The diet of adolescents can be improved by school intervention.

Objective: To decrease the intake of sucrose, increase the intake of fibre and the consumption of fruit and vegetables among secondary-school pupils.

Design: Intervention study among eighth grade pupils during one school year. Data were collected by questionnaires and from a subgroup of pupils by 48 h dietary recall at baseline in spring 2007 and after the intervention in 2008.

Dietary habits and nutrient intake of Finnish adolescents.

Objective: To evaluate food and nutrient intake and especially eating during the school day among Finnish secondary-school pupils.

Design: Cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire mailed to home and by 48 h dietary recall interviews performed at schools in 2007.

Explaining the 25-year decline of serum cholesterol by dietary changes and use of lipid-lowering medication in Finland.

Objective: To assess to what extent the observed dietary changes and increased use of lipid-lowering medication can explain the almost 20 % decline in serum cholesterol (referring to serum total cholesterol) level observed from 1982 to 2007 in Finland.

Design: Predicted changes of serum cholesterol were calculated by the Keys' equation assuming the effect of trans fatty acids to be similar to SFA and using the dietary intake data of the national dietary surveys between 1982 and 2007. The effect of medication was estimated based on the information on use of lipid-lowering medication among survey participants.

FINDIET 2007 Survey: energy and nutrient intakes.

Objective: The National FINDIET surveys are carried out every 5 years to monitor dietary habits and nutrient intake of the adult Finnish population. The latest survey was carried out in 2007.

Design: Cross-sectional population-based study.

Nutrition policy in Finland.

The present study describes the main actions in Finnish nutrition policy during the past decades. The main actor is the National Nutrition Council, which provides nutritional recommendations and action programmes, and sets up expert groups to solve nutritional problems in the population. The main fortification programmes have been the iodization of table salt, supplementation of selenium to fertilizers and the vitamin D fortification programme.

Modelling the intake of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans: impact of energy under-reporting and number of reporting days in dietary surveys.

A probabilistic long-term intake estimation of dioxins was carried out using food consumption data obtained from the National FINDIET 2007 Survey (Paturi et al. 2008). The study population consisted of 606 participants who were first interviewed with a 48-h recall and then filled in a 3-day food record twice.

Alcohol intake and risk of coronary heart disease in younger, middle-aged, and older adults.

Background: Light to moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease. This protective effect of alcohol, however, may be confined to middle-aged or older individuals. Coronary heart disease incidence is low in men <40 years of age and in women <50 years of age; for this reason, study cohorts rarely have the power to investigate the effects of alcohol on coronary heart disease risk in younger adults.

Determinants of breast-feeding in a Finnish birth cohort.

Objective: To assess milk feeding on the maternity ward and during infancy, and their relationship to sociodemographic determinants. The validity of our 3-month questionnaire in measuring hospital feeding was assessed.

Design: A prospective Finnish birth cohort with increased risk to type 1 diabetes recruited between 1996 and 2004.

Long-term dietary patterns and carotid artery intima media thickness: the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

A whole-diet approach has proven useful for characterising dietary exposure in cardiovascular epidemiology research. In our previous analyses, we found dietary patterns to be significant determinants of CVD risk factor levels among the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns cohort. We investigated the associations of major dietary patterns with carotid intima media thickness (IMT), a subclinical predictor of CVD, in healthy adults.

Early introduction of oats associated with decreased risk of persistent asthma and early introduction of fish with decreased risk of allergic rhinitis.

The evidence of the effect of the age at introduction of new foods during infancy on the development of asthma and allergic rhinitis is inconsistent and scarce. We set out to study these associations. A prospective birth cohort of infants with increased HLA-DQB1-conferred risk for type 1 diabetes was recruited in 1996-2000.

Major types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of 11 cohort studies.

Background: Saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake increases plasma LDL-cholesterol concentrations; therefore, intake should be reduced to prevent coronary heart disease (CHD). Lower habitual intakes of SFAs, however, require substitution of other macronutrients to maintain energy balance.

Objective: We investigated associations between energy intake from monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and carbohydrates and risk of CHD while assessing the potential effect-modifying role of sex and age.

Agreement between parental reports and patient records in food allergies among infants and young children in Finland.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: A third of parents suspect food allergy in their children. Questionnaire-based studies usually overestimate the occurrence of food allergies. The aim of the present study was to validate a study questionnaire by comparing children's use of special diets as reported by parents with patient records at the hospital.

Magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium intakes and risk of stroke in male smokers.

Background: A high intake of magnesium, calcium, and potassium and a low intake of sodium have been hypothesized to reduce the risk of stroke. However, prospective data relating intake of these minerals to risk of stroke are inconsistent.

Methods: We examined the relationship of dietary magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium intake with risk of stroke in a cohort of 26 556 Finnish male smokers, aged 50 to 69 years, who were free from stroke at baseline.

Fruits, vegetables, and colon cancer risk in a pooled analysis of 14 cohort studies.

Background: Fruit and vegetable intakes have been associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer; however, in more recent studies associations have been less consistent. Statistical power to examine associations by colon site has been limited in previous studies.

