Change in cognitive performance during seven-year follow-up in midlife is associated with sex, age, and education - The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

OBJECTIVE: Sex, age, and education are associated with the level of cognitive performance. We investigated whether these factors modulate the change in cognitive performance in midlife by leveraging the longitudinal data from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS). METHODS: Participants of the YFS cohort performed a computer-based Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) in 2011 and 2018 (n = 1671, age 41-56 years in 2018). Overall cognitive performance and domains representing learning and memory, working memory, reaction time, and information processing were extracted by common principal component analysis from the longitudinal cognitive data. Linear models adjusted for baseline cognitive performance were used to study the association of sex, age, and education with changes in overall cognitive performance and in the cognitive domains. RESULTS: Cognitive performance decreased in all domains (overall cognition -0.56 SD, p < 0.001; working memory -0.81 SD, p < 0.001; learning and memory -0.70 SD, p < 0.001; reaction time -0.06 SD, p = 0.019; information processing -0.03 SD, p = 0.016). The decrease in working memory and information processing was greater in females compared to males. Cognitive performance decreased more in older participants in all domains. Education alleviated the decrease in cognitive performance in all domains except reaction time. The beneficial effect of education was greater for males. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes the natural course of aging-related changes in cognitive performance in midlife, the critical time window for early prevention of clinical cognitive decline. These findings provide a reference for studies focusing on determinants of pathological cognitive decline deviating from normal changes in cognitive performance.

Determinants of echocardiographic epicardial adipose tissue in a general middle-aged population - The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is the cardiac visceral fat depot proposed to play a role in the etiology of various cardiovascular disease outcomes. Little is known about EAT determinants in a general population. We examined cardiometabolic, dietary, lifestyle and socioeconomic determinants of echocardiograpghically measured EAT in early adulthood. Data on cardiometabolic, dietary, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors were collected from participants of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS; N = 1667; age 34-49 years). EAT thickness was measured from parasternal long axis echocardiograms. Multivariable regression analysis was used to study potential EAT determinants. Possible effect modification of sex was addressed. Mean EAT thickness was 4.07 mm (95% CI 4.00-4.17). Multivariable analysis [ß indicating percentage of change in EAT(mm) per one unit increase in determinant variable] indicated female sex (ß = 11.0, P < 0.0001), type 2 diabetes (ß = 14.0, P = 0.02), waist circumference (cm) (ß = 0.38, P < 0.0001), systolic blood pressure (mmHg) (ß = 0.18, P = 0.02) and red meat intake (g/day) (ß = 0.02, P = 0.05) as EAT determinants. Sex-specific analysis revealed age (year) (ß = 0.59, P = 0.01), alcohol intake (drinks/day) (ß = 4.69, P = 0.006), heavy drinking (yes/no) (ß = 30.4, P < 0.0001) as EAT determinants in women and fruit intake (g/day) (ß = -1.0, P = 0.04) in men. In the YFS cohort, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure and red meat intake were directly associated with EAT among all participants. In women, age, alcohol intake, heavy drinking and type 2 diabetes associated directly with EAT, while an inverse association was observed between fruit intake and EAT in men.

Association of Ideal Cardiovascular Health in Youth with Cancer Risk in Adulthood: Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

BACKGROUND: Lifestyle factors may affect cancer risk. This study aimed to identify whether American Heart Association (AHA) Ideal Cardiovascular Health (ICH) score and its individual variables in youth associate with subsequent cancer incidence. METHODS: Study comprised of participants of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study free of cancer at analysis baseline in 1986 (n=1873). Baseline age was 12-24 years and the follow-up occurred between 1986-2018. RESULTS: Among 1873 participants (mean age 17.3±4.1 years; 53.4% females at baseline), 72 incident cancer cases occurred during the follow-up (mean follow-up time 31.4±3.4 years). Baseline ICH score was not associated with future cancer risk (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.78-1.12 per 1-point increment). Of individual ICH score variables, ideal physical activity (PA) was inversely associated with cancer incidence (age- and sex-adjusted HR 0.45 (0.23-0.88) per 1-category change [nonideal/ideal]), and remained significant in multivariable-adjusted model including also BMI, smoking, diet and socioeconomic status. A continuous physical activity index at ages 9-24 years and moderate to vigorous physical activity in youth were also related to decreased cancer incidence (p<0.05). BMI, smoking, diet, total cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure were not related to cancer risk. Of the dietary components, meat consumption was associated with cancer incidence (p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that higher PA levels in youth associate with a reduced subsequent cancer incidence whereas AHA´s ICH score in youth does not. IMPACT: This finding supports the efforts in promoting healthy lifestyle and encourages in physical activity during childhood yielding in subsequent healthier life.

