| 1. |
- Roslin, Tomas, et al.
(författare)
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A molecular-based identification resource for the arthropods of Finland
- 2022
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology Resources. - : Wiley. - 1755-098X .- 1755-0998. ; 22:2, s. 803-822
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To associate specimens identified by molecular characters to other biological knowledge, we need reference sequences annotated by Linnaean taxonomy. In this study, we (1) report the creation of a comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for the arthropods of an entire country (Finland), (2) publish this library, and (3) deliver a new identification tool for insects and spiders, as based on this resource. The reference library contains mtDNA COI barcodes for 11,275 (43%) of 26,437 arthropod species known from Finland, including 10,811 (45%) of 23,956 insect species. To quantify the improvement in identification accuracy enabled by the current reference library, we ran 1000 Finnish insect and spider species through the Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) identification engine. Of these, 91% were correctly assigned to a unique species when compared to the new reference library alone, 85% were correctly identified when compared to BOLD with the new material included, and 75% with the new material excluded. To capitalize on this resource, we used the new reference material to train a probabilistic taxonomic assignment tool, FinPROTAX, scoring high success. For the full-length barcode region, the accuracy of taxonomic assignments at the level of classes, orders, families, subfamilies, tribes, genera, and species reached 99.9%, 99.9%, 99.8%, 99.7%, 99.4%, 96.8%, and 88.5%, respectively. The FinBOL arthropod reference library and FinPROTAX are available through the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (www.laji.fi) at https://laji.fi/en/theme/protax. Overall, the FinBOL investment represents a massive capacity-transfer from the taxonomic community of Finland to all sectors of society.
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| 2. |
- Airaksinen, Jaakko, et al.
(författare)
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Associations Between Cohabitation, Marriage, and Suspected Crime : a Longitudinal Within-Individual Study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of developmental and life course criminology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2199-4641 .- 2199-465X. ; 9:1, s. 54-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effects of marriage on criminal behavior have been studied extensively. As marriages today are typically preceded by cohabiting relationships, there is a growing need to clarify how different relationship types are associated with criminality, and how these effects may be modified by relationship duration, partner's criminality, and crime type. We used Finnish longitudinal register data and between- and within-individual analyses to examine how cohabitation and marriage were associated with suspected crime. The data included 638,118 residents of Finland aged 0-14 in 2000 and followed for 17 years for a suspected crime: having been suspected of violent, drug, or any crime. Between-individual analyses suggested that those who were cohabiting or married had a 40-65% lower risk of being suspected of a crime compared to those who were single, depending on the type of crime. The within-individual analysis showed a 25-50% lower risk for suspected crime when people were cohabiting or married compared to time periods when they were single. Those in a relationship with a criminal partner had 11 times higher risk for suspected crime than those in a relationship with a non-criminal partner. Forming a cohabiting relationship with a non-criminal partner was associated with reduced criminality. The risk reduction was not fully explained by selection effects due to between-individual differences. Marriage did not introduce further reduction to criminality. Our findings demonstrate that selection effects partly explain the association between relationship status and criminality but are also compatible with a causal effect of cohabitation on reduced risk of being suspected of a crime.
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| 3. |
- Airaksinen, Jaakko, et al.
(författare)
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Associations of neighborhood disadvantage and offender concentration with criminal behavior : Between-within analysis in Finnish registry data
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of criminal justice. - : Elsevier BV. - 0047-2352 .- 1873-6203. ; 74
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The association between neighborhood disadvantage and crime has been extensively studied, but most studies have relied on cross-sectional data and have been unable to separate potential effects of the neighborhood from selection effects. We examined how neighborhood disadvantage and offender concentration are associated with criminal behavior while accounting for selection effects due to unobserved time-invariant characteristics of the individuals. We used a registry-based longitudinal dataset that included all children aged 0-14 living in Finland at the end of year 2000 with follow-up until the end of 2017 for criminal offences committed at ages 18-31 years (n = 510,189). Using multilevel logistic regression with a between-within approach we examined whether neighborhoods differed in criminal behavior and whether within-individual changes in neighborhood disadvantage and offender concentration were associated with within-individual changes in criminal behavior. Our results indicated strong associations of most measures of neighborhood disadvantage and offender concentration with criminal behavior between individuals. The within-individual estimates accounting for selection related to unobserved individual characteristics were mostly non-significant with the exception of higher neighborhood disadvantage being associated with increased risk for violent crimes. Our findings suggest that criminal behavior is better explained by individual characteristics than by causal effects of neighborhoods.
