Katja Pahkala
 Professor, Head of Paavo Nurmi Centre

Centre for Population Health Research, Paavo Nurmi Centre

katpah@utu.fi

+358 40 578 6122

Kiinamyllynkatu 10

Turku

Areas of expertise
Cardiovascular health, prevention, childhood, physical activity, diet, epidemiology, longitudinal studies

Biography

I have devoted my research career to examining early life determinants of cardiometabolic health with the ultimate aim to improve primordial prevention of cardiometabolic diseases.



Research

I am a long-standing senior researcher and the vice director of the Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine (CAPC), and a member of the executive committee of the Centre for Population Health Research. I am also the vice principal investigator of the globally unique atherosclerosis prevention trial, the STRIP study (Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project), which commenced in 1989 and has extensively studied the 1062 participants since age 7 months to 26 years with repeated assessment of diet, lifestyle and versatile cardiometabolic health markers. I am also an active member of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, started in the late 1970´s. The study involves originally 3596 participants from different parts of Finland. As highlights of my career, in 2014 I received the Academy of Finland’s Postdoctoral Researcher grant, and in 2019 I was invited to receive A/Professorship in Preventive Medicine (tenure track), and I was also awarded the Academy of Finland’s Research Fellowship. In 2023, I achieved full-Professorship in Preventive Medicine. In 2024, I began as a Head of the Paavo Nurmi Centre, a centre of expertise in sports & exercise medicine.



Teaching

I have supervised 15 undergraduate studies and six doctoral studies. Currently I supervise six doctoral students and one undergraduate student.



Publications
  
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  • Cardiovascular Health Trajectories from Childhood through Middle Age and Their Association with Subclinical Atherosclerosis  (2020)  
    • JAMA Cardiology
     Allen N.B., Krefman A.E., Labarthe D., Greenland P., Juonala M., Kähönen M., Lehtimäki T., Day R.S., Bazzano L.A., Van Horn L.V., Liu L., Alonso C.F., Webber L.S., Pahkala K., Laitinen T.T., Raitakari O.T., Lloyd-Jones D.M.
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Childhood Exposure to Parental Smoking and Midlife Cognitive Function: The Young Finns Study  (2020)  
    • American Journal of Epidemiology
     Suvi P Rovio, Jukka Pihlman, Katja Pahkala, Markus Juonala, Costan G Magnussen, Niina Pitkänen, Ari Ahola-Olli, Pia Salo, Mika Kähönen, Nina Hutri-Kähönen, Terho Lehtimäki, Eero Jokinen, Tomi Laitinen, Leena Taittonen, Päivi Tossavainen, Jorma S A Viikari, Olli T Raitakari
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Risk of Fatty Liver in Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study  (2020)  
    • Hepatology
     Tomi T. Laitinen, Jussi Vahtera, Katja Pahkala, Costan G. Magnussen, Joel Nuotio, Nina Hutri‐Kähönen, Mika Kivimäki, Terho Lehtimäki, Eero Jokinen, Tomi Laitinen, Päivi Tossavainen, Jaana Pentti, Jorma S.A. Viikari, Markus Juonala, Olli T. Raitakari
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Dietary Fats and Atherosclerosis From Childhood to Adulthood  (2020)  
    • Pediatrics
     Tomi T. Laitinen, Joel Nuotio, Suvi P. Rovio, Harri Niinikoski, Markus Juonala, Costan G. Magnussen, Eero Jokinen, Hanna Lagström, Antti Jula, Jorma S.A. Viikari, Tapani Rönnemaa, Olli Simell, Olli T. Raitakari, Katja Pahkala
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Do childhood infections affect labour market outcomes in adulthood and, if so, how?  (2020)  
    • Economics and Human Biology
     Viinikainen J, Bryson A, Böckerman P, Elovainio M, Hutri-Kähönen N, Juonala M, Lehtimäki T, Pahkala K, Rovio S, Pulkki-Råback L, Raitakari O, Pehkonen J
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Education leads to a more physically active lifestyle: Evidence based on Mendelian randomization  (2020)  
    • Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
     Kari JT, Viinikainen J, Böckerman P, Tammelin TH, Pitkänen N, Lehtimäki T, Pahkala K, Hirvensalo M, Raitakari OT, Pehkonen J
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Effects of 20-year infancy-onset dietary counselling on cardiometabolic risk factors in the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP): 6-year post-intervention follow-up  (2020)  
    • The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
     Katja Pahkala, Tomi T. Laitinen, Harri Niinikoski, Noora Kartiosuo, Suvi P. Rovio, Hanna Lagström, Britt-Marie Loo, Pia Salo, Eero Jokinen, Costan G. Magnussen, Markus Juonala, Olli Simell, Antti Jula, Tapani Rönnemaa, Jorma Viikari, Olli T. Raitakari
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Increase in adiposity from childhood to adulthood predicts a metabolically obese phenotype in normal-weight adults  (2020)  
    • International Journal of Obesity
     A. Viitasalo, N. Pitkänen, K. Pahkala, T. Lehtimäki, J. S. A. Viikari, O. Raitakari, T. O. Kilpeläinen
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Mendelian randomization analysis does not support causal associations of birth weight with hypertension risk and blood pressure in adulthood  (2020)  
    • European Journal of Epidemiology