Association of Long-Term Habitual Dietary Fiber Intake since Infancy with Gut Microbiota Composition in Young Adulthood.

BACKGROUND: Dietary fiber is an important health-promoting component of the diet, which is fermented by the gut microbes that produce metabolites beneficial for the host's health. OBJECTIVES: We studied the associations of habitual long-term fiber intake from infancy with gut microbiota composition in young adulthood by leveraging data from the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project, an infancy-onset 20-y dietary counseling study. METHODS: Fiber intake was assessed annually using food diaries from infancy ≤ age 20 y. At age 26 y, the first postintervention follow-up study was conducted including food diaries and fecal sample collection (N = 357). Cumulative dietary fiber intake was assessed as the area under the curve for energy-adjusted fiber intake throughout the study (age 0-26 y). Gut microbiota was profiled using 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid amplicon sequencing. The primary outcomes were 1) α diversity expressed as the observed richness and Shannon index, 2) ß diversity using Bray-Curtis dissimilarity scores, and 3) differential abundance of each microbial taxa with respect to the cumulative energy-adjusted dietary fiber intake. RESULTS: Higher cumulative dietary fiber intake was associated with decreased Shannon index (ß = -0.019 per unit change in cumulative fiber intake, P = 0.008). Overall microbial community composition was related to the amount of fiber consumed (permutational analysis of variation R2 = 0.005, P = 0.024). The only genus that was increased with higher cumulative fiber intake was butyrate-producing Butyrivibrio (log2 fold-change per unit change in cumulative fiber intake 0.40, adjusted P = 0.023), whereas some other known butyrate producers such as Faecalibacterium and Subdoligranulum were decreased with higher cumulative fiber intake. CONCLUSIONS: As early-life nutritional exposures may affect the lifetime microbiota composition and disease risk, this study adds novel information on the associations of long-term dietary fiber intake with the gut microbiota. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00223600.

Trajectories of cardiovascular risk predict pregnancy outcomes: The Bogalusa Heart Study and the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

BACKGROUND: Life course patterns of change in risk-trajectories-affect health. OBJECTIVES: To examine how trajectories of cardiovascular risk factors are associated with pregnancy and birth outcomes. METHODS: Data from two cohort studies participating in the International Childhood Cardiovascular Consortium-The Bogalusa Heart Study (BHS; started in 1973, N = 903 for this analysis) and the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS; started in 1980, N = 499) were used. Both followed children into adulthood and measured cardiovascular risk factors, including body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), total, lipoprotein (LDL)- and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and serum triglycerides. Discrete mixture modelling was used to divide each cohort into distinct trajectories according to these risk factors from childhood to early adulthood, and these groups were then used to predict pregnancy outcomes including small for gestational age (SGA; <10th study-specific percentile of gestational age by sex), preterm birth (PTB; <37 weeks' gestation), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), with control for age at baseline and at first birth, parity, socioeconomic status, BMI and smoking. RESULTS: The models created more trajectories for BMI, SBP and HDL-cholesterol in the YFS than in BHS, for which three classes generally seemed to be sufficient to represent the groups in the population across risk factors. In BHS, the association between the higher and flatter DBP trajectory and PTB was aRR 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06, 2.96. In BHS the association between consistent total cholesterol and PTB was aRR 2.16, 95% CI 1.22, 3.85 and in YFS the association between elevated high trajectory and PTB was aRR 3.35, 95% CI 1.28, 8.79. Elevated-increasing SBP was associated with a higher risk of GH in BHS and increasing or persistent-obese BMI trajectories were associated with GDM in both cohorts (BHS: aRR 3.51, 95% CI 1.95, 6.30; YFS: aRR 2.61, 95% CI 0.96, 7.08). CONCLUSIONS: Trajectories of cardiovascular risk, particularly those that represent a consistent or more rapid worsening of cardiovascular health, are associated with a higher risk of pregnancy complications.

Association of tobacco smoke exposure with metabolic profile from childhood to early adulthood: the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project.

