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

Read more about the project

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

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

Novel loci associated with usual sleep duration: the CHARGE Consortium Genome-Wide Association Study (2015)

Molecular Psychiatry

Gottlieb DJ, Hek K, Chen TH, Watson NF, Eiriksdottir G, Byrne EM, Cornelis M, Warby SC, Bandinelli S, Cherkas L, Evans DS, Grabe HJ, Lahti J, Li M, Lehtimaki T, Lumley T, Marciante KD, Perusse L, Psaty BM, Robbins J, Tranah GJ, Vink JM, Wilk JB, Stafford JM, Bellis C, Biffar R, Bouchard C, Cade B, Curhan GC, Eriksson JG, Ewert R, Ferrucci L, Fulop T, Gehrman PR, Goodloe R, Harris TB, Heath AC, Hernandez D, Hofman A, Hottenga JJ, Hunter DJ, Jensen MK, Johnson AD, Kahonen M, Kao L, Kraft P, Larkin EK, Lauderdale DS, Luik AI, Medici M, Montgomery GW, Palotie A, Patel SR, Pistis G, Porcu E, Quaye L, Raitakari O, Redline S, Rimm EB, Rotter JI, Smith AV, Spector TD, Teumer A, Uitterlinden AG, Vohl MC, Widen E, Willemsen G, Young T, Zhang X, Liu Y, Blangero J, Boomsma DI, Gudnason V, Hu F, Mangino M, Martin NG, O'Connor GT, Stone KL, Tanaka T, Viikari J, Gharib SA, Punjabi NM, Raikkonen K, Volzke H, Mignot E, Tiemeier H

(Refereed journal article or data article (A1))

The impact of low-frequency and rare variants on lipid levels (2015)

Nature Genetics

Surakka I, Horikoshi M, Magi R, Sarin AP, Mahajan A, Lagou V, Marullo L, Ferreira T, Miraglio B, Timonen S, Kettunen J, Pirinen M, Karjalainen J, Thorleifsson G, Hagg S, Hottenga JJ, Isaacs A, Ladenvall C, Beekman M, Esko T, Ried JS, Nelson CP, Willenborg C, Gustafsson S, Westra HJ, Blades M, de Craen AJM, de Geus EJ, Deelen J, Grallert H, Hamsten A, Havulinna AS, Hengstenberg C, Houwing-Duistermaat JJ, Hypponen E, Karssen LC, Lehtimaki T, Lyssenko V, Magnusson PKE, Mihailov E, Muller-Nurasyid M, Mpindi JP, Pedersen NL, Penninx BWJH, Perola M, Pers TH, Peters A, Rung J, Smit JH, Steinthorsdottir V, Tobin MD, Tsernikova N, van Leeuwen EM, Viikari JS, Willems SM, Willemsen G, Schunkert H, Erdmann J, Samani NJ, Kaprio J, Lind L, Gieger C, Metspalu A, Slagboom PE, Groop L, van Duijn CM, Eriksson JG, Jula A, Salomaa V, Boomsma DI, Power C, Raitakari OT, Ingelsson E, Jarvelin MR, Thorsteinsdottir U, Franke L, Ikonen E, Kallioniemi O, Pietiainen V, Lindgren CM, Stefansson K, Palotie A, McCarthy MI, Morris AP, Prokopenko I, Ripatti S; ENGAGE Consortium

(Refereed journal article or data article (A1))