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| 4. |
- Aradhya, Siddartha, et al.
(författare)
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Maternal age and the risk of low birthweight and pre-term delivery : a pan-Nordic comparison
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 52:1, s. 156-164
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Advanced maternal age at birth is considered a risk factor for adverse birth outcomes. A recent study applying a sibling design has shown, however, that the association might be confounded by unobserved maternal characteristics.Methods: Using total population register data on all live singleton births during the period 1999–2012 in Denmark (N = 580 133; 90% population coverage), Norway (N = 540 890) and Sweden (N = 941 403) and from 2001–2014 in Finland (N = 568 026), we test whether advanced maternal age at birth independently increases the risk of low birthweight (LBW) (<2500 g) and pre-term birth (<37 weeks gestation). We estimated within-family models to reduce confounding by unobserved maternal characteristics shared by siblings using three model specifications: Model 0 examines the bivariate association; Model 1 adjusts for parity and sex; Model 2 for parity, sex and birth year.Results: The main results (Model 1) show an increased risk in LBW and pre-term delivery with increasing maternal ages. For example, compared with maternal ages of 26–27 years, maternal ages of 38–39 years display a 2.2, 0.9, 2.1 and 2.4 percentage point increase in the risk of LBW in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, respectively. The same patterns hold for pre-term delivery.Conclusions: Advanced maternal age is independently associated with higher risk of poor perinatal health outcomes even after adjusting for all observed and unobserved factors shared between siblings.
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| 5. |
- Avendano, Mauricio, et al.
(författare)
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Are some populations resilient to recessions? Economic fluctuations and mortality during a period of economic decline and recovery in Finland
- 2017
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Ingår i: European Journal of Epidemiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0393-2990 .- 1573-7284. ; 32:1, s. 77-85
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper uses individual-level longitudinal data on working-age Finns to examine the health effects of economic fluctuations during a period of economic decline (1989-1996) and recovery (1997-2007) in Finland. We used a nationally representative, longitudinal sample formed by linking population, employment and mortality registers (n = 698,484; 7,719,870 person-years). We implemented a region fixed-effect model that exploits within-regional variations over time in the unemployment rate to identify the effect of economic fluctuations on mortality, controlling for individual employment transitions. Unemployment rates increased from 5.2 % in 1989 to 19.8 % in 1996, declining gradually thereafter and reaching 9.7 % in 2007. Results indicate that these large fluctuations in the economy had no impact on the overall mortality of most working age Finns. The exception was highly educated men, who experienced an increase of 7 % (Rate ratio = 1.07, 95 % confidence interval 1.04, 1.10) for every one-point increase in the regional unemployment rate during the period 1989-1996 due to increased mortality from cardiovascular disease and suicide. This increase, however, was not robust in models that used the employment to population ratio as measure of the economy. Unemployment rates were unrelated to mortality among females, lower educated men, and among any group during economic recovery (1997-2007). For most Finns, we found no consistent evidence of changes in mortality in response to contractions or expansions in the economy. Possible explanations include the weak impact of the recession on wages, as well as the generous unemployment insurance and social benefit system in Finland.
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| 6. |
- Baars, Adája E, et al.
