Harri Sievänen

UKK Institute

Purpose Sedentary behavior (SB), mainly sitting, covers most of the waking hours in Western populations, and is found harmful to health and well-being, partly independently of physical activity (PA). The purpose of the present study was to describe trends of SB among school-aged children, adolescents, and adults in Finnish population-based studies....

Introduction High cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) allows individuals to perform daily activities and operate at higher intensity levels. This study investigates the association between the CRF and peak intensity of physical activity (PA) in absolute and relative terms. Absolute intensity measures the amount of energy expended per unit of time durin...

Preoperative cardiorespiratory fitness may influence the recovery after cardiac procedure. The aim of this study was to investigate the cardiorespiratory fitness of patients scheduled for elective cardiac procedures using six-minute walk test and compare the results with population-based sample of Finnish adults. Patients (n=234) awaiting percutane...

Background Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy diagnosed in children. At present, the long-term survival from pediatric ALL is well over 90%. However, the probability of event-free survival is reduced if the lumbar puncture (LP) procedures at the beginning of the patient’s intrathecal therapy cause blood leakage into th...

Sedentary behavior (SB) and physical inactivity associate with impaired insulin sensitivity. We investigated whether an intervention aimed at a 1h reduction in daily SB during 6 months would improve insulin sensitivity in the weight-bearing thigh muscles. Forty-four sedentary inactive adults [mean age 58 (SD 7) years; 43% men] with metabolic syndro...

Accelerometer data can be used to estimate incident oxygen consumption (VO2) during physical activity. Relationships between the accelerometer metrics and VO2 are typically determined using specific walking or running protocols on a track or treadmill. In this study, we compared the predictive performance of three different metrics based on the mea...

Background Falls are a substantial health problem among older adults. An accessible and reliable tool for assessing individual fall risk is needed. Aims The predictive ability of a one-page self-rated fall risk assessment form (KaatumisSeula® [KS]) was evaluated among older women in its current form. Methods A subsample (n = 384) of community-liv...

Introduction Poor cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with adverse health outcomes. Previous observational and cross‐sectional studies have suggested that reducing sedentary behavior (SB) might improve CRF. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a 6‐month intervention of reducing SB on CRF in 64 sedentary inactive adults with metabolic...

Work ability (WA) reflects an individual's resources, work demands, and related environment. Self-reports have shown that higher physical activity (PA) is associated with better WA. This study investigated associations of accelerometer-measured (24/7) physical behavior and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with WA. In the FinFit2017-population-based...

Introduction: Lumbar puncture (LP) is a widely used diagnostic method in patients of all ages. Blood-contaminated cerebrospinal fluid samples are frequent and may compromise diagnostic accuracy. Objectives: We determined age-specific incidences of traumatic LPs (TLPs) in adults and examined factors that accounted for the incidence of TLPs. Meth...

Objective To investigate the associations of sedentary time, physical activity, and cardiorespiratory fitness with skeletal muscle glucose uptake (GU). Methods Sedentary time and physical activity were measured with accelerometers, and VO2max with cycle ergometry in 44 sedentary adults with metabolic syndrome. Thigh muscle GU was determined with [...

This study aimed to investigate the nutritional status, nutrient intake and associated factors among older home care clients, caregivers and care recipients (≥65 years) living at home. There were a total of 78 participants, with a mean age of 78 ± 7.4 years. Nutritional status was assessed with the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), nutrient intake...

Introduction Gestational diabetes (GDM) causes various adverse short-term and long-term consequences for the mother and child, and its incidence is increasing globally. So far, the most promising digital health interventions for GDM management have involved healthcare professionals to provide guidance and feedback. The principal aim of this study i...

Background: This study examined whether hemoglobin (Hb) and white blood cell count (WBC) associate with body adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors, as well as accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA), when adjusted for body mass index (BMI). Methods: The cross-sectional analysis included 144 participan...

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between liver fat content (LFC), sedentary behaviour (SB), physical activity (PA), fitness, diet, body composition, and cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with metabolic syndrome. A total of 44 sedentary adults (mean age 58 [SD 7] years; 25 women) with overweight or obesity participated....

Purpose: To investigate whether a reduction in daily sedentary behavior (SB) improves insulin sensitivity in adults with metabolic syndrome in 6 months, without adding intentional exercise training. Methods: Sixty-four sedentary inactive middle-aged adults with overweight and metabolic syndrome [mean age 58 (SD 7) years, mean BMI 31.6 (SD 4.3) k...

Aim We aimed at identifying the shared biological processes underlying atherosclerosis-osteoporosis co/multimorbidity. Methods We performed gene set analysis (GSA) of whole-blood transcriptomic data to identify biological processes shared by the early markers of these two diseases. Early markers of diseases, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) f...