AIMS: To investigate the associations between passive tobacco smoke exposure and daily smoking with a comprehensive metabolic profile, measured repeatedly from childhood to adulthood. METHODS AND RESULTS: Study cohort was derived from the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP). Smoking status was obtained by questionnaire, while serum cotinine concentrations were measured using gas chromatography. Metabolic measures were quantified by nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics at 9 (n = 539), 11 (n = 536), 13 (n = 525), 15 (n = 488), 17 (n = 455), and 19 (n = 409) years. Association of passive tobacco smoke exposure with metabolic profile compared participants who reported less-than-weekly smoking and had serum cotinine concentration <1 ng/mL (no exposure) with those whose cotinine concentration was ≥10 ng/mL (passive tobacco smoke exposure). Associations of daily smoking with metabolic profile in adolescence were analysed by comparing participants reporting daily smoking with those reporting no tobacco use and having serum cotinine concentrations <1 ng/mL. Passive tobacco smoke exposure was directly associated with the serum ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to total fatty acids [ß = 0.34 standard deviation (SD), (0.17-0.51), P < 0.0001] and inversely associated with the serum ratios of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Exposure to passive tobacco smoke was directly associated with very-low-density lipoprotein particle size [ß = 0.28 SD, (0.12-0.45), P = 0.001] and inversely associated with HDL particle size {ß = -0.21 SD, [-0.34 to -0.07], P = 0.003}. Daily smokers exhibited a similar metabolic profile to those exposed to passive tobacco smoke. These results persisted after adjusting for body mass index, STRIP study group allocation, dietary target score, pubertal status, and parental socio-economic status. CONCLUSION: Both passive and active tobacco smoke exposures during childhood and adolescence are detrimentally associated with circulating metabolic measures indicative of increased cardio-metabolic risk.

A substantial proportion of children are affected by tobacco smoke exposure worldwide, and early life exposure to passive tobacco smoke may be even more harmful than active smoking in terms of cardiovascular disease risk. Our study suggests the following: Passive tobacco smoke exposure during childhood is associated with metabolic measures indicative of increased cardio-metabolic risk and that the association profile is similar with active daily smoking during adolescence.Reducing both active and passive tobacco smoke exposures during childhood and adolescence could reduce the risk of future cardio-metabolic disease.

Blood Pressure at Different Life Stages Over the Early Life Course and Intima-Media Thickness.

Importance: Although cardiovascular disease (CVD) begins in early life, the extent to which blood pressure (BP) at different life stages contributes to CVD is unclear. Objective: To determine the relative contribution of BP at different life stages across the early-life course from infancy to young adulthood with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Design, setting, and participants: The analyses were performed in 2022 using data gathered from July 1989 through January 2018 within the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project, a randomized, infancy-onset cohort of 534 participants coupled with annual BP (from age 7 months to 20 years), biennial IMT measurements (from ages 13 to 19 years), who were followed up with again at age 26 years. Exposures: BP measured from infancy (aged 7 to 13 months), preschool (2 to 5 years), childhood (6 to 12 years), adolescence (13 to 17 years), and young adulthood (18 to 26 years). Main outcomes and measures: Primary outcomes were carotid IMT measured in young adulthood at age 26 years. Bayesian relevant life-course exposure models assessed the relative contribution of BP at each life stage. Results: Systolic BP at each life stage contributed to the association with young adulthood carotid IMT (infancy: relative weight, 25.3%; 95% credible interval [CrI], 3.6-45.8; preschool childhood: relative weight, 27.0%; 95% CrI, 3.3-57.1; childhood: relative weight, 18.0%; 95% CrI, 0.5-40.0; adolescence: relative weight, 13.5%; 95% CrI, 0.4-37.1; and young adulthood: relative weight, 16.2%; 95% CrI, 1.6-46.1). A 1-SD (at single life-stage) higher systolic BP accumulated across the life course was associated with a higher carotid IMT (0.02 mm; 95% CrI, 0.01-0.03). The findings for carotid IMT were replicated in the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study that assessed systolic BP from childhood and carotid IMT in adulthood (33 to 45 years). Conclusion and relevance: In this cohort study, a life-course approach indicated that accumulation of risk exposure to BP levels at all life stages contributed to adulthood carotid IMT. Of those, the contribution attributed to each observed life stage was approximately equal. These results support prevention efforts that achieve and maintain normal BP levels across the life course, starting in infancy.

The Influence of Dietary Counseling Over 20 Years on Tracking of Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol from Infancy to Young Adulthood.

