Olli Raitakari
MD/PhD
olli.raitakari@utu.fi +358 29 450 2304 Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9365-3702 |
cardiovascular and metabolic diseases; risk factors; vascular epidemiology; genetic epidemiology; epidemiology; dietary intervention; cohort studies; follow-up studies
EDUCATION AND DEGREES
2001 Docent in Clinical Physiology
1997-1999 Postdoc training, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia
1997 Docent in Epidemiology
1996 Specialist in Clinical Physiology
1995 Doctorate, PhD
1989 Licentiate in Medicine, MD
CURRENT POSITIONS
2017- Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine, Director of the Research Centre of Applied and
Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Finland
PAST POSITIONS
2012-2016 Academy Professor, University of Turku
2007-2016 Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine (part time), University of Turku
2007-2008 Senior Scientist Grant, Academy of Finland
2004-2016 Chief Physician, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku
University Hospital (leave of absence 2012-2016)
2002-2004 Consultant in Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku University Hospital
2002 (1 mo) Head of Nuclear Medicine Department, Turku University Hospital
2000-2003 (3 mo) Head of Clinical Physiology Department, Turku University Hospital
2000-2005 Senior Fellow Post, Academy of Finland
1998-2000 Postdoctoral Research Post, Academy of Finland
1996-1997 Consultant in Clinical Physiology, Turku University Hospital
1991-1996 Positions as Resident in Clinical Chemistry, Nuclear Medicine, and Clinical
Physiology, Turku University Hospital
1988-1990 Positions as General Practioner and Resident in Internal Medicine or Surgery
Evidence suggest that many non-communicable disease outcomes have roots in childhood and may even stem of adverse ancestral exposures. Improved knowledge how various ancestral and early-life exposures lead to adult disease outcomes is essential in developing better preventive practices and policies that lead to improved public health. My mission has been to contribute to this knowledge-base by working in epidemiologic cohort studies with follow-up from childhood to adulthood. I am the Principal Investigator of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS), the largest study in Europe with a follow-up of cardiovascular risk factors from childhood to adulthood. I am also the Director of the STRIP Study, which is a leading long-term pediatric dietary intervention study testing the hypothesis that modifying the fat quality diet will have beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk early in life. During the past years, I have organized several field studies in these cohorts, and introduced novel technologies, such as imaging studies, genetic epidemiology methods and metabolomics approaches in these unique population resources. Our research has contributed to the understanding of pre-clinical development of atherosclerosis in children and young adults, including the effects of diet, life-style, metabolic risk factors, psychological traits and psychosocial factors, inflammation, hormones and genetic markers. For example, by applying non-invasive imaging methods in the Young Finns Study, we have demonstrated that exposure to adverse lipids, elevated blood pressure and obesity in childhood is related to atherosclerosis development in adulthood (JAMA 2003). Subsequent work stemmed from this initial observation has led to numerous original publications that have shown in detail how exposure to a large range of aetiogenic factors early in life contribute to the development of cardio-metabolic outcomes in adulthood. For example, by pooling international i3C Consortium data, we have demonstrated that overweight or obese children who became non-obese by adulthood had similar risks of many cardio-metabolic adult outcomes as individuals who were never obese (NEJM 2011). Thus, the results of our studies have clearly demonstrated that individual’s exposure to various stressors in early life is contributing to his/her adult phenotype and disease risk. The results have had significant impact on preventive practices. As a concrete demonstration of the international recognition and impact of my team’s work, many of our studies are widely cited in all updated paediatric guidelines on cardiovascular prevention both in Europe and in US.
- (2020)
- Molecular PsychiatryHealth Psychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2020)
- Molecular PsychiatryNature Communications
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Variants associated withHHIP expression have sex-differential effects on lung function (2020)
- Wellcome Open ResearchHuman Molecular Genetics
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2020)
- European Journal of Public HealthJAMA Network Open
(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
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - A catalog of genetic loci associated with kidney function from analyses of a million individuals (2019)
- Nature Genetics
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Adverse Childhood Environment and Self-Reported Sleep in Adulthood: The Young Finns Study (2019)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies multiple longevity genes (2019)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - A multi-ancestry genome-wide study incorporating gene-smoking interactions identifies multiple new loci for pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure (2019)
(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)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Association of Childhood Oral Infections With Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Adulthood (2019)
- JAMA Network Open
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Association of dietary folate and vitamin B-12 intake with genome-wide DNA methylation in blood: a large-scale epigenome-wide association analysis in 5841 individuals (2019)
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Associations Between Early Childcare Environment and Different Aspects of Adulthood Sociability: The 32-Year Prospective Young Finns Study (2019)
- Frontiers in Psychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Associations Between Trajectories of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Television Viewing Time Across Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study2019
- Journal of Physical Activity and HealthJournal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
(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
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Associations of partnering transition and socioeconomic status with a four-year change in daily steps among Finnish adults (2019)
- Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - A trans-ancestral meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies reveals loci associated with childhood obesity (2019)
- Human Molecular Genetics
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Body mass index trajectories in childhood and adolescence - Risk for non-affective psychosis (2019)
- Schizophrenia Research
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Breastfeeding and offspring's compassion and empathy in adulthood: A study with an over 30-year follow-up (2019)
- Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Childhood Exposure to Passive Smoking and Bone Health in Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2019)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)