     Zheng Y., Huang T., Wang T., Mei Z., Sun Z., Zhang T., Ellervik C., Chai J.-F., Sim X., van Dam R.M., Tai E.-S., Koh W.-P., Dorajoo R., Saw S.-M., Sabanayagam C., Wong T.Y., Gupta P., Rossing P., Ahluwalia T.S., Vinding R.K., Bisgaard H., Bønnelykke K., Wang Y., Graff M., Voortman T., van Rooij F.J.A., Hofman A., van Heemst D., Noordam R., Estampador A.C., Varga T.V., Enzenbach C., Scholz M., Thiery J., Burkhardt R., Orho-Melander M., Schulz C.-A., Ericson U., Sonestedt E., Kubo M., Akiyama M., Zhou A., Kilpeläinen T.O., Hansen T., Kleber M.E., Delgado G., McCarthy M., Lemaitre R.N., Felix J.F., Jaddoe V.W.V., Wu Y., Mohlke K.L., Lehtimäki T., Wang C.A., Pennell C.E., Schunkert H., Kessler T., Zeng L., Willenborg C., Peters A., Lieb W., Grote V., Rzehak P., Koletzko B., Erdmann J., Munz M., Wu T., He M., Yu C., Lecoeur C., Froguel P., Corella D., Moreno L.A., Lai C.-Q., Pitkänen N., Boreham C.A., Ridker P.M., Rosendaal F.R., de Mutsert R., Power C., Paternoster L., Sørensen T.I.A., Tjønneland A., Overvad K., Djousse L., Rivadeneira F., Lee N.R., Raitakari O.T., Kähönen M., Viikari J., Langhendries J.-P., Escribano J., Verduci E., Dedoussis G., König I., Balkau B., Coltell O., Dallongeville J., Meirhaeghe A., Amouyel P., Gottrand F., Pahkala K., Niinikoski H., Hyppönen E., März W., Mackey D.A., Gruszfeld D., Tucker K.L., Fumeron F., Estruch R., Ordovas J.M., Arnett D.K., Mook-Kanamori D.O., Mozaffarian D., Psaty B.M., North K.E., Chasman D.I., Qi L.
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Novel loci for childhood body mass index and shared heritability with adult cardiometabolic traits  (2020)  
    • PLoS Genetics
     Vogelezang S, Bradfield JP, Ahluwalia TS, Curtin JA, Lakka TA, Grarup N, Scholz M, van der Most PJ, Monnereau C, Stergiakouli E, Heiskala A, Horikoshi M, Fedko IO, Vilor-Tejedor N, Cousminer DL, Standl M, Wang CRA, Viikari J, Geller F, Iniguez C, Pitkanen N, Chesi A, Bacelis J, Yengo L, Torrent M, Ntalla I, Helgeland O, Selzam S, Vonk JM, Zafarmand MH, Heude B, Farooqi IS, Alyass A, Beaumont RN, Have CT, Rzehak P, Bilbao JR, Schnurr TM, Barroso I, Bonnelykke K, Beilin LJ, Carstensen L, Charles MA, Chawes B, Clement K, Closa-Monasterolo R, Custovic A, Eriksson JG, Escribano J, Groen-Blokhuis M, Grote V, Gruszfeld D, Hakonarson H, Hansen T, Hattersley AT, Hollensted M, Hottenga JJ, Hypponen E, Johansson S, Joro R, Kahonen M, Karhunen V, Kiess W, Knight BA, Koletzko B, Kuhnapfel A, Landgraf K, Langhendries JP, Lehtimaki T, Leinonen JT, Li AHL, Lindi V, Lowry E, Bustamante M, Medina-Gomez C, Melbye M, Michaelsen KF, Morgen CS, Mori TA, Nielsen TRH, Niinikoski H, Oldehinkel AJ, Pahkala K, Panoutsopoulou K, Pedersen O, Pennell CE, Power C, Reijneveld SA, Rivadeneira F, Simpson A, Sly PD, Stokholm J, Teo KK, Thiering E, Timpson NJ, Uitterlinden AG, van Beijsterveldt CEM, van Schaik BDC, Vaudel M, Verduci E, Vinding RK, Vogel M, Zeggini E, Sebert S, Lind MV, Brown CD, Santa-Marina L, Reischl E, Frithioff-Bojsoe C, Meyre D, Wheeler E, Ong K, Nohr EA, Vrijkotte TGM, Koppelman GH, Plomin R, Njolstad PR, Dedoussis GD, Froguel P, Sorensen TIA, Jacobsson B, Freathy RM, Zemel BS, Raitakari O, Vrijheid M, Feenstra B, Lyytikainen LP, Snieder H, Kirsten H, Holt PG, Heinrich J, Widen E, Sunyer J, Boomsma DI, Jarvelin MR, Korner A, Smith GD, Holm JC, Atalay M, Murray C, Bisgaard H, McCarthy MI, Jaddoe VWV, Grant SFA, Felix JF
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Socioeconomic status, remoteness and tracking of nutritional status from childhood to adulthood in an Australian Aboriginal Birth Cohort: the ABC study  (2020)  
    • BMJ Open
     Pauline Sjöholm, Katja Pahkala, Belinda Davison, Markus Juonala, Gurmeet Singh
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Temperament profiles are associated with dietary behavior from childhood to adulthood  (2020)  
    • Appetite
     Lipsanen J., Elovainio M., Hakulinen C., Tremblay M.S., Rovio S., Lagström H., Jaakkola J.M., Jula A., Rönnemaa T., Viikari J., Niinikoski H., Simell O., Raitakari O.T., Pahkala K., Pulkki-Råback L.
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Youth to adult body mass index trajectories as a predictor of metabolically healthy obesity in adulthood  (2020)  
    • European Journal of Public Health
     Kylie J Smith, Costan G Magnussen, Katja Pahkala, Juha Koskinen, Matthew A Sabin, Nina Hutri-Kähönen, Mika Kähönen, Tomi Laitinen, Tuija Tammelin, Päivi Tossavainen, Eero Jokinen, Jorma S A Viikari, Markus Juonala, Olli T Raitakari
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Abdominal adiposity and cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents: a Mendelian randomization analysis  (2019)  