This 26-year study found that non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) levels tracked from infancy to young adulthood suggesting early-life non-HDL-C could predict future levels. However, infancy-onset dietary counseling reduced the odds of maintaining at-risk non-HDL-C, highlighting the potential importance of early interventions in preventing cardiovascular risk associated with high pediatric non-HDL-C.

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Incidence and Remission and Their Predictors During 7 Years of Follow-up Among Finns.

CONTEXT: The incidence and remission of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are sparsely studied outside Asia. OBJECTIVE: This prospective study aimed to investigate NAFLD incidence and remission, and their predictors among a general Finnish population. METHODS: The applied cohort included 1260 repeatedly studied middle-aged participants with data on liver ultrasound and no excessive alcohol intake. Hepatic steatosis was assessed by liver ultrasound with a 7.2-year study interval. Comprehensive data on health parameters and lifestyle factors were available. RESULTS: At baseline, 1079 participants did not have NAFLD, and during the study period 198 of them developed NAFLD. Of the 181 participants with NAFLD at baseline, 40 achieved NAFLD remission. Taking multicollinearity into account, key predictors for incident NAFLD were baseline age (odds ratio 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.13; P = .009), waist circumference (WC) (2.77, 1.91-4.01 per 1 SD; P < .001), and triglycerides (2.31, 1.53-3.51 per 1 SD; P < .001) and alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) (1.90, 1.20-3.00 per 1 SD; P = .006) concentrations as well as body mass index (BMI) change (4.12, 3.02-5.63 per 1 SD; P < .001). Predictors of NAFLD remission were baseline aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) concentration (0.23, 0.08-0.67 per 1 SD; P = .007) and WC change (0.38, 0.25-0.59 per 1 SD; P < .001). CONCLUSION: During follow-up, NAFLD developed for every fifth participant without NAFLD at baseline, and one-fifth of those with NAFLD at baseline had achieved NAFLD remission. NAFLD became more prevalent during the follow-up period. From a clinical perspective, key factors predicting NAFLD incidence and remission were BMI and WC change independent of their baseline level.

Tracking of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Physical Activity from Youth to Young Adulthood: Findings from the Prospective Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP).

Using data from the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project, cardiorespiratory fitness (rank-order correlation coefficient = 0.60-0.62) tracked stronger than physical activity (rank-order correlation coefficient = 0.27-0.38) between youth (age = 17 years) and young adulthood (age = 26 years). Cardiorespiratory fitness could help identify individuals at risk of maintaining poor fitness levels or developing adverse health in adulthood.

Dietary patterns from youth to adulthood and cognitive function in midlife: The cardiovascular risk in Young Finns Study.

OBJECTIVES: Diet plays an important role in cognitive health, but the long-term association of diet early in life with cognitive function in adulthood has not, to our knowledge, been rigorously studied. The aim of this study was to examine the association of youth, adulthood, and long-term dietary patterns from youth to adulthood with cognitive function in midlife. METHODS: This was a population-based cohort study that assessed dietary intake in 1980 (baseline, participants 3-18 y of age), 1986, 2001, 2007, and 2011 and cognitive function in 2011. Six dietary patterns were derived from 48-h food recall or food frequency questionnaires using factor analysis. The dietary patterns were traditional Finnish, high-carbohydrate, vegetables and dairy products, traditional Finnish and high-carbohydrate, red meat, and healthy. Scores of long-term dietary patterns were calculated as the average between youth and adulthood. Cognitive function outcomes assessed included episodic memory and associative learning, short-term working memory and problem solving, reaction and movement time, and visual processing and sustained attention. Standardized z-scores of exposures and outcomes were used for analyses. RESULTS: Participants (n = 790, mean age 11.2 y) were followed up for 31 y. Multivariable models showed that both youth and long-term vegetable and dairy products and healthy patterns were positively associated with episodic memory and associative learning scores (ß = 0.080-0.111, P < 0.05 for all). Both youth and long-term traditional Finnish patterns were negatively associated with spatial working memory and problem solving (ß = -0.085 and -0.097, respectively; P < 0.05 for both). Long-term high-carbohydrate and traditional Finnish and high-carbohydrate patterns were inversely associated with visual processing and sustained attention, whereas the vegetable and dairy products pattern was positively associated with this cognitive domain (ß = -0.117 to 0.073, P < 0.05 for all). Adulthood high-carbohydrate and traditional Finnish and high-carbohydrate patterns were inversely associated with all cognitive domains except for reaction and movement time (ß = -0.072 to -0.161, P < 0.05 for all). Both long-term and adulthood red meat pattern were positively associated with visual processing and sustained attention (ß = 0.079 and 0.104, respectively; P < 0.05 for both). These effect sizes correspond to approximately 1.6 to 16.1 y of cognitive aging on these cognitive domains. CONCLUSIONS: Higher adherence to traditional Finnish, high-carbohydrate, and traditional Finnish and high-carbohydrate patterns across the early life course was associated with poorer cognitive function in midlife, whereas higher adherence to healthy and vegetable and dairy product patterns was associated with better cognitive function. The findings, if causative, highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy dietary pattern from early life to adulthood in an attempt to promote cognitive health.

