Finnish Sample Research Articles

Causal relationships between three plasma proteins and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, mediated by Epstein-Barr virus EA-D antibody levels: a mendelian randomization study

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major global health concern, with its prevalence increasing steadily. While plasma proteins have been implicated in NAFLD, establishing causal relationships has been challenging due to confounding factors in observational studies. This study aims to explore the causal relationships between plasma proteins and NAFLD using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. We utilized genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from multiple sources to conduct MR analyses. Plasma protein data were obtained from the deCODE open database, and NAFLD data were sourced from the Finnish genetic sample collection (FinnGen). We performed MR analysis to identify plasma proteins causally related to NAFLD and explored the potential mediation effect of antibody-immune responses. Our MR analysis identified three plasma proteins—KNG1, MICB, and PKD2—with significant causal relationships to NAFLD. Mediation analysis further revealed that KNG1 negatively mediated the risk of NAFLD through Epstein-Barr virus EA-D antibody levels, while MICB and PKD2 positively mediated NAFLD risk through the same antibody levels. This study provides novel genetic evidence of causal relationships between specific plasma proteins and NAFLD risk. Measuring the levels of KNG1, MICB, PKD2, and Epstein-Barr virus EA-D antibody levels in patients may help clinicians assess NAFLD risk more accurately. Further clinical research is warranted to validate these findings and explore their potential therapeutic implications.

Assessing inoculation's effectiveness in motivating resistance to conspiracy propaganda in Finnish and United States samples.

This study tested the motivational power of inoculation to foster resistance to conspiracy propaganda (9/11 Truth Movement), comparing inoculation effects across United States and Finnish study participants. We used a 2 inoculation (treatment vs. control) × 2 national culture (American vs. Finnish) independent groups design (N = 319), while examining the effects of motivational threat and thinking modes-analytic vs. intuitive-on the inoculation process. To test the effectiveness of the inoculation strategy, we used an excerpt from a conspiracy film Loose Change as a counterattitudinal attack message. Our results indicated that inoculation was effective at motivating resistance regardless of national culture. Inoculation effects emerged mostly as a direct effect on resistance and two indirect effects wherein motivational threat mediated the relationship between inoculation and resistance as well as inoculation and analytic mode of message processing. Although we found that an increase in analytic mode of processing facilitated resistance and intuitive processing increased conspiracy-theory endorsement, the indirect effects between inoculation and resistance via message processing modes were not significant. Finally, the data revealed national culture differences in analytic mode and cultural-context differences mostly pertaining to the relationships between thinking styles, media literacy, and modes of thinking. These results offer important theoretical implications for inoculation scholarship and suggest viable practical solutions for efforts to mitigate misinformation and conspiratorial beliefs.

Characteristics of pipestems from acid sulfate soils of Finland and Australia

AbstractThis study describes iron (Fe) pipestems formed around and within root channels during the development of a homogeneous unripe sulfidic sediment into a ripe soil where redox‐ or pH‐active elements segregate. Pipestems and adjacent soil material samples were characterised by chemical and mineralogical analyses and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) associated with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Pipestems occurred at 60–190 cm and at 30–130 cm in a young Finnish soil and a more mature Australian soil, respectively, while sulfidic materials were found below 170–180 cm. The pipestems consisted of mineral grains cemented together by Fe precipitate. There was an up to 24‐fold enrichment of Fe and an up to 13‐fold enrichment of sulfur (S) in the Finnish pipestems compared to the adjacent soil material, whereas the corresponding enrichment in the Australian soil was up to 27‐fold for Fe and up to 8‐fold for S. In the Australian pipestem matrices, the Fe concentration was as high as 40% compared to 14% in the Finnish ones. It was estimated that about 70 ton ha−1 S had been mobilised from the sulfidic material in the Finnish soil at the depth of 50–150 cm. Part of S has leached out but a substantial amount remained in the soil constituting the stock of retained acidity. Almost all pipestems contained a new solid phase precipitated within the former cortex cells of the plant roots. In the Finnish samples, this precipitate consisted of jarosite and schwertmannite. After oxidative exhaustion of sulfidic material in the surrounding soil, these metastable minerals are gradually hydrolysed, associated with leaching of S. In the mature Australian soil, most of these minerals had already been transformed to goethite. Pipestems formed after roots in unripe soil are sites for synthesis and hydrolysis of minerals and serve as routes for atmospheric oxygen into the reduced subsoil and for soluble reaction products to exit the soil. Pipestems have an important role in the ripening of the soil profile.