    • American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
     Viitasalo A, Schnurr TM, Pitkänen N, Hollensted M, Nielsen TRH, Pahkala K, Atalay M, Lind MV, Heikkinen S, Frithioff-Bøjsøe C, Fonvig CE, Grarup N, Kähönen M, Carrasquilla GD, Larnkjaer A, Pedersen O, Michaelsen KF, Lakka TA, Holm JC, Lehtimäki T, Raitakari O, Hansen T, Kilpeläinen TO
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Association of Birth Weight With Type 2 Diabetes and Glycemic Traits: A Mendelian Randomization Study  (2019)  
    • JAMA Network Open
     Huang T, Wang TA, Zheng Y, Ellervik C, Li X, Gao M, Fang Z, Chai JF, Ahluwalia TVS, Wang YJ, Voortman T, Noordam R, Frazier-Wood A, Scholz M, Sonestedt E, Akiyama M, Dorajoo R, Zhou A, Kilpelainen TO, Kleber ME, Crozier SR, Godfrey KM, Lemaitre R, Felix JF, Shi Y, Gupta P, Khor CC, Lehtimaki T, Wang CA, Tiesler CMT, Thiering E, Standl M, Rzehak P, Marouli E, He M, Lecoeur C, Corella D, Lai CQ, Moreno LA, Pitkanen N, Boreham CA, Zhang T, Saw SM, Ridker PM, Graff M, Van Rooij FJA, Uitterlinden AG, Hofman A, van Heemst D, Rosendaal FR, de Mutsert R, Burkhardt R, Schulz CA, Ericson U, Kamatani Y, Yuan JM, Power C, Hansen T, Sorensen TIA, Tjonneland A, Overvad K, Delgado G, Cooper C, Djousse L, Rivadeneira F, Jameson K, Zhao W, Liu JJ, Lee NR, Raitakari O, Kahonen M, Viikari J, Grote V, Langhendries JP, Koletzko B, Escribano J, Verduci E, Dedoussis G, Yu CZ, Tham YC, Lim B, Lim SH, Froguel P, Balkau B, Fink NR, Vinding RK, Sevelsted A, Bisgaard H, Coltell O, Dallongeville J, Gottrand F, Pahkala K, Niinikoski H, Hypponen E, Pedersen O, Marz W, Inskip H, Jaddoe VV, Dennison E, YinWong T, Sabanayagam C, Tai ES, Mohlke KL, Mackey DA, Gruszfeld D, Deloukas P, Tucker KL, Fumeron F, Bonnelykke K, Rossing P, Estruch R, Ordovas JM, Arnett DK, Meirhaeghe A, Amouyel P, Cheng CY, Sim XL, Teo YY, van Dam R, Koh WP, Orho-Melander M, Loeffler M, Kubo M, Thiery J, Mook-Kanamori DO, Mozaffarian D, Psaty BM, Franco OH, Wu TC, North KE, Smith GD, Chavarro JE, Chasman DI, Qi L
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Associations of Leisure-Time Physical Activity Trajectories with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption from Childhood to Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study  (2019)  
    • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
     Lounassalo I, Hirvensalo M, Kankaanpää A, Tolvanen A, Palomäki S, Salin K, Fogelholm M, Yang X, Pahkala K, Rovio S, Hutri-Kähönen N, Raitakari O, Tammelin TH
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Childhood Psychosocial Environment and Adult Cardiac Health: A Causal Mediation Approach  (2019)  
    • American Journal of Preventive Medicine
     Komulainen K, Mittleman MA, Ruohonen S, Laitinen TT, Pahkala K, Elovainio M, Tammelin T, Kähönen M, Juonala M, Keltikangas-Järvinen L, Raitakari O, Pulkki-Råback L, Jokela M
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Cognitive Decline Before and After Incident Coronary Heart Disease Opportunity to Intervene Cognitive Function Trajectories  (2019)  
    • Journal of the American College of Cardiology
     Suvi P. Rovio, Katja Pahkala, Olli T. Raitakari
    (    B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal)


  • Coronary heart disease risk factor levels in eastern and western Finland from 1980 to 2011 in the cardiovascular risk in Young Finns study  (2019)  
    • Atherosclerosis
     Vähämurto L, Pahkala K, Magnussen CG, Hutri-Kähönen N, Kähönen M, Laitinen T, Taittonen L, Tossavainen P, Lehtimäki T, Jokinen E, Telama R, Rönnemaa T, Viikari J, Juonala M, Raitakari OT
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • CVD risk factors and surrogate markers - Urban-rural differences  (2019)  
    • Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
     Joel Nuotio, Lauri Vähämurto, Katja Pahkala, Costan G. Magnussen, Nina Hutri-Kähönen, Mika Kähönen, Tomi Laitinen, Leena Taittonen, Päivi Tossavainen,Terho Lehtimäki, Eero Jokinen, Jorma S.A. Viikari, Olli Raitakari, Markus Juonala
    (    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)



Last updated on 2024-14-05 at 15:07