Publications by authors named "Suominen K"

Article Synopsis
  • Hibernating species, like boreal bats, face the challenge of building fat reserves in autumn as temperatures drop and food becomes scarce.
  • This study proposes two hypotheses about how bats use torpor during their prehibernation fattening phase: either to gain weight quickly or to conserve body mass.
  • Findings suggest that these bats primarily use torpor to preserve their reserves after achieving most of their necessary winter weight, rather than to facilitate additional mass gain.
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Capnocytophaga canimorsus and Capnocytophaga cynodegmi are commensal bacteria in the oral cavities of dogs. Both are zoonotic pathogens that could infect humans via dog bites. C.

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Campylobacteriosis causes a significant disease burden in humans worldwide and is the most common type of zoonotic gastroenteritis in Finland. To identify infection sources for domestic infections, we analyzed case data from the Finnish Infectious Disease Register (FIDR) in 2004-2021 and outbreak data from the National Food- and Waterborne Outbreak Register (FWO Register) in 2010-2021, and conducted a pilot case-control study (256 cases and 756 controls) with source attribution and patient sample analysis using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in July-August 2022. In the FIDR, 41% of the cases lacked information on travel history.

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Purpose: To investigate how drug therapies and rehabilitation options have been utilised before applying for a disability pension due to depression.

Methods: A retrospective register-based study of the 3604 persons who applied for a disability pension from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) in 2019. In Finland, disability pension is usually preceded by an incapacity for work lasting for 1 year, during which time therapeutic procedures, which were analysed here, are applied.

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Foodborne pathogen may cause serious, life-threatening disease in susceptible persons. We combined data from Finnish national listeriosis surveillance, patient interview responses, and laboratory data of patient samples and compared them to listeria findings from food and food production plants collected as part of outbreak investigations during 2011-2021. The incidence of invasive listeriosis in Finland (1.

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Background: Cryptosporidiosis has increased in recent years in Finland. We aimed to identify risk factors for human cryptosporidiosis and to determine the significance of Cryptosporidium parvum as a causative agent. Based on notifications to the Finnish Infectious Disease Register (FIDR), we conducted a case-control study and genotyped Cryptosporidium species from patient samples from July to December 2019.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sunlight helps our skin make vitamin D through UVB radiation, but some places don't get enough UVB in winter, which can affect brain health.
  • A study looked at 6,972 people with bipolar I disorder from over 70 countries to see if not getting enough UVB was related to when they first had symptoms.
  • The results suggested that people in areas with less UVB tended to show symptoms of bipolar disorder about 1.66 years earlier, but more research is needed to understand the role of vitamin D and UVB in this condition.
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Background: Cryptosporidiosis is gastroenteritis caused by . Since 2017, reporting of cryptosporidiosis has increased in Finland.

Methods: We describe demographics of cryptosporidiosis cases notified to Finnish Infectious Disease Register (FIDR) during a 21-year surveillance period, 1995-2020, and a retrospective investigation of increased cryptosporidiosis in Ostrobothnian hospital districts in summer 2018.

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Objective: Circadian rhythm disruption is commonly observed in bipolar disorder (BD). Daylight is the most powerful signal to entrain the human circadian clock system. This exploratory study investigated if solar insolation at the onset location was associated with the polarity of the first episode of BD I.

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Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. However, the prevalence and predictors of long-term work disability among patients with type I and II BD have scarcely been studied. We investigated the clinical predictors of long-term work disability among patients with BD.

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Background: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) are important causative agents for infections in humans and animals. At the Equine Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Helsinki, the first infections caused by ESBL-E were observed at the end of 2011 leading to enhanced infection surveillance. Contact patients were screened for ESBL-E by culturing infection sites and rectal screening.

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Bats and humans have a close relationship based on cohabitation, with bats taking roost in buildings. It has been suggested that bats function as a reservoir of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease in humans. A misconception that bats can spread SARS-CoV-2 to humans may have increased negative emotions toward bats and reduced individuals' acceptance of cohabitation with bats during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Article Synopsis
  • Bats live in forests to sleep and find food, but we wanted to learn more about how they use these forests in colder areas called the boreal zone.
  • We used special sound detectors to study bats in different types of forests throughout the summer.
  • Our findings show that bats prefer older forests and change where they hang out as the season goes on, highlighting that mature forests are really important for keeping bat populations diverse.
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Coronaviruses (CoVs) represent a global public health threat, exemplified by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreaks. Using fecal samples collected from five bat species between 2014 and 2016 in Finland and RT-PCR, RT-qPCR, and NGS, we identified CoVs in 10 of 79 (13%) samples, including two novel bat species-CoV relationships. Phylogenetic analysis revealed and species clustered among previously identified bat and human viruses.

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Background: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) differ in their relative predominance of types of episodes, yielding predominant polarity, which has important treatment implications. However, few prospective studies of predominant polarity exist.

Methods: In the Jorvi Bipolar Study (JoBS), a regionally representative cohort of 191 BD I and BD II in- and outpatients was followed for five years using life-chart methodology.

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Background: Poor adherence to psychiatric treatment is a common clinical problem, leading to unfavourable treatment outcome and increased healthcare costs.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the self-reported adherence and attitudes to outpatient visits and pharmacotherapy in specialized care psychiatric patients.

Methods: Within the Helsinki University Psychiatric Consortium (HUPC) pilot study, in- and outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SSA, n  =  113), bipolar disorder (BD, n  =  99), or depressive disorder (DD, n  =  188) were surveyed about their adherence and attitudes towards outpatient visits and pharmacotherapy.

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Objective: Impulsiveness is a tendency to act quickly based on a whim without reflection or consideration of consequences. We studied its correlations with burn variables and mental disorders among burn patients.

Methods: Consecutive acute burn patients (N=107) admitted to the Helsinki Burn Center were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV mental disorders (SCID) at baseline and at 6 months.

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Background: The world population is aging and the number of older adults with bipolar disorder is increasing. Digital technologies are viewed as a framework to improve care of older adults with bipolar disorder. This analysis quantifies Internet use by older adults with bipolar disorder as part of a larger survey project about information seeking.

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