(författare)
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Fruit and vegetable consumption and its contribution to inequalities in life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy in ten European countries
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Public Health. - : Springer. - 1661-8556 .- 1661-8564. ; 64:6, s. 861-872
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To assess to what extent educational differences in total life expectancy (TLE) and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) could be reduced by improving fruit and vegetable consumption in ten European countries.METHODS: Data from national census or registries with mortality follow-up, EU-SILC, and ESS were used in two scenarios to calculate the impact: the upward levelling scenario (exposure in low educated equals exposure in high educated) and the elimination scenario (no exposure in both groups). Results are estimated for men and women between ages 35 and 79 years.RESULTS: Varying by country, upward levelling reduced inequalities in DFLE by 0.1-1.1 years (1-10%) in males, and by 0.0-1.3 years (0-18%) in females. Eliminating exposure reduced inequalities in DFLE between 0.6 and 1.7 years for males (6-15%), and between 0.1 years and 1.8 years for females (3-20%).CONCLUSIONS: Upward levelling of fruit and vegetable consumption would have a small, positive effect on both TLE and DFLE, and could potentially reduce inequalities in TLE and DFLE.
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| 7. |
- Barbuscia, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Maternal age and risk of low birth weight and premature birth in children conceived through medically assisted reproduction. Evidence from Finnish population registers
- 2020
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Ingår i: Human Reproduction. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0268-1161 .- 1460-2350. ; 35:1, s. 212-220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- STUDY QUESTION: Does the risk of low birth weight and premature birth increase with age among mothers who conceive through medically assisted reproduction (MAR)?SUMMARY ANSWER: Among MAR mothers, the risk of poorer birth outcomes does not increase with maternal age at birth except at very advanced maternal ages (40+).WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The use of MAR treatments has been increasing over the last few decades and is especially diffused among women who conceive at older ages. Although advanced maternal age is a well-known risk factor for adverse birth outcomes in natural pregnancies, only a few studies have directly analysed the maternal age gradient in birth outcomes for MAR mothers.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: The base dataset was a 20% random sample of households with at least one child aged 0-14 at the end of 2000, drawn from the Finnish population register and other administrative registers. This study included children who were born in 1995-2000, because the information on whether a child was conceived through MAR or naturally was available only from 1995 onwards.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: The outcome measures were whether the child had low birth weight (LBW, <2500 g at birth) and whether the child was delivered preterm (<37 weeks of gestation). Conceptions through MAR were identified by examining data on purchases of prescription medication from the National Prescription Register. Linear probability models were used to analyse and compare the maternal age gradients in birth outcomes of mothers who conceived through MAR or naturally before and after adjustment for maternal characteristics (i.e. whether the mother suffered from acute/chronic conditions before the pregnancy, household income and whether the mother smoked during pregnancy).MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: A total of 56026 children, 2624 of whom were conceived through MAR treatments, were included in the study. Among the mothers who used MAR to conceive, maternal age was not associated with an increased risk of LBW (the overall prevalence was 12.6%) at ages 25-39. For example, compared to the risk of LBW at ages 30-34, the risk was 0.22 percentage points lower (95% CI: -3.2, 2.8) at ages 25-29 and was 1.34 percentage points lower (95% CI: -4.5, 1.0) at ages 35-39. The risk of LBW was increased only at maternal ages >= 40 (six percentage points, 95% CI: 0.2, 12). Adjustment for maternal characteristics only marginally attenuated these associations. In contrast, among the mothers who conceived naturally, the results showed a clear age gradient. For example, compared to the risk of LBW (the overall prevalence was 3.3%) at maternal ages 30-34, the risk was 1.1 percentage points higher (95% CI: 0.6, 1.6) at ages 35-39 and was 1.5 percentage points higher (95% CI: 0.5, 2.6) at ages >= 40. The results were similar for preterm births.LIMITATIONS, REASON FOR CAUTION: A limited number of confounders were included in the study because of the administrative nature of the data used. Our ability to reliably distinguish mothers based on MAR treatment type was also limited. WIDERIMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: This is the first study to analyse the maternal age gradient in the risk of adverse birth outcomes among children conceived through MAR using data from a nationally representative sample and controlling for important maternal health and socio-economic characteristics. This topic is of considerable importance in light of the widespread and increasing use of MAR treatments.
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| 8. |
- Bijlsma, Maarten J., et al.
