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 |
Sydänterveys, preventio, lapsuus, liikunta, ravinto, epidemiologia, pitkittäistutkimukset
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.
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.
I have supervised 15 undergraduate studies and six doctoral studies. Currently I supervise six doctoral students and one undergraduate student.
- Association of childhood and adult socioeconomic status with adult social connection: a mediation analysis (2025)
- American Journal of Epidemiology
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Association of leisure time physical activity with gut microbiota composition in early adulthood (2025)
- Scientific Reports
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Association of neighbourhood and individual-level socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood and adulthood with cognitive function in mid-adulthood: Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2025)
- American Journal of Epidemiology
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Blood pressure in childhood, young- and mid-adulthood: association with carotid plaque severity (2025)
- European Heart Journal
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Cardiometabolic determinants of aortic and carotid intima-media thickness in adolescence (2025)
- Atherosclerosis
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Diet Quality Trajectories From Infancy to Young Adulthood: The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) Study (2025)
- Journal of Nutrition
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - From Parents to Children: The Intergenerational Transference of Parents' Sport Club Participation From Childhood to Adolescence: The 40-Year Young Finns Study (2025)
- Journal of Physical Activity and Health
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Tobacco Smoking in Early Adulthood and Labor Market Performance: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2025)
- Nicotine and Tobacco Research
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Association of Ideal Cardiovascular Health in Youth with Cancer Risk in Adulthood : Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2024)
- Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Association of Long-Term Habitual Dietary Fiber Intake since Infancy with Gut Microbiota Composition in Young Adulthood (2024)
- Journal of Nutrition
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Association of number of siblings with preclinical markers of cardiovascular disease The cardiovascular risk in Young Finns study (2024)
- International journal of cardiology : Cardiovascular risk and prevention
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Association of Serum Trimethylamine-N-Oxide Concentration from Childhood to Early Adulthood with Age and Sex (2024)
- Clinical Chemistry
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Association of Tobacco Smoke Exposure with Metabolic Profile from Childhood to Early Adulthood The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) (2024)
- European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Associations of breastfeeding duration with serum lipid values from infancy until age 20 years - the STRIP study (2024)
- Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Associations of Cumulative Adulthood, Childhood and Lifelong Insulin With Adulthood Retinal Microvasculature (2024)
- Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Change in cognitive performance during seven-year follow-up in midlife is associated with sex, age, and education : The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2024)
- Journal of Neurology
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Changes in 24‐h Movement Behaviors During Relationship and Parenthood Transitions: A Compositional Data Analysis (2024)
- Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Cognitive performance from childhood to old age and intergenerational correlations in the multigenerational Young Finns Study (2024)
- Journal of Neurology
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Correlates of active commuting to school across two generations: the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2024)
- Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Determinants of echocardiographic epicardial adipose tissue in a general middle-aged population - The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2024)
- Scientific Reports
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )