Childhood Developmental Milestones and Risk of Adult Cerebrovascular Disease: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966.

Introduction: To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the relationship between childhood developmental milestones and risk of adulthood cerebrovascular disease (CeVD). We studied whether the risk of adult CeVD is associated with delayed attainment of motor and language milestones.

Methods: Within the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, a total of 11,688 persons were followed from birth to either death, moving abroad or 54 years of age.

Mechanisms of thyrotropin receptor-mediated phenotype variability deciphered by gene mutations and M453T-knockin model.

The clinical spectrum of thyrotropin receptor-mediated (TSHR-mediated) diseases varies from loss-of-function mutations causing congenital hypothyroidism to constitutively active mutations (CAMs) leading to nonautoimmune hyperthyroidism (NAH). Variation at the TSHR locus has also been associated with altered lipid and bone metabolism and autoimmune thyroid diseases. However, the extrathyroidal roles of TSHR and the mechanisms underlying phenotypic variability among TSHR-mediated diseases remain unclear.

Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability in Healthy Preterm-Born Young Adults and Association with Vitamin D: A Wearable Device Assessment.

Prematurity has been associated with impaired parasympathetic cardiac regulation later in life. Changes in heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) may indicate a risk for future cardiac dysfunction. The putative role of Vitamin D on cardiac autonomic function in individuals born preterm (PT) remains unknown.

Preterm-Born Young Women Have Weaker Hand Grip Strength Compared to Their Full-Term-Born Peers.

Prematurity has been linked to lower muscular fitness and increased morbidity across the human lifespan. Hand grip strength is widely used as a measure of muscle strength. Previous studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the role of vitamin D in hand grip strength.

Correction: Pre- and postdiagnosis growth failure, adult short stature, and untreated growth hormone deficiency in radiotherapy-treated long-term survivors of childhood brain tumor.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of gestational duration and spontaneous preterm birth identifies new maternal risk loci.

Background: Preterm birth (<37 weeks of gestation) is a major cause of neonatal death and morbidity. Up to 40% of the variation in timing of birth results from genetic factors, mostly due to the maternal genome.

Methods: We conducted a genome-wide meta-analysis of gestational duration and spontaneous preterm birth in 68,732 and 98,370 European mothers, respectively.

Radiotherapy-induced vascular cognitive impairment 20 years after childhood brain tumor.

Background: Studies have established that radiotherapy for childhood brain tumors (BTs) increases the risk of cerebrovascular disease (CVD); however, it is unclear how this will affect cognitive function. This study aimed to investigate the associations between radiotherapy-induced CVD, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), and neurocognitive outcomes in adult survivors of childhood BTs.

Methods: In a cross-sectional setting, we conducted a national cohort that included 68 radiotherapy-treated survivors of childhood BTs after a median follow-up of 20 years.

Low testosterone at age 31 associates with maternal obesity and higher body mass index from childhood until age 46: A birth cohort study.

Background: Low testosterone (T) levels in men associate with increased risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases. However, most studies are cross-sectional with follow-up-time < 10 years, and data on early growth are limited.

Objective: To compare prenatal factors and body mass index (BMI) development from birth to age 46 in relation to low T at age 31.

Vitamin D Status in Women with a History of Infertility and Decreased Fecundability: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Infertility and fecundability problems have been linked with lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations, but studies conducted with small, heterogenous or selected populations have shown inconsistent results.

Methods: This study included women at age 31 from prospective population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were evaluated between women with or without previous infertility examinations or treatments (infertility group, = 375, reference group, = 2051) and time to pregnancy (TTP) of over 12 months (decreased fecundability group, = 338) with a wide range of confounders.

Elevated human placental heat shock protein 5 is associated with spontaneous preterm birth.

Background: Specific heat shock proteins are associated with pregnancy complications, including spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB). Placental proteomics and whole exome sequencing recently suggested an association between heat shock protein HSPA5 and uncomplicated SPTB. In the present study, we investigated the localization of and possible roles for HSPA5 in SPTB.

An optimal growth pattern during pregnancy and early childhood associates with better fertility in men.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between birth weight (BW), childhood and adolescent BMI, with reproductive capacity in men.

Design: A prospective, population-based cohort study (Northern Finland birth cohort 1966).

Methods: Around 6196 men born in 1966 were followed from birth to age 50 years.

Pre- and postdiagnosis growth failure, adult short stature, and untreated growth hormone deficiency in radiotherapy-treated long-term survivors of childhood brain tumor.

Purpose: Growth failure is common in radiotherapy-treated long-term survivors of pediatric brain tumors, but studies on longitudinal growth in this patient group are lacking. Here, the aim was to assess the changes in growth patterns before and after brain tumor diagnosis, the adult height, and the risk factors for compromised growth. The incidence and treatment practices of growth hormone deficiency were analyzed.

