Research at the Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine

Research projects

The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS) - Epidemiologic study on atherosclerotic precursors in Finnish children and young adults

The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study is one of the largest follow-up studies into cardiovascular risk from childhood to adulthood. The main aim is to determine the contribution made by childhood lifestyle, biological, and psychological measures to the risk of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood.

Project Leader: Academy Professor Olli Raitakari

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The STRIP Project - A Prospective Randomized Trial of Atherosclerosis Prevention in Infancy and Childhood - An Epidemiological Study

The STRIP study is unique worldwide; no other study has started dietary intervention in infancy and continued it for 20 years, and simultaneously collected data with repeated measurements on a vast number of risk factors and subclinical markers for cardiovascular health.

The main purpose of the STRIP Study (Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project) is the prevention of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease by a dietary intervention which began in infancy and has continued to early adulthood. The trial was launched in 1990 when 1062 7-month-old children and their families were enrolled. Half of the families have received individualized dietary and other life-style counseling at least twice a year whereas the rest of the families have served as a control group. The STRIP Study intervention continued until the participants reached the age of 20 years.

Project Leader: Academy Professor Olli Raitakari

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Recent publications of the Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine

Twenty-eight genetic loci associated with ST-T-wave amplitudes of the electrocardiogram (2016)

Human Molecular Genetics
Verweij N, Mateo Leach I, Isaacs A, Arking DE, Bis JC, Pers TH, Van Den Berg ME, Lyytikäinen LP, Barnett P, Wang X; LifeLines Cohort Study., Soliman EZ, Van Duijn CM, Kähönen M, Van Veldhuisen DJ, Kors JA, Raitakari OT, Silva CT, Lehtimäki T, Hillege HL, Hirschhorn JN, Boyer LA, Van Gilst WH, Alonso A, Sotoodehnia N, Eijgelsheim M, De Boer RA, De Bakker PI, Franke L, Van Der Harst P
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1))

Whole-Exome Sequencing Identifies Loci Associated with Blood Cell Traits and Reveals a Role for Alternative GFI1B Splice Variants in Human Hematopoiesis (2016)

American Journal of Human Genetics
Polfus LM, Khajuria RK, Schick UM, Pankratz N, Pazoki R, Brody JA, Chen MH, Auer PL, Floyd JS, Huang J, Lange L, van Rooij FJA, Gibbs RA, Metcalf G, Muzny D, Veeraraghavan N, Walter K, Chen L, Yanek L, Becker LC, Peloso GM, Wakabayashi A, Kals M, Metspalu A, Esko T, Fox K, Wallace R, Franceschini N, Matijevic N, Rice KM, Bartz TM, Lyytikainen LP, Kahonen M, Lehtimaki T, Raitakari OT, Li-Gao R, Mook-Kanamori DO, Lettre G, van Duijn CM, Franco OH, Rich SS, Rivadeneira F, Hofman A, Uitterlinden AG, Wilson JG, Psaty BM, Soranzo N, Dehghan A, Boerwinkle E, Zhang XL, Johnson AD, O'Donnell CJ, Johnsen JM, Reiner AP, Ganesh SK, Sankaran VG
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1))

Genome-wide study for circulating metabolites identifies 62 loci and reveals novel systemic effects of LPA (2016)

Nature Communications
Kettunen J, Demirkan A, Wurtz P, Draisma HHM, Haller T, Rawal R, Vaarhorst A, Kangas AJ, Lyytikainen LP, Pirinen M, Pool R, Sarin AP, Soininen P, Tukiainen T, Wang Q, Tiainen M, Tynkkynen T, Amin N, Zeller T, Beekman M, Deelen J, van Dijk KW, Esko T, Hottenga JJ, van Leeuwen EM, Lehtimaki T, Mihailov E, Rose RJ, de Craen AJM, Gieger C, Kahonen M, Perola M, Blankenberg S, Savolainen MJ, Verhoeven A, Viikari J, Willemsen G, Boomsma DI, van Duijn CM, Eriksson J, Jula A, Jarvelin MR, Kaprio J, Metspalu A, Raitakari O, Salomaa V, Slagboom PE, Waldenberger M, Ripatti S, Ala-Korpela M
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1))

Childhood predictors of adult fatty liver. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2016)

Journal of Hepatology
Emmi Suomela, Mervi Oikonen, Niina Pitkänen, Ari Ahola-Olli, Johanna Virtanen, Riitta Parkkola, Eero Jokinen, Tomi Laitinen, Nina Hutri-Kähönen, Mika Kähönen, Terho Lehtimäki, Leena Taittonen, Päivi Tossavainen, Antti Jula, Britt-Marie Loo, Vera Mikkilä, Risto Telama, Jorma S.A. Viikari, Markus Juonala, Olli T. Raitakari
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1))
Keywords
Cardiovascular Medicine (CAPC)