25.2.2008

Castaneda, A. E., Suvisaari, J., Marttunen, M., Perala, J., Saarni, S. I., Aalto-Setala, T., Aro, H., Koskinen, S., Lonnqvist, J. and Tuulio-Henriksson, A.

J Affect Disord. 2008. IF 3.138

BACKGROUND: There is evidence for cognitive dysfunction in unipolar depression among middle-aged and elderly patients, but cognitive functioning among depressed young adults has scarcely been systematically investigated. The aims of the present study were to examine cognitive functioning among depressed young adults identified from the general population and to determine whether cognitive deficits vary as a function of different disorder characteristics, such as severity and age at onset.

METHODS: Performance in verbal and visual short-term memory, verbal long-term memory and learning, attention, processing speed, and executive functioning was compared between a population-based sample of 21-35-year-olds with a lifetime history of non-psychotic unipolar depressive disorders without psychiatric comorbidity (n=68) and healthy controls derived from the same population (n=70).

RESULTS: Depressed young adults were not found to be impaired in any of the assessed cognitive functions, except for some suggestion of mildly compromised verbal learning. Nevertheless, younger age at depression onset was associated with more impaired executive functioning.

LIMITATIONS: The results may slightly underestimate of the true association between depression and cognitive impairments in the young adult population due to possible dropout of participants. Additionally, the problem of multiple testing was not entirely corrected.

CONCLUSION: The findings from this study indicate that a lifetime history of non-psychotic unipolar depressive disorders among young adults without psychiatric comorbidity may be associated only with minimal cognitive deficits, even when some residual depressive symptoms are prevalent. However, early-onset depression may represent a more severe form of the disorder, associated with more cognitive dysfunction.

Geographic patterns of incidence of ischemic stroke and acute myocardial infarction in Finland during 1991-2003

Havulinna, A. S., Paakkonen, R., Karvonen, M. and Salomaa, V.

Ann Epidemiol. 2008; 18(3): 206-13. IF 2.210

PURPOSE: To examine geographic variation in the incidence of ischemic stroke (IS) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Finland during 1991-2003.

METHODS: Data included all cases of first IS (n = 115,383) and AMI (n = 205,213) in persons aged 35-84 years. We used full Bayesian spatial shared component disease models for mapping the geographic risk patterns.

RESULTS: The risk component shared by IS and AMI explained 73% (95% credible interval [CI]; 59%, 87%) of the geographic variation in IS risk and 68% (41%, 91%) in AMI risk. The spatial variation was similar in men and women. In the northeastern part of Finland, annual age-adjusted IS incidence was 356.4/100,000 (95% CI; 350.3, 362.6) in men and 231.2 (226.9, 235.4) in women. Annual AMI incidence was 855.6 (846.1, 865.2) in men and 351.4 (346.2, 356.5) in women. In the southwestern part of the country, annual IS incidence was 334.7 (331.6, 337.8) in men and 210.6 (208.5, 212.6) in women. Annual AMI incidence was 707.3 (702.8, 711.8) in men and 278.3 (276.0, 280.7) in women.

CONCLUSION: A marked part of the spatial variation in IS and AMI incidence was disease specific, even though these diseases share a similar atherosclerotic background. Further studies are warranted for understanding the reasons for the different geographic variation.

Predictors for switch from major depressive disorder to bipolar type I or II disorders: A 5-year prospective study

Isometsa, E. T., Holma, K. M., Melartin, T. K. and Holma, I.

Bipolar Disorders. 2008; 10: 9-9. IF 3.494

Six new loci associated with blood low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides in humans

Kathiresan, S., Melander, O., Guiducci, C., Surti, A., Burtt, N. P., Rieder, M. J., Cooper, G. M., Roos, C., Voight, B. F., Havulinna, A. S., Wahlstrand, B., Hedner, T., Corella, D., Tai, E. S., Ordovas, J. M., Berglund, G., Vartiainen, E., Jousilahti, P., Hedblad, B., Taskinen, M. R., Newton-Cheh, C., Salomaa, V., Peltonen, L., Groop, L., Altshuler, D. M. and Orho-Melander, M.

Nature Genetics. 2008; 40(2): 189-197. IF 24.176

Molecular genetics of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in Finland, 1995-2004

Marttila, H. J., Makinen, J., Marjamaki, M., Ruutu, P. and Soini, H.

Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2008; 12(3): 338-43. IF 2.035

SETTING: Modern molecular methods help us to understand the transmission and epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the molecular epidemiology of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), and to characterise isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP) resistance conferring mutations in Finland during 1995-2004.