Finnish district judges' assessments of live versus video-mediated party statements in court.

The increase in remote hearings after the COVID-19 pandemic presents an urgent need to examine how judges assess video-mediated witness and party statements compared with live statements. There is currently a limited body of research on this subject. As for the assessment itself, professionals within the judicial system sometimes believe they can detect deception based on visible cues such as body language and emotional expression. Research has, however, shown that lies cannot be detected based on such cues. The Finnish Supreme Court has also given rulings in accordance with the scientific literature. In this study, we used a survey to investigate how much importance a Finnish sample of district judges (N = 47) gave to several variables pertaining to the statement or the statement giver, such as body language and emotional expression. We also investigated the association between the judges' beliefs about the relevance of body language and emotional expression and their preference for live statements or statements via videoconference. The judges reported giving more importance to body language and emotional expression than legal psychology research and Finnish Supreme Court rulings would call for. Our results also indicated that there was a slight bias to assess live statements more favorably than statements given via videoconference, as well as a slight bias in favor of the injured party. More effort must be put into making judges and Supreme Courts aware of findings in legal psychology to avoid biases based on intuitive reasoning where it is contrary to scientific evidence.

Development and Validation of a Machine Learning–Based Model of Mortality Risk in First-Episode Psychosis

There is an absence of mortality risk assessment tools in first-episode psychosis (FEP) that could enable personalized interventions. To examine the feasibility of machine learning (ML) in discerning mortality risk in FEP and to assess whether such risk predictions can inform pharmacotherapy choices. In this prognostic study, Swedish nationwide cohort data (from July 1, 2006, to December 31, 2021) were harnessed for model development and validation. Finnish cohort data (from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2017) were used for external validation. Data analyses were completed between December 2022 and December 2023. Fifty-one nationwide register variables, encompassing demographics and clinical and work-related histories, were subjected to ML to predict future mortality risk. The ML model's performance was evaluated by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). The comparative effectiveness of pharmacotherapies in patients was assessed and was stratified by the ML model to those with predicted high mortality risk (vs low risk), using the between-individual hazard ratio (HR). The 5 most important variables were then identified and a model was retrained using these variables in the discovery sample. This study included 24 052 Swedish participants (20 000 in the discovery sample and 4052 in the validation sample) and 1490 Finnish participants (in the validation sample). Swedish participants had a mean (SD) age of 29.1 (8.1) years, 62.1% were men, and 418 died with 2 years. Finnish participants had a mean (SD) age of 29.7 (8.0) years, 61.7% were men, and 31 died within 2 years. The discovery sample achieved an AUROC of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.68-0.74) for 2-year mortality prediction. Using the 5 most important variables (ie, the top 10% [substance use comorbidities, first hospitalization duration due to FEP, male sex, prior somatic hospitalizations, and age]), the final model resulted in an AUROC of 0.70 (95% CI, 0.63-0.76) in the Swedish sample and 0.67 (95% CI, 0.56-0.78) in the Finnish sample. Individuals with predicted high mortality risk had an elevated 15-year risk in the Swedish sample (HR, 3.77 [95% CI, 2.92-4.88]) and an elevated 20-year risk in the Finnish sample (HR, 3.72 [95% CI, 2.67-5.18]). For those with predicted high mortality risk, long-acting injectable antipsychotics (HR, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.23-0.88]) and mood stabilizers (HR, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.46-0.90]) were associated with decreased mortality risk. Conversely, for those predicted to survive, only oral aripiprazole (HR, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.20-0.69]) and risperidone (HR, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.18-0.82]) were associated with decreased mortality risk. In this prognostic study, an ML-based model was developed and validated to predict mortality risk in FEP. These findings may help to develop personalized interventions to mitigate mortality risk in FEP.

