Mikael
Ekblad
Links
Areas of expertise
Biography
I am an Assistant Professor in General Practice at the University of Turku and I'm interested in maternal and child health, preventive medicine, and public health. I completed my PhD in Pediatrics at the University of Turku in 2013, focusing on the effects of prenatal smoking on fetal brain development. This work laid the foundation for my long-standing research interest in tobacco and nicotine exposure during pregnancy and early life.
Over the years, I have combined clinical practice with research, including establishing the KESÄLATU Study, a large prospective cohort study in primary healthcare. My work focuses on tobacco and nicotine use, pregnancy and child health, psychosocial determinants of health, and chronic disease care in primary care settings.
Following postdoctoral training at Purdue University in the United States, I have continued to build multidisciplinary research collaborations and supervise doctoral and undergraduate researchers. I am responsible for postgraduate education in General Practice and serve as Chair of the Education Working Group of the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research at the University of Turku.
In addition to my academic work, I contribute to scientific journals, doctoral education, and national initiatives aimed at reducing the harms caused by tobacco and nicotine products. I am recognized as an expert on the health effects of tobacco and nicotine products and have contributed to national guidelines, health policy development, and professional education in this field for over a decade.
Research
Principal Investigator of KESÄLATU Study and Co-Director of Diabetes Care Pathway Research
I lead and co-direct research projects focused on maternal and child health as well as diabetes care pathways in Finland.
1. Keski-Satakunta Maternity and Child Health Clinic Study (KESÄLATU)
I founded and serve as the responsible principal investigator for the KESÄLATU study. Between September 2016 and December 2019, the study collected data from pregnant women attending their first maternity clinic visit in the Keski-Satakunta (KSTHKY), their partners, and their newborns. It follows pregnancy progression and maternal and child health up to the child’s age of 1.5 years. The dataset is unique in its comprehensive coverage of the entire municipal area and includes routinely collected clinic information, parental attachment development, and tobacco product use during and after pregnancy.
2. Functionality and Costs of the Care Pathway for Diabetes Patients
As Deputy Director, I contribute to a large-scale research project examining the prevalence, incidence, treatment balance, risk factors, comorbidities, medication adherence, and costs related to prediabetes, diabetes, and gestational diabetes in Southwest Finland. The study evaluates equity in care across regions and investigates whether treatment quality, continuity, and early intervention influence complications and associated costs.
The research is based on a retrospective registry analysis using data from primary and specialized healthcare, including laboratory results, diagnoses, and cost information, as well as prescription purchase and reimbursement data from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) for 2005–2022. Additionally, a gestational diabetes cohort is being collected to explore factors such as maternal body size and its impact on glucose tolerance and pregnancy complications.
I'm also expirienced in utilizing the Finnish Medical Registers e.g., the Medical Birth Register.