Alcohol consumption at age 18-25 and number of children at a 33-year follow-up : Individual and within-pair analyses of Finnish twins

Background Do drinking patterns in late adolescence/early adulthood predict lifetime childlessness and number of children? Research on this question has been only tangentially relevant and the results inconsistent. The designs used to date have been compromised by genetic and environmental confounds that are poorly controlled; covariate effects of smoking and education that are often ignored; males being understudied; population-based sampling rare, and long-term prospective studies with genetically informative designs yet to be reported. Method In a 33-year follow-up, we linked the drinking patterns of >3500 Finnish twin pairs, assessed at ages 18-25, to registry data on their eventual number of children. Analyses distinguished associations of early drinking patterns with lifetime childlessness from those predictive of family size. Within-twin pair analyses used fixed-effects regression models to account for shared familial confounds and genetic liabilities. Childlessness was analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models and family size with Poisson regression. Analyses within-pairs and of twins as individuals were run before and after adjustment for smoking and education, and for oral contraceptive (OC) use in individual-level analyses of female twins. Results Baseline abstinence and heavier drinking both significantly predicted lifetime childlessness in individual-level analyses. Few abstinent women used OCs, but they were nonetheless more often eventually childless; adjusting for smoking and education did not affect this finding. Excluding childless twins, Poisson models of family size showed heavier drinking at 18-25 to be predictive of fewer children in both men and women. Those associations were replicated in within-pair analyses of dizygotic twins, each level of heavier drinking being associated with smaller families. Among monozygotic twins, associations of drinking with completed family size yielded effects of similar magnitude, reaching significance at the highest levels of consumption, ruling out familial confounds. Conclusions Compared to moderate levels of drinking, both abstinence and heavier drinking in late adolescence/early adulthood predicted a greater likelihood of lifetime childlessness and eventual number of children. Familial confounds do not fully explain these associations.Peer reviewe

Alcohol consumption at age 18-25 and number of children at a 33-year follow-up : Individual and within-pair analyses of Finnish twins

Background Do drinking patterns in late adolescence/early adulthood predict lifetime childlessness and number of children? Research on this question has been only tangentially relevant and the results inconsistent. The designs used to date have been compromised by genetic and environmental confounds that are poorly controlled; covariate effects of smoking and education that are often ignored; males being understudied; population-based sampling rare, and long-term prospective studies with genetically informative designs yet to be reported. Method In a 33-year follow-up, we linked the drinking patterns of >3500 Finnish twin pairs, assessed at ages 18-25, to registry data on their eventual number of children. Analyses distinguished associations of early drinking patterns with lifetime childlessness from those predictive of family size. Within-twin pair analyses used fixed-effects regression models to account for shared familial confounds and genetic liabilities. Childlessness was analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models and family size with Poisson regression. Analyses within-pairs and of twins as individuals were run before and after adjustment for smoking and education, and for oral contraceptive (OC) use in individual-level analyses of female twins. Results Baseline abstinence and heavier drinking both significantly predicted lifetime childlessness in individual-level analyses. Few abstinent women used OCs, but they were nonetheless more often eventually childless; adjusting for smoking and education did not affect this finding. Excluding childless twins, Poisson models of family size showed heavier drinking at 18-25 to be predictive of fewer children in both men and women. Those associations were replicated in within-pair analyses of dizygotic twins, each level of heavier drinking being associated with smaller families. Among monozygotic twins, associations of drinking with completed family size yielded effects of similar magnitude, reaching significance at the highest levels of consumption, ruling out familial confounds. Conclusions Compared to moderate levels of drinking, both abstinence and heavier drinking in late adolescence/early adulthood predicted a greater likelihood of lifetime childlessness and eventual number of children. Familial confounds do not fully explain these associations.Peer reviewe