Norovirus GII.17 Caused Five Outbreaks Linked to Frozen Domestic Bilberries in Finland, 2019.

In March 2019, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and Finnish Food Authority started an outbreak investigation after a notification of food business operators' recall of frozen bilberries due to a norovirus finding. A retrospective search was conducted in the food and waterborne outbreak notification system to identify the notifications linked to norovirus and consumption of bilberries in January-March 2019. Five outbreaks were found in which norovirus GII or GII.17 had been detected in patient samples. A pooled retrospective cohort study was performed for those four in which a questionnaire study had been done. A case was defined as a person with diarrhoea or vomiting within 2 days after consuming a meal studied at one of the outbreak locations. Of 79 participants, 45 (57%) cases were identified. Persons that had consumed foods containing unheated bilberries were three times more likely to get ill than those who had not consumed them (RR 3.1, CI 95% 1.2-8.1, p = 0.02). Norovirus GII.17 was found in 16/17 patient samples sent for further typing. Identical norovirus GII.17 was detected in frozen Finnish bilberries and patient samples. At the berry packaging premises, signs of norovirus GII contamination were found in packaging lines. A new procedure for extracting viral nucleic acid from food and environmental samples was used during the outbreak investigation. Consumption of industrially packed frozen berries as heated would be one of the means to prevent norovirus infections.

Loci on chromosome 20 interact with rs16969968 to influence cigarettes per day in European ancestry individuals

BackgroundThe understanding of the molecular genetic contributions to smoking is largely limited to the additive effects of individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), but the underlying genetic risk is likely to also include dominance, epistatic, and gene-environment interactions. MethodsTo begin to address this complexity, we attempted to identify genetic interactions between rs16969968, the most replicated SNP associated with smoking quantity, and all SNPs and genes across the genome. ResultsUsing the UK Biobank European subsample, we found one SNP, rs1892967, and two genes, PCNA and TMEM230, that showed a significant genome-wide interaction with rs16969968 for log10 CPD and raw CPD, respectively, in a sample of 116 442 individuals who self-reported currently or previously smoking. We extended these analyses to individuals of South Asian descent and meta-analyzed the combined sample of 117 212 individuals of European and South Asian ancestry. We replicated the gene findings in a meta-analysis of five Finnish samples (N=40 140): FinHealth, FINRISK, Finnish Twin Cohort, GeneRISK, and Health-2000–2011. ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this represents the first reliable epistatic association between single nucleotide polymorphisms for smoking behaviors and provides a novel direction for possible future functional studies related to this interaction. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the feasibility of these analyses by pooling multiple datasets across various ancestries, which may be applied to other top SNPs for smoking and/or other phenotypes.

Developing and validating an abbreviated adult reading history questionnaire in the Finnish and Dutch contexts

BackgroundThe adult reading history questionnaire (ARHQ) is frequently used in research on adult dyslexia and family risk for dyslexia. However, this measure is lengthy (23 items), reducing its applicability in studies with extensive assessment batteries.MethodsWe identified the best‐performing ARHQ items in a sample of 396 Finnish adults using exploratory factor analysis and item response theory. Consequently, we validated the brief questionnaire in independent Finnish and Dutch samples by comparing its performance with that of the complete questionnaire. We also evaluated how the scores on the questionnaires related to the scores on direct adult reading assessments in the Finnish samples. Finally, we tested how predictive parental questionnaires were of children's skills in the Dutch and one of the Finnish samples.ResultsFive items were selected to construct the short version of ARHQ. All of them relate to childhood/adolescent reading difficulties rather than current adult skills. The scores of the complete ARHQ significantly correlated with those of the abbreviated version in all samples. Moreover, in one of the samples, direct reading assessment scores had a stronger correlation with the short ARHQ than with the full version. Additionally, across all three samples parental scores on the short ARHQ were at least as predictive of children's reading skills as the complete ARHQ.ConclusionsThe short ARHQ proved to be on a par with the complete version in its usefulness for identifying adults with dyslexia. Future research should investigate whether the five selected items can effectively serve as a brief screening measure for adults with dyslexia in languages other than Finnish and Dutch.