Association of physical activity with metabolic profile from adolescence to adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: Physical activity benefits cardiometabolic health, but little is known about its detailed links with serum lipoproteins, amino acids, and glucose metabolism at young age. We therefore studied the association of physical activity with a comprehensive metabolic profile measured repeatedly in adolescence. METHODS: The cohort is derived from the longitudinal Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project. At ages 13, 15, 17, and 19 years, data on physical activity were collected by a questionnaire, and circulating metabolic measures were quantified by nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics from repeatedly assessed serum samples (age 13: n = 503, 15: n = 472, 17: n = 466, and 19: n = 361). RESULTS: Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA;MET h/wk) was directly associated with concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and inversely with the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to total fatty acids (-0.006SD; [-0.008, -0.003]; p < 0.0001). LTPA was inversely associated with very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particle concentration (-0.003SD; [-0.005, -0.001]; p = 0.002) and VLDL particle size (-0.005SD; [-0.007, -0.003]; p < 0.0001). LTPA showed direct association with the particle concentration and size of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and HDL cholesterol concentration (0.004SD; [0.002, 0.006]; p < 0.0001). Inverse associations of LTPA with triglyceride and total lipid concentrations in large to small sized VLDL subclasses were found. Weaker associations were seen for other metabolic measures including inverse associations with concentrations of lactate, isoleucine, glycoprotein acetylation, and a direct association with creatinine concentration. The results remained after adjusting for body mass index and proportions of energy intakes from macronutrients. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity during adolescence is beneficially associated with the metabolic profile including novel markers. The results support recommendations on physical activity during adolescence to promote health and possibly reduce future disease risks.

The associations of childhood psychosocial factors with cognitive function in midlife-The young finns study.

OBJECTIVE: An adverse psychosocial environment in childhood may harm cognitive development, but the associations for adulthood cognitive function remain obscure. We tested the hypothesis that adverse childhood psychosocial factors associate with poor cognitive function in midlife by leveraging the prospective data from the Young Finns Study. METHOD: At the age of 3-18 years, the participants' psychosocial factors (socioeconomic and emotional environment, parental health behaviors, stressful events, child's self-regulatory behavior, and social adjustment) were collected. In addition to the separate psychosocial factors, a score indicating their clustering was created. Cognitive function was measured at the age of 34-49 years with a computerized test addressing learning and memory (N = 1,011), working memory (N = 1,091), sustained attention and information processing (N = 1,071), and reaction and movement time (N = 999). RESULTS: We observed an inverse association between the accumulation of unfavorable childhood psychosocial factors and poorer learning and memory in midlife (age, sex, education, adulthood smoking, alcohol drinking, and physical activity adjusted ß = -0.032, SE = 0.01, p = .009). This association corresponded approximately to the effect of 7 months aging. Specifically, poor self-regulatory behavior (ß = -0.074, SE = 0.03, p = .032) and social adjustment in childhood (ß = -0.111, SE = 0.03, p = .001) associated with poorer learning ability and memory 30 years later. No associations were found for other cognitive domains. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest an association of childhood psychosocial factors with midlife learning ability and memory. If these links are causal, the results highlight the importance of a child's self-regulation and social adjustment as plausible determinants for adulthood cognitive health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Organized Youth Sports Trajectories and Adult Health Outcomes: The Young Finns Study.