Early Childhood Growth and Risk of Adult Cerebrovascular Disease: The NFBC1966.

Background: Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of adulthood cerebrovascular disease (CVD). Not much is known about effects of early childhood growth. We studied whether the risk of adult CVD is associated with growth or nutritional factors during early childhood.

Health-related quality of life in long-term survivors of childhood brain tumors: a population-based cohort study.

Purpose: Survivors of childhood brain tumors (BT) are at high risk for long-term physical and psychological sequelae. Still, knowledge about health-related quality of life (HRQL) and associated factors in this population is sparse. This study investigated HRQL and its predictors in long-term survivors of childhood BT.

Cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase deficiency: Expanding the clinical phenotype and novel laboratory findings.

Cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK-C) deficiency due to the homozygous PCK1 variant has recently been associated with childhood-onset hypoglycemia with a recognizable pattern of abnormal urine organic acids. In this study, 21 children and 3 adult patients with genetically confirmed PEPCK-C deficiency were diagnosed during the years 2016 to 2019 and the available biochemical and clinical data were collected. All patients were ethnic Finns.

The determinants and longitudinal changes in vitamin D status in middle-age: a Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 study.

Purpose: Populations living in the Nordic countries are at high risk for vitamin D (VitD) deficiency or insufficiency. To reduce the risk, nationwide interventions based on food fortification and supplementation are being implemented. However, there is limited evidence about the impact of such public health campaigns on target populations.

Neurocognitive impairment, employment, and social status in radiotherapy-treated adult survivors of childhood brain tumors.

Background: Little is known of the cognitive functions, employment, and social status in adult survivors of childhood brain tumor (BT). We aimed to determine the long-term neurocognitive profile of radiotherapy-treated adult survivors of childhood BT and the relationship between cognitive functions and employment and social status.

Methods: Neurocognitive profiles of survivors were assessed in a Finnish national cohort of 71 radiotherapy-treated survivors of childhood BT (median follow-up time: 21 years [range: 5-33 years]) using a cross-sectional design.

Early-onset climacterium is not associated with impaired vitamin D status: a population-based study.

Objective: To investigate vitamin D status in women with the onset of the climacteric phase by age 46 as both early menopause and inadequate vitamin D status may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes.

Methods: A cross-sectional study included 2,544, 46-year-old women from a birth cohort. Women were divided into the following two groups according to their menstrual history and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentration: 1) climacteric (FSH ≥25 IU/L and amenorrhea ≥4 mo, n = 351) and 2) preclimacteric women (FSH <25 IU/L and having regular/irregular menstrual cycles, n = 2,193).

Motivational Interviewing and Glycemic Control in Adolescents With Poorly Controlled Type 1 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.

A multicenter randomized controlled pilot trial investigated whether motivational interviewing (MI) by diabetes physicians improves glycemic control and variability in the context of follow-up for adolescent patients with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. Patients ( = 47) aged 12 to 15.9 years who showed poor glycemic control (HbA1c >75 mmol/mol/9.

Radiation-induced accelerated aging of the brain vasculature in young adult survivors of childhood brain tumors.

Background: Cranial radiotherapy may damage the cerebral vasculature. The aim of this study was to understand the prevalence and risk factors of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) in childhood brain tumors (CBT) survivors treated with radiotherapy.

Methods: Seventy CBT survivors who received radiotherapy were enrolled in a cross-sectional study at a median 20 years after radiotherapy cessation.

Microbiome of the first stool and overweight at age 3 years: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Several reports have revealed that the first-pass meconium hosts a diverse microbiome, but its clinical significance is not known.

Objective: We designed a prospective population-based cohort study to evaluate whether the meconium microbiome predicts subsequent growth in children.

Methods: The study comprised 212 consecutive newborns with a meconium sample and a follow-up sample at 1 year of age.

CPPED1-targeting microRNA-371a-5p expression in human placenta associates with spontaneous delivery.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gene expression, and their expression is associated with many physiological conditions. Here, we investigated potential associations between expression levels of miRNAs in human placenta and the onset of spontaneous term birth. Using RNA sequencing, we identified 54 miRNAs differentially expressed during spontaneous term labor compared to elective term births.

Vitamin D Levels in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Conflicting evidence supports a role for vitamin D in women with reproductive disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) but studies on large, unselected populations have been lacking.

Methods: We conducted a general population-based study from the prospective Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966). Serum 25-hydroksyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels were evaluated in women with self-reported PCOS ( = 280) versus non-symptomatic controls ( = 1573) at the age of 31 with wide range of endocrine and metabolic confounders.