Methods: Fruit and vegetable intakes in relation to colon cancer risk were examined in the Pooling Project of Prospective Studies of Diet and Cancer.

Labelling the salt content in foods: a useful tool in reducing sodium intake in Finland.

Objective: To estimate the impact of choosing food products labelled either as low or high in salt on salt intake in the Finnish adult population.

Setting And Subjects: The National FINDIET 2002 survey with 48-hour recalls from 2007 subjects aged 25-64 years. Sodium intake was calculated based on the Fineli food composition database including the sodium content of natural and processed foods as well as the salt content of recipes.

Intakes of coffee, tea, milk, soda and juice and renal cell cancer in a pooled analysis of 13 prospective studies.

Specific beverage intake may be associated with the risk of renal cell cancer through a diluting effect of carcinogens, alterations of hormone levels, or other changes in the renal tubular environment, but few prospective studies have examined these associations. We evaluated the associations between coffee, tea, milk, soda and fruit and vegetable juice intakes and renal cell cancer risk in a pooled analysis of 13 prospective studies (530,469 women and 244,483 men). Participants completed a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline.

Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and risk of non-hodgkin lymphoma.

Lymphoma patients often exhibit abnormal lipid metabolism. Recent evidence, however, suggests that a decrease in circulating high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) may occur during lymphomagenesis, reflecting underlying etiology such as inflammation. We investigated the relationship between prediagnostic HDL-C and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study cohort.

Development of a model for optimal food fortification: vitamin D among adults in Finland.

Background: Average vitamin D intake is low in Finland. Even though almost all retail milk and margarine are fortified with vitamin D, the vitamin D intake is inadequate for a significant proportion of the population. Consequently, expanded food fortification with vitamin D would be motivated.

Major dietary patterns and cardiovascular risk factors from childhood to adulthood. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

Studies on the impact of single nutrients on the risk of CVD have often given inconclusive results. Recent research on dietary patterns has offered promising information on the effects of diet as a whole on the risk of CVD. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study is an ongoing, prospective cohort study with a 21-year follow-up to date.

A prospective study of dietary calcium, dairy products and prostate cancer risk (Finland).

High dietary intakes of calcium and dairy products have been hypothesized to enhance prostate cancer risk, but available prospective data regarding these associations are inconsistent. We examined dietary intakes of calcium and dairy products in relation to risk of prostate cancer in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Cancer Prevention Study, a cohort of 29,133 male smokers aged 50-69 years at study entry. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline using a validated 276-item food use questionnaire.

Effects of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplementation on upper aerodigestive tract cancers in a large, randomized controlled trial.

Background: Although smoking and alcohol consumption are the major risk factors for upper aerodigestive tract cancers, observational studies indicate a protective role for fruits, vegetables, and antioxidant nutrients.

Methods: The authors examined whether daily supplementation with 50 mg dl alpha-tocopheryl acetate and/or 20 mg beta-carotene reduced the incidence of or mortality from oral/pharyngeal, esophageal, and laryngeal cancers in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) study, a double-blind, placebo-controlled primary prevention trial conducted in southwestern Finland. A total of 29,133 male smokers, aged 50-69 years and free of cancer at baseline, were randomized in a 2 x 2 factorial design to the supplementation regimen for 5-8 years (median, 6.

A prospective investigation of height and prostate cancer risk.

Greater adult height, which reflects a combination of early nutrition, exposure to androgens, growth hormones, and other factors during growth and development, as well as heredity, has been associated with increased prostate cancer risk in several observational studies, but findings have been inconsistent. We examined this relationship in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study cohort. At baseline, 29,119 Finnish male smokers 50 to 69 years old had height and weight measured by trained personnel, provided information on demographic, smoking, medical, and other characteristics, and completed an extensive diet history questionnaire.

Higher baseline serum concentrations of vitamin E are associated with lower total and cause-specific mortality in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study.

Background: A meta-analysis of 19 trials suggested a small increase in the risk of all-cause mortality with high-dose vitamin E supplementation. Little is known, however, about the relation between mortality and circulating concentrations of vitamin E resulting from dietary intake, low-dose supplementation, or both.

Objective: We examined whether baseline serum alpha-tocopherol concentrations are associated with total and cause-specific mortality.

Opposing risks of gastric cardia and noncardia gastric adenocarcinomas associated with Helicobacter pylori seropositivity.

Background: Colonization with Helicobacter pylori is a risk factor for gastric adenocarcinoma, but the magnitude of this association and its relationship to anatomic location of the cancer, duration of follow-up, age at diagnosis, histologic subtype, and H. pylori strain differences are less clear. We conducted a prospective nested case-control study of H.

A prospective nested case-control study of vitamin D status and pancreatic cancer risk in male smokers.

Sun exposure is associated with lower death rates for pancreatic cancer in some ecological studies. Skin exposure to UVB light induces cutaneous production of precursors to 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]. Pancreatic islet and duct cells express 25(OH)D(3)-1alpha-hydroxylase that generates the biologically active 1,25(OH)(2) vitamin D form.