Transfer learning for the generalization of artificial intelligence in breast cancer detection: a case-control study.

Some researchers have questioned whether artificial intelligence (AI) systems maintain their performance when used for women from populations not considered during the development of the system. To evaluate the impact of transfer learning as a way of improving the generalization of AI systems in the detection of breast cancer. This retrospective case-control Finnish study involved 191 women diagnosed with breast cancer and 191 matched healthy controls. We selected a state-of-the-art AI system for breast cancer detection trained using a large US dataset. The selected baseline system was evaluated in two experimental settings. First, we examined our private Finnish sample as an independent test set that had not been considered in the development of the system (unseen population). Second, the baseline system was retrained to attempt to improve its performance in the unseen population by means of transfer learning. To analyze performance, we used areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) with DeLong's test. Two versions of the baseline system were considered: ImageOnly and Heatmaps. The ImageOnly and Heatmaps versions yielded mean AUC values of 0.82±0.008 and 0.88±0.003 in the US dataset and 0.56 (95% CI=0.50-0.62) and 0.72 (95% CI=0.67-0.77) when evaluated in the unseen population, respectively. The retrained systems achieved AUC values of 0.61 (95% CI=0.55-0.66) and 0.69 (95% CI=0.64-0.75), respectively. There was no statistical difference between the baseline system and the retrained system. Transfer learning with a small study sample did not yield a significant improvement in the generalization of the system.

Americans have a longer digit span but a shorter spatial span than Finns

Objective Cross-national studies of test norms show American superiority in digit span (DS) length as compared to European norms. In our study, American and Finnish DS and Spatial span (SS) norms were analyzed to study the hypothesis that the differences in DS reflect a systemic difference in working memory and are not based on linguistic factors. Method The mean DS and SS scores from the Wechsler Memory Scale III US (n = 1,250) and Finnish (n = 251) standardizations were compared. Results A significant difference between American and Finnish mean DS (16.5–14.2) and SS (14.7–15.9) raw scores was observed. For six out of seven age groups, the American sample had longer DS while for 4/7 age groups, the Finnish sample had longer SS. Conclusions It is concluded that differences in DS are based on other factors than a systemic difference in working memory. Cross-national differences in articulatory duration of digit names is probably one major causative factor. The results underline the need for establishing national test norms for memory tests.

Proteomics identifies immunological drivers of post‐infection brain atrophy and cognitive decline

AbstractBackgroundPrior infections can modify the risk for dementia and neurodegenerative disease, yet the mechanisms by which infections contribute to neurodegeneration remain unclear.MethodWe examined how infection diagnoses documented in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) are associated with rates of change in brain volumes over time, and how these same infections relate to dementia risk using hospital records from UK Biobank and a Finnish multicohort sample (the Finnish Public Sector study, the Health and Social Support study, and the Still Working study). After determining how infections differentially relate to an immunological plasma proteome (942 proteins) in BLSA participants, we then identified a subset of infection‐related proteins that also predict changes in brain regions vulnerable to infection‐specific atrophy (candidate proteins). In addition to evaluating their associations with longitudinal cognitive performance as well as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) plasma biomarkers (Aβ42/40, GFAP, NfL, pTau‐181), we also investigated the causal link between candidate proteins and longitudinal brain volume loss using Mendelian randomization. Study design is illustrated in Figure 1.ResultA total of 982 cognitively normal participants (age: 65.4 [SD 14.9]); 55.2% female; 66.9% white) were included in the primary MRI analysis. Of the 15 infections examined, we identified six diagnoses related to accelerated brain volume loss, including influenza, viral, respiratory, and skin/subcutaneous infections, with atrophy commonly observed in the temporal lobe. Each infection linked to brain volume loss in the BLSA was associated with increased risk of dementia in the UK Biobank (n = 495,896), with many also associated with increased risk in the Finnish multicohort sample (n = 273,132). From a set of 260 infection‐related proteins, we identified 35 candidate proteins that also predicted changes in brain regions vulnerable to infection‐specific atrophy (Figure 2A‐F). Many candidate proteins were related to cognitive decline, plasma ADRD biomarkers or mechanistically implicated in longitudinal brain volume loss in Mendelian randomization analyses (Figure 2G‐H; Figure 3A).ConclusionWe demonstrate that infections are linked to accelerated regional brain atrophy and dementia risk. Additionally, we identify molecular mediators by which infections may contribute to neurodegeneration (Figure 3B).