INTRODUCTION: This study identified the trajectories of organized youth sports over 9 years in youths aged 9-18 years and examined whether the trajectories predicted physical activity, sedentary behavior, and obesity in midlife. METHODS: Self-reported organized youth sports trajectories were identified for participants between 1980 and 1989 (N=3,474). Accelerometer-derived physical activity was quantified for participants (n=1,349) in 2018-2020. Sociodemographic, physical activity, and TV viewing data were collected through questionnaires either at baselines or follow-up. Adult BMI was calculated to clarify obesity. Associations of organized youth sports trajectories with adult physical activity, sedentary behavior, and obesity were evaluated using mixture models, which were stratified by sex and conducted in 2022. RESULTS: Three organized youth sports trajectories were identified for boys and girls (sustained high-sports participation, 12.0%/7.5%; sustained moderate-sports participation, 14.0%/13.3%; and low-sports/nonparticipation, 74.0%/79.2%). Boys sustaining both moderate- and high-sports participation had higher levels of adult self-reported physical activity (ß=0.59, p=0.007; ß=0.69, p<0.001) than low-sports/nonparticipating boys. Girls sustaining both moderate- and high-sports participation accumulated more total physical activity (ß=113.4, p=0.009; ß=144.3, p=0.002), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (ß=7.86, p=0.016; ß=14.01, p<0.001), step counts (ß=1,020, p=0.003; ß=1,045, p=0.005), and self-reported physical activity (ß=0.79, p<0001; ß=0.63, p=0.003) in midlife than their low-sports/nonparticipating counterparts. Girls sustaining moderate-sports participation accumulated more light-intensity physical activity (ß=19.79, p=0.012) and less sedentary time (ß= -27.65, p=0.002), and those sustaining high-sports participation had lower obesity prevalence (OR=0.41, p=0.009) 40 years later than low-sports/nonparticipating girls. CONCLUSIONS: Sustained participation in organized youth sports is independently predictive of physical activity patterns, sedentary time, and obesity in midlife, especially in girls, thus contributing to the development of a healthy and active lifestyle across the life course.

Associations of parental physical activity trajectories with offspring's physical activity patterns from childhood to middle adulthood: The Young Finns Study.

We investigated the association of parental physical activity (PA) trajectories with offspring's youth and adult PA. Self-reported PA data were extracted from the Young Finns Study with three follow-ups for parents between 1980 and 1986 and nine follow-ups for their offspring in youth between 1980 and 2011 (aged 9-39 years, n = 2402) and in adulthood in 2018. Accelerometer-derived PA was quantified in 2018-2020 (aged 43-58 years, n = 1134). Data were analyzed using mixture models and conducted in 2022. We identified three trajectories for fathers and mothers (high-stable activity, 20.2%/16.6%; moderate-stable activity, 50.5%/49.6%; and low-stable activity, 29.4%/33.7%) and four for youth male and female offspring (persistently active, 13.4%/5.1%; increasingly active, 32.1%/43.1%; decreasingly active, 14.4%/12.6%; and persistently low-active, 40.1%/39.1%). Compared to low-stable active parents, high-stable active fathers had a higher probability of having their sons and daughters classified as persistently active, increasingly active, and decreasingly active in youth (Brange = 0.50-1.79, all p < 0.008), while high- and moderate-stable active mothers had significantly increased likelihood of having their daughters classified as persistently active and decreasingly active in youth (Brange = 0.63-1.16, all p < 0.009). Fathers' and mothers' high-stable activity was associated with higher self-reported PA of adult offspring than parental low-stable activity. Persistently active and increasingly active offspring in youth accumulated more adult total PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, step counts, and self-reported PA than persistently low-active ones (all p < 0.036). Parental persistent PA, particularly paternal persistent PA, predicts offspring's PA concurrently and prospectively. Increasing and maintaining PA in youth predicts higher PA levels in midlife.

An Infancy-Onset 20-Year Dietary Counselling Intervention and Gut Microbiota Composition in Adulthood.

The randomized controlled Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) has completed a 20-year infancy-onset dietary counselling intervention to reduce exposure to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk factors via promotion of a heart-healthy diet. The counselling on, e.g., low intake of saturated fat and cholesterol and promotion of fruit, vegetable, and whole-grain consumption has affected the dietary characteristics of the intervention participants. By leveraging this unique cohort, we further investigated whether this long-term dietary intervention affected the gut microbiota bacterial profile six years after the intervention ceased. Our sub-study comprised 357 individuals aged 26 years (intervention n = 174, control n = 183), whose gut microbiota were profiled using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. We observed no differences in microbiota profiles between the intervention and control groups. However, out of the 77 detected microbial genera, the Veillonella genus was more abundant in the intervention group compared to the controls (log2 fold-change 1.58, p < 0.001) after adjusting for multiple comparison. In addition, an association between the study group and overall gut microbiota profile was found only in males. The subtle differences in gut microbiota abundances observed in this unique intervention setting suggest that long-term dietary counselling reflecting dietary guidelines may be associated with alterations in gut microbiota.