Consumer attitudes towards production diseases in intensive production systems

Many members of the public and important stakeholders operating at the upper end of the food chain, may be unfamiliar with how food is produced, including within modern animal production systems. The intensification of production is becoming increasingly common in modern farming. However, intensive systems are particularly susceptible to production diseases, with potentially negative consequences for farm animal welfare (FAW). Previous research has demonstrated that the public are concerned about FAW, yet there has been little research into attitudes towards production diseases, and their approval of interventions to reduce these. This research explores the public’s attitudes towards, and preferences for, FAW interventions in five European countries (Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK). An online survey was conducted for broilers (n = 789), layers (n = 790) and pigs (n = 751). Data were analysed by means of Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The results suggest that the public have concerns regarding intensive production systems, in relation to FAW, naturalness and the use of antibiotics. The most preferred interventions were the most “proactive” interventions, namely improved housing and hygiene measures. The least preferred interventions were medicine-based, which raised humane animal care and food safety concerns amongst respondents. The results highlighted the influence of the identified concerns, perceived risks and benefits on attitudes and subsequent behavioural intention, and the importance of supply chain stakeholders addressing these concerns in the subsequent communications with the public

Myastenia graviksen diagnostiikka ja hoito OYS:n neurologian poliklinikalla

Tiivistelmä. Myastenia gravis on harvinainen hermo-lihasliitosta vaurioittava autoimmuunisairaus. Sen tunnistettavin piirre on eri lihaksissa ilmenevä aaltoileva lihasheikkous. Myastenian diagnoosi perustuu oirekuvaan ja vasta-aine- sekä neurofysiologisiin tutkimuksiin. Parantavaa hoitoa ei ole, mutta oireita voidaan hallita oireenmukaisella ja immunosuppressiivisella lääkityksellä sekä valikoiduissa tapauksissa tymektomialla. Taudin harvinaisuus, heterogeeninen luonne ja vaihtelevat hoitolinjaukset tuovat kuitenkin haasteensa sen diagnostiikkaan ja hoitoon. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tarkastella myasteniapotilaiden diagnostiikan ja hoidon toteutumista Oulun yliopistollisessa sairaalassa (OYS) sekä tutkia myasteniapotilaiden kliinisten piirteiden kirjoa. Tutkimus on retrospektiivinen rekisteritutkimus, johon potilaat kerättiin OYS:n sairauskertomusjärjestelmästä aikaväliltä 1.1.2005–31.12.2014. Aineistoon tuli 76 potilasta, joiden diagnoosi oli varmentunut ja joiden diagnostiikka sekä hoito oli tapahtunut pääosin OYS:ssa. Potilaista kerättiin demografisten tietojen lisäksi tiedot diagnostisten tutkimusten käytöstä ja toteutuneista hoidoista. Myastenian prevalenssi Pohjois-Pohjanmaan väestössä 31.12.2014 oli 16.6/100,000. Keskimääräinen vuosittaisten uusien diagnoosien insidenssi oli 0.17/100,000 vuosina 1985–1994 ja 1.15/100,000 vuosina 2005–2014. Viive oireiden alusta diagnoosiin oli 5.1 kk (vaihteluväli 0.2–127 kk). Pitkäkestoista immunosuppressiivista hoitoa oli saanut 42.1% potilaista. Tymektomia oli tehty 56.6.%:lle potilaista. Kortisonin päivittäinen annos pieneni tymektomian jälkeen, yhden vuoden kohdalla tymektomiasta 6.25 mg ja kahden vuoden kohdalla 7.5 mg. OYS:n neurologian poliklinikalla myastenian diagnostiikka ja hoito olivat pääosin hoitosuositusten mukaisia. Myasteniapotilaiden kliiniset piirteet olivat kirjallisuudessa kuvatun kaltaisia, mutta tymooma oli harvinainen (2.6%)