Developmental profiles of arithmetic fluency skills from grades 1 to 9 and their early identification.

The aim of the present study was to examine the kinds of developmental profiles of arithmetic fluency skills that can be identified across Grades 1-9 (ages 7-16) in a large Finnish sample (n = 2,518). The study also examined whether membership in the developmental profiles could be predicted using a comprehensive set of kindergarten-age factors, including information on cognitive skills; motivational, parental, and home environment factors; and gender. Four profiles of arithmetic fluency skills development were identified using a factor mixture model: persistent arithmetic difficulties (12.23%), precocious onset (50.24%), delayed onset (36.96%), and precocious onset with a Grade 7 drop (.06%). The Cholesky models predicting membership in the three largest profiles suggested that overall, the strongest kindergarten-age predictors were cognitive skills (especially counting, number concepts, spatial relations, rapid automatized naming [RAN], phonological awareness, and letter knowledge), but motivational, parental, and home environment factors were also significant. Membership in the profile with precocious onset was predicted by most of the kindergarten-age measures, suggesting that the strengths in early skills, as well as motivational, parental, and home environment factors, are reflected in the advanced start in arithmetic development at school. The profiles with delayed onset and persistent difficulties were similar in most kindergarten-age measures but differed in task avoidance and four cognitive skills (letter knowledge, counting, number concepts, and RAN), suggesting that these factors predict differential development over the longer term. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Adolescent victimization and psychosocial well-being in a Finnish population-based sample

ABSTRACT Potentially traumatizing events are common in adolescence, and these experiences have an impact on psychopathology. Furthermore, these events cumulate for certain individuals. More knowledge about the relationship between well-being and victimization experiences’ amount, type, and timing in adolescents is needed to understand the phenomenon of adolescent victimization. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated in a population-based sample of Finnish adolescents, whether victimization experiences associate with psychosocial well-being. The study sample comprised 5743 adolescents aged 15–16 years who filled in a questionnaire about 12 victimization experiences and psychosocial well-being. General Linear Model regression analyses were used for statistical analysis. A greater number of victimization experiences and recent timing, as well as type of victimization such as cyberbullying, were linked to problems related to psychosocial well-being. It is important to recognize current forms of youth victimization to identify the adolescents at risk for psychosocial distress and investigate on specific types of victimization.

A named General Practitioner (GP) is associated with an increase of hospital days in a single predictor analysis: a follow-up of 15 years

BackgroundContinuity of care constitutes the basis of primary health care services and is associated with decreased hospitalization. In Finland, accessibility to primary care and increased use of hospital services are recognized challenges for the health care system.ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to determine whether having a named GP is associated with hospital service use.MethodsThe data are part of the Health and Social Support study (HeSSup) based on a random Finnish working-age population sample. The cohort of the study comprised participants of postal surveys in 1998 (n = 25,898) who returned follow-up questionnaires both in 2003 and 2012 (n = 11,924). Background characteristics were inquired in the questionnaires, and hospitalization was derived from national registries (Hilmo-register).ResultsA named GP was reported both in 2003 and 2012 only by 34.3% of the participants. The association between hospital days and a named GP was linearly rising and statistically significant in a single predictor model. The strongest associations with hospital use were with health-related factors, and the association with a named GP was no longer significant in multinomial analysis.ConclusionA named GP is associated with an increased use of hospital days, but in a multinomial analysis the association disappeared. Health related factors showed the strongest association with hospital days. From the perspective of the on-going Finnish health and social services reform, continuity of care should be emphasized.

