Olli Raitakari profile picture
Olli
Raitakari
Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine (CAPC)
InFLAMES Flagship
MD/PhD

Contact

+358 29 450 2304
Kiinamyllynkatu 10
20520
Turku

Areas of expertise

cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
risk factors
vascular epidemiology
genetic epidemiology
epidemiology
dietary intervention
cohort studies
follow-up studies

Biography

EDUCATION AND DEGREES
 
2001   Docent in Clinical Physiology
1997-1999  Postdoc training, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia
1997   Docent in Epidemiology
1996   Specialist in Clinical Physiology 
1995   Doctorate, PhD
1989   Licentiate in Medicine, MD

CURRENT POSITIONS

2017-                 Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine, Director of the Research Centre of Applied and 
                          Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Finland                         

 

PAST POSITIONS

2012-2016                          Academy Professor, University of Turku

2007-2016                          Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine (part time), University of Turku

2007-2008                          Senior Scientist Grant, Academy of Finland

2004-2016                          Chief Physician, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku
                                           University Hospital (leave of absence 2012-2016)

2002-2004                          Consultant in Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku University Hospital

2002 (1 mo)                        Head of Nuclear Medicine Department, Turku University Hospital

2000-2003 (3 mo)               Head of Clinical Physiology Department, Turku University Hospital

2000-2005                          Senior Fellow Post, Academy of Finland

1998-2000                          Postdoctoral Research Post, Academy of Finland

1996-1997                          Consultant in Clinical Physiology, Turku University Hospital

1991-1996                          Positions as Resident in Clinical Chemistry, Nuclear Medicine, and Clinical 
                                           Physiology, Turku University Hospital

1988-1990                          Positions as General Practioner and Resident in Internal Medicine or Surgery


Research

Evidence suggest that many non-communicable disease outcomes have roots in childhood and may even stem of adverse ancestral exposures. Improved knowledge how various ancestral and early-life exposures lead to adult disease outcomes is essential in developing better preventive practices and policies that lead to improved public health. My mission has been to contribute to this knowledge-base by working in epidemiologic cohort studies with follow-up from childhood to adulthood. I am the Principal Investigator of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS), the largest study in Europe with a follow-up of cardiovascular risk factors from childhood to adulthood. I am also the Director of the STRIP Study, which is a leading long-term pediatric dietary intervention study testing the hypothesis that modifying the fat quality diet will have beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk early in life. During the past years, I have organized several field studies in these cohorts, and introduced novel technologies, such as imaging studies, genetic epidemiology methods and metabolomics approaches in these unique population resources. Our research has contributed to the understanding of pre-clinical development of atherosclerosis in children and young adults, including the effects of diet, life-style, metabolic risk factors, psychological traits and psychosocial factors, inflammation, hormones and genetic markers. For example, by applying non-invasive imaging methods in the Young Finns Study, we have demonstrated that exposure to adverse lipids, elevated blood pressure and obesity in childhood is related to atherosclerosis development in adulthood (JAMA 2003). Subsequent work stemmed from this initial observation has led to numerous original publications that have shown in detail how exposure to a large range of aetiogenic factors early in life contribute to the development of cardio-metabolic outcomes in adulthood. For example, by pooling international i3C Consortium data, we have demonstrated that overweight or obese children who became non-obese by adulthood had similar risks of many cardio-metabolic adult outcomes as individuals who were never obese (NEJM 2011). Thus, the results of our studies have clearly demonstrated that individual’s exposure to various stressors in early life is contributing to his/her adult phenotype and disease risk. The results have had significant impact on preventive practices. As a concrete demonstration of the international recognition and impact of my team’s work, many of our studies are widely cited in all updated paediatric guidelines on cardiovascular prevention both in Europe and in US.

Publications

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Target genes, variants, tissues and transcriptional pathways influencing human serum urate levels (2019)