(författare)
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The Impact of Unemployment on Antidepressant Purchasing : Adjusting for Unobserved Time-constant Confounding in the g-Formula
- 2019
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Ingår i: Epidemiology. - 1044-3983 .- 1531-5487. ; 30:3, s. 388-395
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The estimated effect of unemployment on depression may be biased by time-varying, intermediate, and time-constant confounding. One of the few methods that can account for these sources of bias is the parametric g-formula, but until now this method has required that all relevant confounders be measured.Methods: We combine the g-formula with methods to adjust for unmeasured time-constant confounding. We use this method to estimate how antidepressant purchasing is affected by a hypothetical intervention that provides employment to the unemployed. The analyses are based on an 11% random sample of the Finnish population who were 30–35 years of age in 1995 (n = 49,753) and followed until 2012. We compare estimates that adjust for measured baseline confounders and time-varying socioeconomic covariates (confounders and mediators) with estimates that also include individual-level fixed-effect intercepts.Results: In the empirical data, around 10% of person-years are unemployed. Setting these person-years to employed, the g-formula without individual intercepts found a 5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.5%, 7.4%) reduction in antidepressant purchasing at the population level. However, when also adjusting for individual intercepts, we find no association (−0.1%; 95% CI = −1.8%, 1.5%).Conclusions: The results indicate that the relationship between unemployment and antidepressants is confounded by residual time-constant confounding (selection). However, restrictions on the effective sample when using individual intercepts can compromise the validity of the results. Overall our approach highlights the potential importance of adjusting for unobserved time-constant confounding in epidemiologic studies and demonstrates one way that this can be done.
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| 9. |
- Bijlsma, Maarten J., et al.
(författare)
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Unemployment and subsequent depression : A mediation analysis using the parametric G-formula
- 2017
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Ingår i: Social Science and Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-9536 .- 1873-5347. ; 194, s. 142-150
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effects of unemployment on depression are difficult to establish because of confounding and limited understanding of the mechanisms at the population level. In particular, due to longitudinal interdependencies between exposures, mediators and outcomes, intermediate confounding is an obstacle for mediation analyses. Using longitudinal Finnish register data on socio-economic characteristics and medication purchases, we extracted individuals who entered the labor market between ages 16 and 25 in the period 1996 to 2001 and followed them until the year 2007 (n = 42,172). With the parametric G-formula we estimated the population averaged effect on first antidepressant purchase of a simulated intervention which set all unemployed person years to employed. In the data, 74% of person-years were employed and 8% unemployed, the rest belonging to studying or other status. In the intervention scenario, employment rose to 85% and the hazard of first antidepressant purchase decreased by 7.6%. Of this reduction 61% was mediated, operating primarily through changes in income and household status, while mediation through other health conditions was negligible. These effects were negligible for women and particularly prominent among less educated men. By taking complex interdependencies into account in a framework of observed repeated measures data, we found that eradicating unemployment raises income levels, promotes family formation, and thereby reduces antidepressant consumption at the population-level.
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| 10. |
- Bishop, Lauren, et al.
(författare)
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Offspring hospitalization for substance use and changes in parental mental health : A Finnish register-based study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Advances in Life Course Research. - 1040-2608. ; 57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prior research indicates that parental psychiatric disorders increase their offspring's risk of substance use problems. Though the association is likely bidirectional, the effects of an adult child's substance use on parental mental health remain understudied. We examined parents' psychotropic medication use trajectories by parental sex and educational attainment before and after a child's alcohol- or narcotics-attributable hospitalization. We identified Finnish residents, born 1979-1988, with a first hospitalization for substance use during emerging adulthood (ages 18-29, n = 12,851). Their biological mothers (n = 12,283) and/or fathers (n = 10,765) were followed for the two years before and after the hospitalization. Psychotropic medication use was measured in three-month periods centered around the time of child's hospitalization, and the probability of psychotropic medication use at each time point was assessed using generalized estimating equations logit models. Among mothers, the prevalence of psychotropic medication use increased during the year before, peaked during the 0-3 months after hospitalization, and remained at a similarly elevated level until the end of follow-up. The prevalence among fathers increased gradually and linearly across follow-up, with minimal changes evident either directly before or after the hospitalization. Parents' educational attainment did not modify these trajectories. Our results highlight the importance of considering linked lives when quantifying substance use-attributable harms and underscore the need for future research examining the intergenerational spillover effects of substance use in both directions, particularly in mother-child dyads.
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