Risk Factor Profile in Youth, Genetic Risk, and Adulthood Cognitive Function: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

INTRODUCTION: The role of risk factor profile in childhood and adolescence on adulthood cognitive function and whether it differs by genetic risk is still obscure. To bring this evidence, we determined cognitive domain-specific youth risk factor profiles leveraging the childhood/adolescence data from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study and examined whether genetic propensity for poor cognitive function modifies the association between the risk profiles and adulthood cognitive function. METHODS: From 1980, a population-based cohort of 3,596 children (age 3-18 years) has been repeatedly followed up for 31 years. Computerized cognitive test measuring (1) memory and learning, (2) short-term working memory, (3) reaction time, and (4) information processing was performed for 2,026 participants (age 34-49 years). Cognitive domain-specific youth risk profile scores, including physical and environmental factors, were assessed from the data collected at baseline and categorized into favourable, intermediate, and unfavourable. A polygenic risk score for a poor cognitive function was categorized into low, intermediate, and high risk. RESULTS: At all genetic risk levels, a favourable youth risk factor profile is associated with better learning and memory, short-term working memory, and information processing compared to unfavourable risk profile (e.g., ß = 0.501 SD, 95% CI: 0.043-0.959 for memory and learning among participants with high genetic risk). However, no significant interactions were observed between the youth risk factor profile score and genetic propensity for any cognitive domain (p > 0.299 for all). CONCLUSION: A favourable youth risk factor profile may be beneficial for cognitive function in adulthood, irrespective of genetic propensity for poor cognitive function.

Dietary Intervention in Infancy and Cognitive Function in Young Adulthood: The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project.

OBJECTIVE: Consumption of saturated fatty acids (SAFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), cholesterol, and fiber have been linked with cognitive function in adults. We evaluated these associations from childhood by leveraging data from the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP). STUDY DESIGN: STRIP recruited children aged 5 months and randomly assigned them into intervention/control groups. The intervention introduced a heart-healthy diet, characterized mainly by low consumption of SAFAs and cholesterol, through counseling at least biannually between age 7 months and 20 years. Diet was assessed repeatedly using food diaries. Six years after the end of the intervention phase, at age 26 years, the participants were invited to the first postintervention follow-up, which included cognitive testing that covered learning and memory, verbal memory, short-term working memory, reaction time, information processing, and cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. We studied the associations of the STRIP intervention and the consumptions of SAFAs, PUFAs, cholesterol, and fiber within these cognitive domains. RESULTS: Participants in the STRIP intervention group had better cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control and were better able to manage conflicting information and ignore task-irrelevant information (0.18 SD higher in the intervention group, adjusted for sex and socioeconomic status). No associations were observed with the dietary components studied. CONCLUSIONS: The infancy-onset STRIP intervention, which promoted a heart-healthy diet, was favorably associated with cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control at age 26 years. No associations were found for the intervention targets studied, indicating that these specific dietary components did not underlie the observed effect of the intervention.

Weight gain in infancy and markers of cardiometabolic health in young adulthood.

AIM: We studied whether repeatedly measured weight gain from birth up to age 2 years associated with cardiometabolic health in young adulthood. METHODS: Using the data collected in the longitudinal Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project, we investigated in 454 healthy subjects how early weight gain in six age intervals (birth to 7 months, 7-13 months, 13-18 months, 18-24 months, and birth to 13 and 24 months) associated with measures of cardiometabolic health at age 20 years. Linear regression analyses were controlled for (1) child's sex, intervention/control group, gestational age, baseline weight and change in length for each interval, and (2) parents' education, mother's weight before pregnancy, height and weight gain during pregnancy, and father's body mass index at the 7-month visit. RESULTS: Weight gain after the first year of life associated directly, when adjusted for traits of the child and parents, with systolic blood pressure, waist circumference and body mass index at age 20 years. In the fully adjusted analyses, weight gain from birth to 1 year and to 2 years of age associated inversely with insulin and insulin resistance. We found no association between early growth and diastolic blood pressure or serum lipids. CONCLUSION: Early weight gain during first 2 years of life may predict later markers of cardiometabolic health.