Nature Genetics
Tin A, Marten J, Halperin Kuhns VL, Li Y, Wuttke M, Kirsten H, Sieber KB, Qiu C, Gorski M, Yu Z, Giri A, Sveinbjornsson G, Li M, Chu AY, Hoppmann A, O'Connor LJ, Prins B, Nutile T, Noce D, Akiyama M, Cocca M, Ghasemi S, van der Most PJ, Horn K, Xu Y, Fuchsberger C, Sedaghat S, Afaq S, Amin N, Ärnlöv J, Bakker SJL, Bansal N, Baptista D, Bergmann S, Biggs ML, Biino G, Boerwinkle E, Bottinger EP, Boutin TS, Brumat M, Burkhardt R, Campana E, Campbell A, Campbell H, Carroll RJ, Catamo E, Chambers JC, Ciullo M, Concas MP, Coresh J, Corre T, Cusi D, Felicita SC, de Borst MH, De Grandi A, de Mutsert R, de Vries APJ, Delgado G, Demirkan A, Devuyst O, Dittrich K, Eckardt KU, Ehret G, Endlich K, Evans MK, Gansevoort RT, Gasparini P, Giedraitis V, Gieger C, Girotto G, Gögele M, Gordon SD, Gudbjartsson DF, Gudnason V; German Chronic Kidney Disease Study, Haller T, Hamet P, Harris TB, Hayward C, Hicks AA, Hofer E, Holm H, Huang W, Hutri-Kähönen N, Hwang SJ, Ikram MA, Lewis RM, Ingelsson E, Jakobsdottir J, Jonsdottir I, Jonsson H, Joshi PK, Josyula NS, Jung B, Kähönen M, Kamatani Y, Kanai M, Kerr SM, Kiess W, Kleber ME, Koenig W, Kooner JS, Körner A, Kovacs P, Krämer BK, Kronenberg F, Kubo M, Kühnel B, La Bianca M, Lange LA, Lehne B, Lehtimäki T; Lifelines Cohort Study, Liu J, Loeffler M, Loos RJF, Lyytikäinen LP, Magi R, Mahajan A, Martin NG, März W, Mascalzoni D, Matsuda K, Meisinger C, Meitinger T, Metspalu A, Milaneschi Y; V. A. Million Veteran Program, O'Donnell CJ, Wilson OD, Gaziano JM, Mishra PP, Mohlke KL, Mononen N, Montgomery GW, Mook-Kanamori DO, Müller-Nurasyid M, Nadkarni GN, Nalls MA, Nauck M, Nikus K, Ning B, Nolte IM, Noordam R, O'Connell JR, Olafsson I, Padmanabhan S, Penninx BWJH, Perls T, Peters A, Pirastu M, Pirastu N, Pistis G, Polasek O, Ponte B, Porteous DJ, Poulain T, Preuss MH, Rabelink TJ, Raffield LM, Raitakari OT, Rettig R, Rheinberger M, Rice KM, Rizzi F, Robino A, Rudan I, Krajcoviechova A, Cifkova R, Rueedi R, Ruggiero D, Ryan KA, Saba Y, Salvi E, Schmidt H, Schmidt R, Shaffer CM, Smith AV, Smith BH, Spracklen CN, Strauch K, Stumvoll M, Sulem P, Tajuddin SM, Teren A, Thiery J, Thio CHL, Thorsteinsdottir U, Toniolo D, Tönjes A, Tremblay J, Uitterlinden AG, Vaccargiu S, van der Harst P, van Duijn CM, Verweij N, Völker U, Vollenweider P, Waeber G, Waldenberger M, Whitfield JB, Wild SH, Wilson JF, Yang Q, Zhang W, Zonderman AB, Bochud M, Wilson JG, Pendergrass SA, Ho K, Parsa A, Pramstaller PP, Psaty BM, Böger CA, Snieder H, Butterworth AS, Okada Y, Edwards TL, Stefansson K, Susztak K, Scholz M, Heid IM, Hung AM, Teumer A, Pattaro C, Woodward OM, Vitart V, Köttgen A
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Childhood Exposure to Passive Smoking and Bone Health in Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2019)

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Markus Juonala, Niina Pitkänen, Sanna Tolonen, Marika Laaksonen, Harri Sievänen, Eero Jokinen, Tomi Laitinen, Matthew A Sabin, Nina Hutri-Kähönen, Terho Lehtimäki, Leena Taittonen, Antti Jula, Britt-Marie Loo, Olli Impivaara, Mika Kähönen, Costan G Magnussen, Jorma S A Viikari, Olli T Raitakari
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Multi-ancestry study of blood lipid levels identifies four loci interacting with physical activity (2019)