DESIGN: A total of 3959 new M. tuberculosis isolates underwent drug susceptibility testing; all phenotypically resistant isolates were genotyped by IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism and spoligotyping if necessary. INH- and/or RMP-resistant isolates were sequenced for their resistance associated genes, katG locus 315 and rpoB, respectively.

RESULT: Of the 3959 isolates tested (92.4% of culture-positive cases), 183 (4.6%) were resistant to at least one first-line anti-tuberculosis drug; 14 (0.4%) isolates were multidrug-resistant. Thirty-seven (20.4%) resistant isolates belonged to 17 clusters, and the largest cluster included four isolates. The Beijing family genotype accounted for 8.8% (16 isolates) of all drug-resistant isolates. A Ser315Thr mutation in katG was found in 46.7% (56 isolates) of the INH-resistant isolates and rpoB was mutated in 85.7% (18 isolates) of the isolates resistant to RMP.

CONCLUSION: Transmission of drug-resistant TB is rare in Finland, especially between indigenous and immigrant populations. Screening of mutations that confer INH and RMP resistance seems to be feasible if risk factors for multidrug resistance exist.

Serum uric acid and incident diabetes in Mauritian Indian and Creole populations

Nan, H., Qiao, Q., Soderberg, S., Pitkaniemi, J., Zimmet, P., Shaw, J., Alberti, G., Uusitalo, U., Pauvaday, V., Chitson, P. and Tuomilehto, J.

Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2008. IF 1.837

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictive value of serum uric acid (UA) for the development of diabetes in Asian Indians and Creoles living in Mauritius.

METHODS: A total of 1941 men (1409 Indians, 532 Creoles) and 2318 non-pregnant women (1645 Indians, 673 Creoles), aged 25-74 years and free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and gout at baseline examinations in 1987 or 1992, were re-examined in 1992 and/or 1998. Diabetes was determined according to WHO/IDF 2006 criteria. The relationship between baseline UA and the development of diabetes during the follow-up was estimated using interval censored survival analysis.

RESULTS: In this cohort 337 (17.4%) men and 379 (16.4%) women developed diabetes during the follow-up. Individuals who developed diabetes during the follow-up had a lower serum UA levels at follow-up compared with their baseline UA levels, but this is not observed for post-menopausal women. Multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (95% CIs) for the development of diabetes corresponding to one S.D. increase in UA concentration at baseline were 1.14 (1.01, 1.30) in Indian men and 1.37 (1.11, 1.68) in Creole men. They were 1.07 (0.95, 1.22) and 1.01 (0.84, 1.22), respectively, in Indians and Creole women.

CONCLUSION: Elevated serum UA is an independent risk marker for future diabetes in Mauritian men, whereas the prediction is weak in women.

Social participation, trust and self-rated health: A study among ageing people in urban, semi-urban and rural settings

Nummela, O., Sulander, T., Rahkonen, O., Karisto, A. and Uutela, A.

Health & Place. 2008; 14(2): 243-253. IF 1.828

Dietary intake and major food sources of polyphenols in Finnish adults

Ovaskainen, M. L., Torronen, R., Koponen, J. M., Sinkko, H., Hellstrom, J., Reinivuo, H. and Mattila, P.

J Nutr. 2008; 138(3): 562-6. IF 4.009

Phenolic acids, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and ellagitannins are polyphenols that may have beneficial effects on human health and provide protection against chronic diseases. To date, limited data exist on quantitative intake of polyphenols.

The aims of this study were to estimate the quantitative intakes of polyphenols by using analyzed concentrations together with individual food consumption records and to determine major dietary sources. Analyzed concentrations of phenolic acids, anthocyanidins, and other flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and ellagitannins (44 total polyphenol compounds) were entered into the national food composition database, Fineli.

The absolute intakes of the polyphenols and the corresponding food sources were calculated on the basis of 48-h dietary recalls of 2007 Finnish adults. The mean total intake of polyphenols was 863 +/- 415 mg/d. Phenolic acids comprised the dominant group of polyphenols (75% of total intake) followed by proanthocyanidins (14%) and anthocyanidins and other flavonoids (10%). Due to their high consumption and high concentrations of phenolic acids, coffee and cereals were the main contributors to total polyphenol intake. Berries and berry products were the main source for anthocyanidins, ellagitannins, and proanthocyanidins, and fruits were the main source for flavonols, flavones, and flavanones.

The results give additional support to the recommendations for a varied diet with fruits, berries, cereals, and vegetables.