Association of subclinical psychosis with suicidal ideation : A twin study

Subclinical psychosis, including schizotypal indicators and psychotic experiences, predicts future suicidal ideation. This relationship may reflect unmeasured confounding from environmental factors, genetic factors, or both. We used a genetically-informative twin design to understand if the association between subclinical psychosis and suicidal ideation is independent of shared genetic and environmental factors. We analysed cross-sectional associations of age-22 self-reported subclinical psychosis (positive, negative, and disorganised features) with suicidal ideation in twins participating in the FinnTwin12 study (maximum n = 1213). Then, we analysed the reverse association of age-14 suicidal ideation with age-22 subclinical psychosis. Associations were studied first among individuals and then within monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) pairs. Individual-level analyses showed that all subclinical psychosis factors were associated with suicidal ideation. In within-pair analyses, estimates of associations were lower for MZ pairs than DZ pairs, except for the negative schizotypy-suicidal ideation association where estimates were consistent across individual-level and within-pair analyses. Findings provide evidence that the association between negative features and suicide ideation is not explained by familial factors and may be causal, though the possibility of confounding by individual-specific environmental factors and reverse causation cannot be ruled out. The relationships of positive and disorganised subclinical psychosis features with suicidal ideation cannot be explained by confounding due to environmental factors shared between siblings, but their associations may be due to shared genetic factors. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Finnish Twin Research in the 1930s : Contributions of Arvo Lehtovaara and His Mentor, Eino Kaila

Non peer reviewe

Esiopetuksen pedagogiset oppimisympäristöt päiväkodeissa ja kouluissa

Tiivistelmä. Tutkimme ja vertailimme esiopetuksen pedagogisia oppimisympäristöjä päiväkoti- ja koulukonteksteissa. Tutkimuskysymyksenä on millaisia ovat esiopetuksen pedagogiset oppimisympäristöt päiväkodeissa ja kouluissa. Aikaisempien havaintojemme perusteella olimme epävarmoja tasa-arvoisen esiopetuksen toteutumisesta eri konteksteissa, jonka vuoksi koimme aiheen tärkeäksi. Tutkimus on kvalitatiivinen ja aineiston keräsimme teemahaastatteluilla. Haastatteluihin osallistui kuusi esiopetuksen opettajaa. Teoriaosuudessa avaamme oppimisympäristön käsitettä ja tarkastelemme esiopetusta pedagogisen oppimisympäristön näkökulmasta. Pedagogisessa oppimisympäristössä keskityimme tarkastelemaan erityisesti ulkoisia vaikuttavia tekijöitä, toimintaa ja vuorovaikutusta. Ulkoisia tekijöitä ovat päiväjärjestys, ryhmäkoko sekä fyysiset tilat ja käytettävissä olevat välineet. Toimintaan liittyen käsittelemme suunnittelua, toteutusta ja arviointia. Tutkimme vuorovaikutusta esiopetuksessa ja yhteistyötä vanhempien kanssa sekä koulun ja päiväkodin välillä. Opettaja luo pedagogista oppimisympäristöä. Suunnittelun pohjana toimivat kaikki edellä mainitut pedagogiseen oppimisympäristöön vaikuttavat tekijät. Suunnittelu ohjaa millaista opetusta lapset saavat ja miten opettaja toimii. Ryhmäkoko vaikuttaa siihen, kuinka opettaja pystyy huomioimaan jokaisen lapsen kehityksen yksilöllisesti. Esiopetuksessa yhteisten tavoitteiden lisäksi jokaisella lapsella on yksilölliset tavoitteet, jotka laaditaan yhdessä vanhempien kanssa. Arviointi tulee toteuttaa peilaten asetettuihin tavoitteisiin. Esiopetuskontekstien välillä oli eroja, mutta laadullisesti esiopetus on tasa-arvoista kummassakin kontekstissa. Esiopetuksen toteutumiseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä on monia, sillä niin konteksti, esiopetuksen opettaja kuin ryhmä vaikuttavat siihen millaista esiopetus on. Esiopetuksen yhdenvertaisuutta lisää esiopetussuunnitelma, jonka mukaan esiopetuksen opettaja suunnittelee toimintaa. Tasavertainen esiopetus on jokaisen lapsen oikeus