📸 Fin-HIT 2011: Catharina Sarkkola, Veera Seppänen, Sabina Simola-Ström, Elisabete Weiderpass

📸 Fin-HIT 2025: Nitin Agrawal, Catharina Sarkkola, Sohvi Lommi, Emilia Ankkuri, Heli Viljakainen, Maryam Rastegar

📸 Fin-HIT 2019: Elina Engberg, Jannina Viljakainen-Diop, Catharina Sarkkola, Rejane Figueiredo, Trine Rounge Sajan Raju, Sohvi Lommi, Heli Viljakainen

15 years of the Fin-HIT Study
We have fostered six postdoctoral researchers from diverse fields.
We have ongoing collaboration with 6 Finnish universities and 12 universities in Europe, USA and Asia.
We have hosted visiting scientists from three countries and are happy to welcome new ones.

Over the past 15 years, we have achieved:

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 recruitment of 11,000+ adolescents with 10,000+ parents
📊3 study waves
📘4 completed PhD theses
📑49 peer-reviewed publications

A deep thank you to all participants, families, researchers and collaborators, without you this research would not be possible.

The study data include questionnaires, biological samples, and information from national health registers, enabling research on health across the life course.
Fin-HIT is also part of the THL Biobank, with DNA samples contributing to future research and collaborations.

Fin-HIT is a longitudinal cohort study investigating factors associated with overweight and obesity, including genetic, biological, behavioural, and environmental factors.

Today marks 15 years of the Fin-HIT Study
The Fin-HIT (Finnish Health in Teens) study was launched in 2011 at the Folkhälsan Research Center, and has since followed over 11,000 participants from childhood into young adulthood.

Find out more in our Annual Report: research.folkhalsan.fi/annual.../an...

Last year in numbers: funding

The total funding for 2025 was EUR 10.3 M. External funding accounted for 46%. 40% was funded by the Folkhälsan Research Foundation and 14% by the Samfundet Folkhälsan’s foundations.

A big thank you to all our funders and partners for supporting our work!

15 Masters theses

research.folkhalsan.fi/annual-repor...

10 Doctoral theses

research.folkhalsan.fi/annual-repor...

Our year 2025 in numbers: publications

200 Scientific papers

You can find the full list of scientific papers here: research.folkhalsan.fi/annual-repor...

Cerebral microbleeds are associated with deficits in cognitive processing speed and executive functions in middle-aged adults with type 1 diabetes Adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have an increased risk of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD)-related brain changes already in midlife, yet their s…

In middle-aged individuals with T1D, cerebral microbleeds were related to a subtle, yet systematic impairment in cognition. Results provide insight into the development of early cerebral small vessel disease-related cognitive changes already in midlife.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Som programchef är din uppgift att leda, koordinera och utveckla verksamheten i programmet för genetisk forskning.
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“Parental mental wellbeing is important for many reasons. Our findings suggest that it may also be relevant when considering adolescents’ physical activity and sedentary digital media use,” says Elina Engberg, one of the authors of the study.

Parental mental wellbeing is associated with adolescents’ physical activity and digital media use Parental mental wellbeing appears to be associated with adolescents’ physical activity and digital media use. In a recent study from Folkhälsan Research Center, better parental mental wellbeing was as...

In a recent study better parental mental wellbeing was associated with higher physical activity and lower sedentary digital media use among adolescents aged around 11 years, with largely similar associations observed three years later at age 14.
research.folkhalsan.fi/news-article...

– This is a clear signal that we still have significant work to do in protecting people with type 1 diabetes from cardiovascular disease, says author Patrik Smidtslund.

STEMI rates declined over time, consistent with broader improvements in cardiovascular care. NSTEMI rates, however, rose after an initial decline and became more prevalent with older age.

Myocardial infarction subtypes in type 1 diabetes follow different patterns and have different risk profiles Individuals living with type 1 diabetes face a significantly elevated risk of myocardial infarction, but not all myocardial infarctions are alike. A new study shows that the two main subtypes, STEMI a...

Individuals living with type 1 diabetes face a significantly elevated risk of myocardial infarction. A new study shows that the two main subtypes, STEMI and NSTEMI, behave differently over time.
@finndiane.bsky.social
research.folkhalsan.fi/news-article...

Comparison of incidence patterns and risk profiles of ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction in type 1 diabetes in Finland: a nationwide cohort study We report that STEMI and NSTEMI exhibit different incidence patterns depending on age and year of myocardial infarction. STEMI and NSTEMI also differed regarding risk profiles, demonstrating that myoc...

New—Comparison of incidence patterns and risk profiles of ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation #myocardial #infarction in type 1 #diabetes in Finland: a nationwide cohort study www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... #T1D #MI #CVD

#MedSky #EndoSky #CardioSky

Comparison of incidence patterns and risk profiles of ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction in type 1 diabetes in Finland: a nationwide cohort study We report that STEMI and NSTEMI exhibit different incidence patterns depending on age and year of myocardial infarction. STEMI and NSTEMI also differed regarding risk profiles, demonstrating that myoc...

STEMI rates are falling in type 1 diabetes 📉 but NSTEMI rates are not📈 New data from the FinnDiane cohort show these two myocardial infarction subtypes have distinct risk profiles, with microvascular complications playing a key role in NSTEMI @helsinki.fi ➡️ www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Congratulations Sandra, for successfully defending your doctoral dissertation! Full text available here:
@helsinki.fi
🔗 Full text: urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978...

Folkhälsan recruits external top researchers to its Research Committee Professor Miia Kivipelto and Professor Olli Kallioniemi have been appointed as external members of the Folkhälsan Research Committee. The task of the research committee is to prepare important matters...

The task of the research committee is to prepare important matters related to the Folkhälsan Research Center, such as the establishment of new research programs, for the board of Samfundet Folkhälsan to decide on.
research.folkhalsan.fi/news-article...

We are pleased to welcome Professor Miia Kivipelto and Professor Olli Kallioniemi as external members of Folkhälsan’s newly established Research Committee.

🧬 Had a fantastic time at the #MDA Conference in Orlando! I shared some of our work on titin (TTN). Great discussions and new ideas sparked with colleagues working on #titin related myopathies. Excited for what comes next! 💪 #MDAConference @myofinlab.bsky.social @folkhalsanresearch.bsky.social

Promoting healthy lifestyles is therefore central to both brain health and active aging. Findings from the BoAktiv study suggest that senior housing environments may support active aging, partly by providing opportunities for social interaction and an active daily life.

🧠 Research shows that lifestyle factors such as physical activity, sleep, nutrition, and social engagement support brain health across the lifespan. These factors help build and maintain cognitive reserve, which protects cognitive functioning as people age.

Findings from the Healthy Learning Mind study show that mindfulness practices in schools improve stress management, resilience and mental health among children and adolescents. By fostering these skills early, we can build a stronger foundation for both mental and cognitive health throughout life.

Furthermore, an impaired ability to manage stress during these early years may permanently compromise stress regulation in adulthood leading to higher risk of mental health challenges and cognitive difficulties later in life.

🧠 Research shows that children and adolescents already experience the harmful effects of stress, which can shape their developing brains and impair attention and emotional regulation, as well as increase anxiety.
#BrainAwarenessWeek