Teachers’ occupational stress and perceived support in Finland and Estonia during the COVID-19 lockdown

This study examined teachers’ experiences of occupational stress in Finland and Estonia during the COVID-19 lockdown, and whether their stress would be related to their experiences of support from colleagues and leaders. The participants were total of 1,319 teachers that were teaching grades 1–6 in spring 2020. The data were analyzed using regression analyses with interaction terms. The results showed that the teachers in Finland and Estonia experienced stress during the lockdown, and that teachers’ stress was higher in the Finnish sample than in the Estonian sample. The findings of this study suggest that support gained from colleagues or leaders seems to be important when aiming to reduce teachers’ occupational stress in both countries.

Factorial validity and comparability of the six translations of the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire translations: results from the CENTER-TBI study

BackgroundComparison of patient-reported outcomes in multilingual studies requires evidence of the equivalence of translated versions of the questionnaires. The present study examines the factorial validity and comparability of six language versions of the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ) administered to individuals following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research (CENTER-TBI) study.MethodsSix competing RPQ models were estimated using data from Dutch (n = 597), English (n = 223), Finnish (n = 213), Italian (n = 268), Norwegian (n = 263), and Spanish (n = 254) language samples recruited six months after injury. To determine whether the same latent construct was measured by the best-fitting model across languages and TBI severity groups (mild/moderate vs. severe), measurement invariance (MI) was tested using a confirmatory factor analysis framework.ResultsThe results did not indicate a violation of the MI assumption. The six RPQ translations were largely comparable across languages and were able to capture the same construct across TBI severity groups. The three-factor solution comprising emotional, cognitive, and somatic factors provided the best fit with the following indices for the total sample: χ2 (101) = 647.04, {chi }^{2}/df= 6.41, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.995, TLI = 0.994, RMSEA = 0.055, CI90%[0.051, 0.059], SRMR = 0.051.ConclusionThe RPQ can be used in international research and clinical settings, allowing direct comparisons of scores across languages analyzed within the full spectrum of TBI severity. To strengthen the aggregated applicability across languages, further analyses of the utility of the response scale and comparisons between different translations of the RPQ at the item level are recommended.

Sexual Compliance in Finnish Committed Relationships: Sexual Self-Control, Relationship Power, and Experienced Consequences

ABSTRACT We studied sexual compliance (i.e., consensual engagement in partnered sexual activity despite lack of sexual desire) in committed relationships using a large Finnish sample. First, we tested if previous theories on sexual self-control and partner sexual relationship power could be extended to a Finnish setting. As little is known about the personal and relational consequences of compliance, we also explored the experienced consequences and their association with the aforementioned aspects. The convenience survey sample (n = 1,496) included individuals who were or had recently been in committed intimate relationships. As 93% of the participants were women, our analyses focused on these (64.3% heterosexual, 24.5% bisexual, 11.3% other). Sixty-five percent of women reported having complied at least once in their current or most recent relationship. Women with lower sexual self-control and higher partner sexual relationship power reported more compliance, corroborating previous research. Lower age was uniquely associated with more compliance, whereas the association between more compliance and lower education diminished when including sexual self-control and partner sexual relationship power in the regression model. Experienced consequences of compliance varied greatly among women. However, roughly two-fifths reported only negative consequences for their well-being and relationships. Fewer approach motives, more avoidance motives, lower sexual self-control, and higher partner relationship control were associated with experiencing fewer positive consequences. Our results corroborate previous studies conducted in North America, suggesting that sexual compliance is common among women in committed relationships. We suggest careful consideration in instances of compliance, considering possible negative consequences.

