Anja Taanila

Chronic conditions are common in childhood. We investigated the associations of childhood chronic conditions reported by parents with subsequent self-reported internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. A sample of 6290 children (3142 boys and 3148 girls) with data on chronic condition reported by parents both at 7 and at 16 years of age was obtained from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC 1986), which is a longitudinal 1-year birth cohort (n = 9432) from an unselected, regionally defined population. Internalizing and externalizing problems were measured at 8 years of age with Rutter Children’s Behavioral Questionnaire by teachers and at 16 years of age with Youth Self-Report by adolescents. When studying the effects of history of chronic conditions on these problems at 16 years of age, childhood internalizing and externalizing problems and social relations were adjusted. A history of chronic condition predicted subsequent somatic complaints among all adolescents. Early-onset chronic conditions were related to subsequent externalizing (OR 1.35; 1.02–1.79) and attention problems (OR 1.33; 1.01–1.75) and later onset of chronic conditions with internalizing (OR 1.49; 1.22–1.82) and thought problems (OR 1.50; 1.18–1.92). The effect was specific for sex and the type of chronic condition.Conclusion: Childhood chronic conditions predicted internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. To prevent poor mental health trajectories, children with chronic conditions during their growth to adolescence need early support and long-term monitoring. What is Known:• Childhood adversities increase the risk of mental disorders.• Internalizing and externalizing problems have been suggested for measuring childhood and adolescent psychopathologies. What is New:• Having a chronic condition (CC) before the age of 7 or later but before the age of 16 had different outcomes in adolescence. The early onset predicted externalizing problems, whereas the late onset predicted internalizing problems and thought problems in adolescence. The risk of somatic complaints was increased regardless of CC onset time. These findings can reflect more restricted ability to mental processing in the younger children.

Objective. Cultural or ethnic factors may play an important role in subjects’ pain reports. The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence of orofacial pain symptoms between Finnish and Thai populations. Materials and methods. The Finnish study population comprised the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, of which 5696 subjects participated in the present study. The Thai sample consisted of 1501 randomly selected people living in 10 different districts in Bangkok. Data on orofacial pain was collected based on questionnaires. Results. After adjusting for age, gender and education, the logistic regression analysis showed that Thai subjects had an increased risk for reporting oral pain (OR = 4.5, 95% CI = 3.7–5.4), tooth pain (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.8–2.4) and pain in the face (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.2–1.7). Conclusions. It can be concluded that Thai people report more orofacial pain symptoms than Finnish subjects. Cross-cultural factors exist in the background of reporting pain symptoms in the oral and facial area.

The Northern Finland 1966 birth cohort (NFBC 1966) is an epidemiological study where the participants have been controlled since pregnancy both in field tests and using questionnaires. This study aimed to evaluate cross-sectionally the association of self-reported oral symptoms (dental caries and bleeding of gums) with sociodemographic and health behavior factors among the subjects. Of the 11,541 original members of the cohort, 8,690 (75%) responded to the questionnaire on oral health (dental decay, gingival bleeding and self-estimated dental treatment need) and sociodemographic factors, general health and health behavior. Cross-tabulation and chi-squared tests as well as multiple logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the association between the outcome and explanatory variables. The study group was equally distributed between the genders. One third of the subjects reported having dental decay, one fourth gingival bleeding and a half a dental treatment need. As compared to women, men reported significantly more frequently symptoms (p < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed low tooth brushing frequency increasing the odds most for all oral symptoms ((OR 1.57 (1.39–1.78) for dental decay, 1.94 (1.68-2.24) for gingival bleeding and 1.42 (1.26-1.61) for dental treatment need). Frequent smoking was associated with dental decay (OR 1.63 (1.44–1.84)) and treatment need OR (1.39 (1.23–1.56)), whereas poor general health (OR 1.71 (1.48–1.96)) and high BMI (OR 1.19 (1.03–1.36)) both were associated with gingival bleeding. Males with single marital status, BMI over 25, poor general health and poor oral health behaviors are at risk for self-reported poor oral health and dental treatment need.

Background: Although a pathway from childhood behavioural disorders to criminal offending is well established, the aetiological processes remain poorly understood. Also, it is not clear if attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is predictive of crime in the absence of comorbid disruptive behaviour disorder (DBD).Hypothesis: We examined two research questions: (1) Does ADHD have a unique effect on the risk of criminal offending, independently of DBD? (2) Is the effect of childhood behavioural disorders on criminal offending direct or mediated by adolescent processes related to school experience, substance misuse and peers?Method: Structural equation modelling, with latent variables, was applied to longitudinally collected data on 4644 men from the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study.Results: Both ADHD and DBD separately predicted felony conviction risk. Most of these effects were mediated by adolescent alcohol use and low academic performance. The effect of DBD was stronger and included a direct pathway to criminal offending.Conclusion: Findings were more consistent with the life course mediation hypothesis of pathways into crime than the behavioural continuity path, in that the effects of each disorder category were mediated by heavy drinking and educational failure. Preventing these adolescent risk outcomes may be an effective approach to closing pathways to criminal behaviour amongst behaviourally disordered children. However, as there was some evidence of a direct pathway from DBD, effective treatments targeting this disorder are also expected to reduce criminal offending. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The effect of urban sprawl on body weight in Finland is not well known. To provide more information, we examined whether body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of overweight are associated with an individual’s distance to the local community centre and population density in his/her resident area.

To describe the rationale and design of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort (NFBC) Eye Study.

Objective: The authors investigated whether childhood specific learning difficulties (SLDs) predict later school performance in adolescents with ADHD symptoms (ADHDs) and how SLDs associate with educational aspirations. Method: In the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n = 9,432), data about children were collected using questionnaires for parents and teachers at ages 7 and 8 and for parents and adolescents at ages 15/16. Information on school performance was obtained from a national register. Results: The occurrence of SLDs at 8 years was 19.9% (n = 1,198), ADHDs at 15/16 years was 8.0% (n = 530), and comorbid ADHDs and SLDs was 3.0% (n = 179). Having ADHDs but not SLDs or having both was associated with a significantly lower mean value in school grades for theoretical subjects. Adolescents with comorbid ADHDs and SLDs repeated a grade more often, and their educational aspirations were less ambitious than those in other groups. Conclusion: ADHDs and SLDs have a negative influence on academic achievements.