJ, Spector TD, Strachan DP, van Duijn CM, Heid IM, Mohlke KL, Marchini J, Loos RJF, Kilpelainen TO, Liu CT, Borecki IB, North KE, Cupples LA, Hunter DJ, Hirschhorn JN, Strachan DP, Spector TD, Heid IM, van Duijn CM, Marchini J, Mohlke KL, Kilpelainen TO, Loos RJF, Borecki IB, Liu CT, Cupples LA, North KE
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Association of Socioeconomic Status in Childhood With Left Ventricular Structure and Diastolic Function in Adulthood The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2017)

JAMA Pediatrics
Laitinen TT, Puolakka E, Ruohonen S, Magnussen CG, Smith KJ, Viikari JSA, Heinonen OJ, Kartiosuo N, Hutri-Kahonen N, Kahonen M, Jokinen E, Laitinen TP, Tossavainen P, Pulkki-Raback L, Elovainio M, Raitakari OT, Pahkala K, Juonala M
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))