Cohort Profile: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study

In Finland, coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence was very high in the 1960s and 1970s. In line with this high incidence, the Seven Countries Study showed that the level of serum cholesterol in Finns was also the highest among the investigated countries in the 1960s. Because several studies indicated that the atherosclerotic process starts early in life, and in accord with the World Health Organization Recommendation of 1978 which stated that studies assessing atherosclerosis precursors in children should be initiated, a program was launched in Finland in the late 1970s to study cardiovascular risk in the youth. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study was designed as a collaborative effort between five university departments of medical schools (i.e. in Helsinki, Kuopio, Oulu, Tampere and Turku) and several other institutions in Finland. The aim was to study the levels of CHD risk factors and their determinants in children and adolescents of various ages in different parts of the country. Two pilot studies were carried out in 1978 (N1⁄4 264, age 8 years) and in 1979 (N1⁄4 634, aged 3, 12 and 17 years). The first main cross-sectional (baseline) study was performed in 1980. The baseline study included 3596 children and adolescents aged 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 years. Between 1980 and 1992, these cohorts were followed up at 3-year intervals. The latest examination of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study was performed in 2001, when the participants were young adults, aged 24–39 years. At the time of writing, the 27-year (i.e. 27 years since the start of the study when the participants are aged 30–45 years) follow-up field studies are being conducted, and will be completed in the beginning of 2008.