Nature Communications
Kilpeläinen T.O., Bentley A.R., Noordam R., Sung Y.J., Schwander K., Winkler T.W., Jakupović H., Chasman D.I., Manning A., Ntalla I., Aschard H., Brown M.R., de las Fuentes L., Franceschini N., Guo X., Vojinovic D., Aslibekyan S., Feitosa M.F., Kho M., Musani S.K., Richard M., Wang H., Wang Z., Bartz T.M., Bielak L.F., Campbell A., Dorajoo R., Fisher V., Hartwig F.P., Horimoto A.R.V.R., Li C., Lohman K.K., Marten J., Sim X., Smith A.V., Tajuddin S.M., Alver M., Amini M., Boissel M., Chai J.F., Chen X., Divers J., Evangelou E., Gao C., Graff M., Harris S.E., He M., Hsu F.-C., Jackson A.U., Zhao J.H., Kraja A.T., Kühnel B., Laguzzi F., Lyytikäinen L.-P., Nolte I.M., Rauramaa R., Riaz M., Robino A., Rueedi R., Stringham H.M., Takeuchi F., van der Most P.J., Varga T.V., Verweij N., Ware E.B., Wen W., Li X., Yanek L.R., Amin N., Arnett D.K., Boerwinkle E., Brumat M., Cade B., Canouil M., Chen Y.-D.I., Concas M.P., Connell J., de Mutsert R., de Silva H.J., de Vries P.S., Demirkan A., Ding J., Eaton C.B., Faul J.D., Friedlander Y., Gabriel K.P., Ghanbari M., Giulianini F., Gu C.C., Gu D., Harris T.B., He J., Heikkinen S., Heng C.-K., Hunt S.C., Ikram M.A., Jonas J.B., Koh W.-P., Komulainen P., Krieger J.E., Kritchevsky S.B., Kutalik Z., Kuusisto J., Langefeld C.D., Langenberg C., Launer L.J., Leander K., Lemaitre R.N., Lewis C.E., Liang J., Alizadeh B.Z., Boezen H.M., Franke L., Navis G., Rots M., Swertz M., Wolffenbuttel B.H.R., Wijmenga C., Liu J., Mägi R., Manichaikul A., Meitinger T., Metspalu A., Milaneschi Y., Mohlke K.L., Mosley T.H., Jr., Murray A.D., Nalls M.A., Nang E.-E.K., Nelson C.P., Nona S., Norris J.M., Nwuba C.V., O’Connell J., Palmer N.D., Papanicolau G.J., Pazoki R., Pedersen N.L., Peters A., Peyser P.A., Polasek O., Porteous D.J., Poveda A., Raitakari O.T., Rich S.S., Risch N., Robinson J.G., Rose L.M., Rudan I., Schreiner P.J., Scott R.A., Sidney S.S., Sims M., Smith J.A., Snieder H., Sofer T., Starr J.M., Sternfeld B., Strauch K., Tang H., Taylor K.D., Tsai M.Y., Tuomilehto J., Uitterlinden A.G., van der Ende M.Y., van Heemst D., Voortman T., Waldenberger M., Wennberg P., Wilson G., Xiang Y.-B., Yao J., Yu C., Yuan J.-M., Zhao W., Zonderman A.B., Becker D.M., Boehnke M., Bowden D.W., de Faire U., Deary I.J., Elliott P., Esko T., Freedman B.I., Froguel P., Gasparini P., Gieger C., Kato N., Laakso M., Lakka T.A., Lehtimäki T., Magnusson P.K.E., Oldehinkel A.J., Penninx B.W.J.H., Samani N.J., Shu X.-O., van der Harst P., Van Vliet-Ostaptchouk J.V., Vollenweider P., Wagenknecht L.E., Wang Y.X., Wareham N.J., Weir D.R., Wu T., Zheng W., Zhu X., Evans M.K., Franks P.W., Gudnason V., Hayward C., Horta B.L., Kelly T.N., Liu Y., North K.E., Pereira A.C., Ridker P.M., Tai E.S., van Dam R.M., Fox E.R., Kardia S.L.R., Liu C.-T., Mook-Kanamori D.O., Province M.A., Redline S., van Duijn C.M., Rotter J.I., Kooperberg C.B., Gauderman W.J., Psaty B.M., Rice K., Munroe P.B., Fornage M., Cupples L.A., Rotimi C.N., Morrison A.C., Rao D.C., Loos R.J.F.; Lifelines Cohort Study
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Associations of Leisure-Time Physical Activity Trajectories with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption from Childhood to Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2019)

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Lounassalo I, Hirvensalo M, Kankaanpää A, Tolvanen A, Palomäki S, Salin K, Fogelholm M, Yang X, Pahkala K, Rovio S, Hutri-Kähönen N, Raitakari O, Tammelin TH
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Physical Activity, Sleep, and Symptoms of Depression in Adults-Testing for Mediation (2019)

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
Kaisa Kaseva, Henrik Dobewall, Xiaolin Yang, Laura Pulkki-Råback, Jari Lipsanen, Taina Hintsa, Mirka Hintsanen, Sampsa Puttonen, Mirja Hirvensalo, Marko Elovainio, Olli Raitakari, Tuija Tammelin
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Circulating metabolites and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a prospective study of 11,896 young adults from four Finnish cohorts (2019)

Diabetologia
Ari V. Ahola-Olli, Linda Mustelin, Maria Kalimeri, Johannes Kettunen, Jari Jokelainen, Juha Auvinen, Katri Puukka, Aki S. Havulinna, Terho Lehtimäki, Mika Kähönen, Markus Juonala, Sirkka Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi, Veikko Salomaa, Markus Perola, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin, Mika Ala-Korpela, Olli Raitakari, Peter Würtz
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))