Professor, Nutrition in Medicine (Institute of Biomedicine) Harri Niinikoski - UTU Research Portal

Harri Niinikoski
Professor, Nutrition in Medicine (Institute of Biomedicine)

- Professor,
Institute of Biomedicine (Faculty of Medicine)

hjniin@utu.fi

TUCH (phone): +358-2-3130000

ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7071-918X

Areas of expertise

Childhood endocrinology and nutrition; inherited metabolic diseases; neonatal screening; prevention of cardiovascular risk factors.

Biography

Professor Harri Niinikoski graduated from the Medical School at the University of Turku
in 1991, where he also specialized in Pediatrics in 2000 and received
subspecialty in Pediatric Endocrinology in 2006. He defended his thesis on prevention
of cardiovascular risk factors in childhood in 1997 (The STRIP study). He did
his post-doc training at the Childhood Nutrition Research Center at the Baylor
School of Medicine, Houston, Texas, in 2001-2003. Subsequently, he worked as a
Senior Clinical Researcher and Clinical Lecturer at the Department of Pediatrics,
University of Turku, and in 2011-2015 as the Head of the Division of Pediatric
Care in Turku University Hospital. From 2015, he has been Professor of Nutrition
in Medicine

Research

Professor Harri Niinikoski’s research interest focus on primary prevention of
cardiovascular disease, and childhood nutrition, endocrinology and metabolism.
Moreover, he has been closely involved in launching the neonatal metabolic
screening program which started in Finland in 2015.

Main research projects are 1) The STRIP study (The Special Turku coronary risk
factor Intervention Project) which started in 1990 and involved 1062 infants
which were randomized into nutrition an intervention or a control group. He is deputy P.I. in STRIP; 2) DIARA2 study which involves 317 children (217 in
Turku, 100 in Oulu) whose mothers were treated with either metformin or insulin
due to gestational diabetes. The children are now thoroughly investigated at 9
years of age; 3) LPI study. Lysinuric protein intolerance (LPI) is a rare
metabolic disease which belongs to the Finnish disease heritage. There are
approx. 50 Finnish patients who are annually studied at the Turku University
Hospital pediatric metabolic outpatient clinic; 4) Congenital
hypothyroidism study. CH has been screened in Finland since 1980, affects
1:2000 newborns and is treated with thyroxine. The outcome of the treatment of
CH is investigated in national CH study which is launched in 2018.

Teaching

In 2006-2010, Harri Niinikoski worked as a full-time teacher of pediatrics at the
Department of Pediatrics, University of Turku.