Food consumption and nutrient intake of Finnish preschool children according to parental educational level.

We examined the association between parental educational level (PEL) and children's food consumption and nutrient intake in a sample of Finnish 3- to 6-year-old preschoolers (n 811). The data were obtained from the cross-sectional DAGIS project, conducted in eight municipalities in Finland during 2015-2016. The food consumption and nutrient intake were assessed using food records. The highest educational level of the family was used as the indicator of socio-economic status. Differences in diet by PEL were analysed using a hierarchical linear model adjusted for energy intake. Compared with high PEL, low PEL was associated with a child's lower consumption of fresh vegetables and salads, vegetarian dishes, berries, white bread, blended spread, skimmed milk and ice cream but higher consumption of milk with 1-1·5 % fat content, dairy-based desserts and sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Food consumption was also examined after disaggregating dishes into their ingredients. Low PEL was associated with lower consumption of vegetables, nuts and seeds, berries and fish but higher consumption of red meat. Children in the low PEL, compared with the high PEL group, had a lower intake of protein, fibre, EPA, DHA, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin C, potassium, phosphorous, Ca, Mg, Zn and iodine but a higher intake of fat and saturated, trans and MUFA. The observed diet-related disparities highlight the need for policy actions and interventions supporting healthy eating patterns such as high consumption of vegetables, nuts and berries in childhood, paying special attention to those with low PEL.

Adolescent reading and math skills and self-concept beliefs as predictors of age 20 emotional well-being

This study examines longitudinal associations among reading skills, math skills and emotional well-being in a Finnish sample (n = 586) followed from the end of comprehensive school (Grade 9, age 15–16) to age 20. In particular, we determine whether the associations between skills and well-being are mediated by self-concept beliefs. In Grade 9, the participants’ reading fluency, PISA reading comprehension and math skills were assessed in classrooms, and questionnaires were used to assess self-concept (global and skill-specific) and internalising problems. At age 20, questionnaires were used to self-report emotional well-being and educational attainment. The results showed no direct predictive association between academic skills and age-20 emotional well-being, while indirect effects from academic skills on emotional well-being were found for reading skills through reading comprehension self-concept belief and educational attainment and for math skills through global self-concept belief. In addition, adolescent global self-concept and internalising problems predicted age-20 emotional well-being. The results suggest that adolescent self-concept beliefs and internalising problems, rather than academic skills per se, can predict emotional problems in young adulthood.

Persistent organic pollutants associate with liver disease in a Finnish general population sample.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have multiple adverse effects on human health. Recent studies show a possible association with liver disease, but population-based data are scarce. In this population-based study, we studied the associations between POPs and biomarkers of liver disease and incident liver disease. This study consisted of 2789 adults that participated in the environmental toxin subset of the Finnish health-examination survey, FINRISK 2007. Toxins were measured from serum samples, and standard liver tests and dynamic aspartate aminotransferase-alanine aminotransferase ratio (dAAR) were measured as biomarkers of liver function. Associations between POPs and the biomarkers were then analysed using linear regression. Associations between POPs and incident liver disease (n = 36) were analysed by Cox regression. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and several perfluorinated alkyl substances exhibited statistically significant positive associations with several biomarkers of liver injury (betacoefficient per SD 0.04-0.14, p < 0.05). These associations were stronger in subgroups of individuals with obesity or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. OCPs, PCBs and perfluoro-octanoic acid also had significant positive associations with dAAR, which can be used to predict risk of incident severe liver outcomes (beta coefficient per SD 0.05-0.08, p < 0.05). OCPs and PCBs were also significantly and positively associated with incident liver disease (hazard ratio per SD 1.82 95% CI 1.21-2.73, p < 0.01 and hazard ratio per SD 1.69, 95% CI 1.07-2.68, p < 0.05 respectively). Several POPs show positive associations with markers of liver injury and incident liver disease, suggesting that environmental toxins are important risk factors for chronic liver disease.