Publications

6 of 8

Genetic risk clustering increases children's body weight at 2 years of age - the STEPS Study (2016)
- Pediatric Obesity
Mäkelä Johanna, Lagström Hanna, Pitkänen Niina, Kuulasmaa Teemu, Kaljonen Anne, Laakso Markku, Niinikoski Harri.
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Genome-wide association analysis identifies three new susceptibility loci for childhood body mass index (2016)
- Human Molecular Genetics
Felix JF, Bradfield JP, Monnereau C, van der Valk RJP, Stergiakouli E, Chesi A, Gaillard R, Feenstra B, Thiering E, Kreiner-Moller E, Mahajan A, Pitkanen N, Joro R, Cavadino A, Huikari V, Franks S, Groen-Blokhuis MM, Cousminer DL, Marsh JA, Lehtimaki T, Curtin JA, Vioque J, Ahluwalia TS, Myhre R, Price TS, Vilor-Tejedor N, Yengo L, Grarup N, Ntalla I, Ang W, Atalay M, Bisgaard H, Blakemore AI, Bonnefond A, Carstensen L, Eriksson J, Flexeder C, Franke L, Geller F, Geserick M, Hartikainen AL, Haworth CMA, Hirschhorn JN, Hofman A, Holm JC, Horikoshi M, Hottenga JJ, Huang JY, Kadarmideen HN, Kahonen M, Kiess W, Lakka HM, Lakka TA, Lewin AM, Liang L, Lyytikainen LP, Ma BS, Magnus P, McCormack SE, McMahon G, Mentch FD, Middeldorp CM, Murray CS, Pahkala K, Pers TH, Pfaffle R, Postma DS, Power C, Simpson A, Sengpiel V, Tiesler CMT, Torrent M, Uitterlinden AG, van Meurs JB, Vinding R, Waage J, Wardle J, Zeggini E, Zemel BS, Dedoussis GV, Pedersen O, Froguel P, Sunyer J, Plomin R, Jacobsson B, Hansen T, Gonzalez JR, Custovic A, Raitakari OT, Pennell CE, Widen E, Boomsma DI, Koppelman GH, Sebert S, Jarvelin MR, Hypponen E, McCarthy MI, Lindi V, Harri N, Korner A, Bonnelykke K, Heinrich J, Melbye M, Rivadeneira F, Hakonarson H, Ring SM, Smith GD, Sorensen TIA, Timpson NJ, Grant SFA, Jaddoe VWV
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Genome-wide associations for birth weight and correlations with adult disease (2016)
- Nature
Horikoshi M, Beaumont RN, Day FR, Warrington NM, Kooijman MN, Fernandez-Tajes J, Feenstra B, van Zuydam NR, Gaulton KJ, Grarup N, Bradfield JP, Strachan DP, Li-Gao R, Ahluwalia TS, Kreiner E, Rueedi R, Lyytikainen LP, Cousminer DL, Wu Y, Thiering E, Wang CA, Have CT, Hottenga JJ, Vilor-Tejedor N, Joshi PK, Boh ETH, Ntalla I, Pitkanen N, Mahajan A, van Leeuwen EM, Joro R, Lagou V, Nodzenski M, Diver LA, Zondervan KT, Bustamante M, Marques-Vidal P, Mercader JM, Bennett AJ, Rahmioglu N, Nyholt DR, Ma RCW, Tam CHT, Tam WH, Ganesh SK, van Rooij FJA, Jones SE, Loh PR, Ruth KS, Tuke MA, Tyrrell J, Wood AR, Yaghootkar H, Scholtens DM, Paternoster L, Prokopenko I, Kovacs P, Atalay M, Willems SM, Panoutsopoulou K, Wang X, Carstensen L, Geller F, Schraut KE, Murcia M, van Beijsterveldt CEM, Willemsen G, Appel EVR, Fonvig CE, Trier C, Tiesler CMT, Standl M, Kutalik Z, Bonas-Guarch S, Hougaard DM, Sanchez F, Torrents D, Waage J, Hollegaard MV, de Haan HG, Rosendaal FR, Medina-Gomez C, Ring SM, Hemani G, McMahon G, Robertson NR, Groves CJ, Langenberg C, Luan J, Scott RA, Zhao JH, Mentch FD, MacKenzie SM, Reynolds RM, Lowe WL, Tonjes A, Stumvoll M, Lindi V, Lakka TA, van Duijn CM, Kiess W, Korner A, Sorensen TIA, Niinikoski H, Pahkala K, Raitakari OT, Zeggini E, Dedoussis GV, Teo YY, Saw SM, Melbye M, Campbell H, Wilson JF, Vrijheid M, de Geus EJCN, Boomsma DI, Kadarmideen HN, Holm JC, Hansen T, Sebert S, Hattersley AT, Beilin LJ, Newnham JP, Pennell CE, Heinrich J, Adair LS, Borja JB, Mohlke KL, Eriksson JG, Widen E, Kahonen M, Viikari JS, Lehtimaki T, Vollenweider P, Bonnelykke K, Bisgaard H, Mook-Kanamori DO, Hofman A, Rivadeneira F, Uitterlinden AG, Pisinger C, Pedersen O, Power C, Hypponen E, Wareham NJ, Hakonarson H, Davies E, Walker BR, Jaddoe VWV, Jarvelin MR, Grant SFA, Vaag AA, Lawlor DA, Frayling TM, Smith GD, Morris AP, Ong KK, Felix JF, Timpson NJ, Perry JRB, Evans DM, McCarthy MI, Freathy RM
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Home-Based Exercise Training Improves Left Ventricle Diastolic Function in Survivors of Childhood ALL: A Tissue Doppler and Velocity Vector Imaging Study (2016)
- Pediatric Blood and Cancer
Jarvela LS, Saraste M, Niinikoski H, Hannukainen JC, Heinonen OJ, Lahteenmaki PM, Arola M, Kemppainen J
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Imbalance of plasma amino acids, metabolites and lipids in patients with lysinuric protein intolerance (LPI) (2016)
- Metabolism
Kurko J, Tringham M, Tanner L, Nanto-Salonen K, Vaha-Makila M, Nygren H, Poho P, Lietzen N, Mattila I, Olkku A, Hyotylainen T, Oresic M, Simell O, Niinikoski H, Mykkanen J
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Initiation and exclusivity of breastfeeding: association with mothers' and fathers' prenatal and postnatal depression and marital distress (2016)
- Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
Ahlqvist-Bjorkroth S, Vaarno J, Junttila N, Pajulo M, Raiha H, Niinikoski H, Lagstrom H
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Metabolinen oireyhtymä yleistyy lapsilla ja nuorilla (2016)
- Lääkärilehti
Janne Kataja, Johanna Mäkelä, Hanna Lagström, Harri Niinikoski
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal )
Synnynnäinen tyypin Ia glykosylaation häiriö (2016)
- Duodecim
Sätilä H, Kuusela A, Pietilä K, Niinikoski H, Keskinen P
(D1 Article in a professional journal)
Syödään yhdessä : ruokasuositukset lapsiperheille (2016) laatinut asiantuntijatyöryhmä, jonka nimesi Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitoksen pääjohtaja
(E2 Popularised book )
Urine Beta2-Microglobulin Is an Early Marker of Renal Involvement in LPI (2016)
- JIMD Reports
Kärki M, Näntö-Salonen K, Niinikoski H, Tanner LM.
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
A novel common variant in DCST2 is associated with length in early life and height in adulthood (2015)
- Human Molecular Genetics
van der Valk RJP, Kreiner-Moller E, Kooijman MN, Guxens M, Stergiakouli E, Saaf A, Bradfield JP, Geller F, Hayes MG, Cousminer DL, Korner A, Thiering E, Curtin JA, Myhre R, Huikari V, Joro R, Kerkhof M, Warrington NM, Pitkanen N, Ntalla I, Horikoshi M, Veijola R, Freathy RM, Teo YY, Barton SJ, Evans DM, Kemp JP, St Pourcain B, Ring SM, Smith GD, Bergstrom A, Kull I, Hakonarson H, Mentch FD, Bisgaard H, Chawes B, Stokholm J, Waage J, Eriksen P, Sevelsted A, Melbye M, van Duijn CM, Medina-Gomez C, Hofman A, de Jongste JC, Taal HR, Uitterlinden AG, Armstrong LL, Eriksson J, Palotie A, Bustamante M, Estivill X, Gonzalez JR, Llop S, Kiess W, Mahajan A, Flexeder C, Tiesler CMT, Murray CS, Simpson A, Magnus P, Sengpiel V, Hartikainen AL, Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi S, Lewin A, Alves ADC, Blakemore AI, Buxton JL, Kaakinen M, Rodriguez A, Sebert S, Vaarasmaki M, Lakka T, Lindi V, Gehring U, Postma DS, Ang W, Newnham JP, Lyytikainen LP, Pahkala K, Raitakari OT, Panoutsopoulou K, Zeggini E, Boomsma DI, Groen-Blokhuis M, Ilonen J, Franke L, Hirschhorn JN, Pers TH, Liang L, Huang J, Hocher B, Knip M, Saw SM, Holloway JW, Melen E, Grant SFA, Feenstra B, Lowe WL, Widen E, Sergeyev E, Grallert H, Custovic A, Jacobsson B, Jarvelin MR, Atalay M, Koppelman GH, Pennell CE, Niinikoski H, Dedoussis GV, Mccarthy MI, Frayling TM, Sunyer J, Timpson NJ, Rivadeneira F, Bonnelykke K, Jaddoe VWV
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Association of adiponectin with adolescent cardiovascular health in a dietary intervention study (2015)
- Journal of Pediatrics
Jaakkola J, Pahkala K, Viitala M, Rönnemaa T, Viikari J, Niinikoski H, Lagström H, Jula A, Simell O, Raitakari O.
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Distensibility of the Aorta and Carotid Artery and Left Ventricular Mass From Childhood to Early Adulthood. (2015)
- Hypertension
Hanna Mikola, Katja Pahkala, Tapani Rönnemaa, Jorma S.A. Viikari, Harri Niinikoski, Eero Jokinen, Pia Salo, Olli Simell, Markus Juonala, Olli T. Raitakari
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Dysfunction in macrophage toll-like receptor signaling caused by an inborn error of cationic amino acid transport (2015)
- Molecular Immunology
Kurko J, Vähä-Mäkilä M, Tringham M, Tanner L, Paavanen-Huhtala S, Saarinen M, Näntö-Salonen K, Simell O, Niinikoski H, Mykkänen J
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
High Sucrose Intake at 3 Years of Age Is Associated with Increased Salivary Counts of Mutans Streptococci and Lactobacilli, and with Increased Caries Rate from 3 to 16 Years of Age (2015)
- Caries Research
Karjalainen S, Tolvanen M, Pienihakkinen K, Soderling E, Lagstrom H, Simell O, Niinikoski H
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Metabolic Syndrome From Adolescence to Early Adulthood Effect of Infancy-Onset Dietary Counseling of Low Saturated Fat: The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) (2015)
- Circulation
Nupponen M, Pahkala K, Juonala M, Magnussen CG, Niinikoski H, Ronnemaa T, Viikari JSA, Saarinen M, Lagstrom H, Jula A, Simell O, Raitakari OT
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Mothers’ restrictive eating and food neophobia and fathers’ dietary quality are associated with breast-feeding duration and introduction of solid foods: the STEPS study (2015)
- Public Health Nutrition
Vaarno J, Niinikoski H, Kaljonen A, Aromaa M, Lagström H
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Onko sydänsairauksien ehkäisy aloitettava jo lapsuudessa? (2015)
- Sydänääni: Suomen Kardiologisen Seuran Lehti
Harri Niinikoski
(D1 Article in a professional journal)
Psychological wellbeing in 20-year-old adults receiving repeated lifestyle counselling since infancy (2015)
- Acta Paediatrica
Kaseva K, Pulkki-Raback L, Elovainio M, Pahkala K, Keltikangas-Jarvinen L, Hintsanen M, Hakulinen C, Lagstrom H, Jula A, Niinikoski H, Ronnemaa T, Viikari J, Simell O, Raitakari O
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
The Association of Dietary Alpha-Linolenic Acid with Blood Pressure and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in People Born Small for Gestational Age: The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project Study (2015)
- Journal of Pediatrics
Skilton MR, Pahkala K, Viikari JSA, Ronnemaa T, Simell O, Jula A, Niinikoski H, Celermajer DS, Raitakari OT
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)