Background : Depression is a significant health problem, whereas higher physical activity (PA) associates with fewer depressive symptoms. We examined how self-reported depressive symptoms are associated with accelerometer-measured PA, standing, sedentary behavior, and time in bed (TIB) among 20- to 69-year-old men and women. Methods : The study is...

Background The aerobic part of the recently updated physical activity (PA) guidelines for adults recommends at least 150 min of moderate or at least 75 of vigorous-intensity PA or an equivalent combination of both. PA can be accumulated of any bout duration. On an absolute scale, moderate-intensity threshold is 3 metabolic equivalents (METs) and vi...

Background Physical activity may sustain the physical aspect of work ability despite health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders and anxiety, which are the most prevalent work-related health problem in Europe. Aims To evaluate the association of Finnish municipal workers’ accelerometer-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and car...

Previous studies suggest that saturated fat (SFA) intake may negatively impact on bone. However, few human studies on the topic exist. Women and men aged 31–46 years from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study attended the peripheral quantitative computed tomography and ultrasound bone measurements in 2008 ( n = 1884–1953, ~ 56% women). In ad...

Background We investigated preoperative physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) in patients scheduled for elective cardiac procedures and compared them with population-based sample of Finnish adults. Methods Cardiac patients (n = 139) undergoing cardiac operations carried a triaxial accelerometer for seven days during the month before...

Background: The purpose of this study was to measure physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and hour-by-hour PA patterns with an accelerometer in a population-based sample of Finnish children and adolescents. Methods: A total of 3274 participants (3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th graders) from 176 schools wore a hip-worn triaxial accelerometer for s...

Objective: To examine factors accounting for the incidence of traumatic lumbar puncture (TLP) in infants younger than one year old. Study design: Retrospective analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) data from 1240 neonatal (≤ 28 days) and 399 infant lumbar puncture (LP) procedures. Data from two successive LP procedures were obtained from 108 pat...

In this prospective single-arm study of 50 pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), we evaluated the clinical performance of a novel bioimpedance spinal needle system in 152 intrathecal treatment lumbar punctures (LP) of these patients. The system detects in real-time when the needle tip reaches the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in t...

Background: Low physical activity and high sedentary behaviour are unquestionably relevant for public health while also increasing direct and indirect costs. Methods: The authors examined the direct and indirect costs attributable to low physical activity and high sedentary behaviour in Finland in 2017. Costs related to major non-communicable di...

Successful first diagnostic lumbar puncture (LP) is crucial because intrathecal chemotherapy has not yet protected the central nervous system against cancer cells. If blood contaminates the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with blasts, they may enter the central neural system and compromise the patient's health. We retrospectively determined the incidence...

Objectives The aim was to investigate if reducing sedentary behavior (SB) improves cardiometabolic biomarkers in adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Design Randomized controlled trial. Methods Sixty-four sedentary middle-aged adults with MetS were randomized into intervention (INT; n = 33) and control (CON; n = 31) groups. INT was guided to li...

Introduction: Physical inactivity, excessive total time spent in sedentary behavior (SB) and prolonged sedentary bouts have been proposed to be risk factors for chronic disease morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, which patterns and postures of SB have the most negative impacts on health outcomes is still unclear. This population-based stud...

Physical loading makes bones stronger through structural adaptation. Finding effective modes of exercise to improve proximal femur strength has the potential to decrease hip fracture risk. Previous proximal femur finite element (FE) modeling studies have indicated that the loading history comprising impact exercises is associated with substantially...

Objective:Liver biopsy is an essential procedure in cancer diagnostics but targeting the biopsy to the actual tumor tissue is challenging. Aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical feasibility of a novel bioimpedance biopsy needle system in liver biopsy and simultaneously to gatherin vivobioimpedance data from human liver and tumor tissues.App...

Background: Population studies gathering measured data on fitness and physical behavior, covering physical activity, standing, sedentary behavior, and time in bed, are scarce. This article describes the protocol of the FINFIT 2021 study that measures fitness and physical behavior in a population-based sample of adults and analyzes their associatio...

Objective: The aerobic part of the recently updated physical activity (PA) guidelines for adults no longer requires the minimum 10-minute bouts for the accumulated time. In this study, the adherence of Finnish adult population to the new PA guidelines was evaluated using both absolute and relative cut-points describing the individual cardiorespirat...

Background: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been inversely associated with insulin resistance and clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors among overweight and obese individuals. However, most previous studies have scaled CRF by body mass (BM) possibly inflating the association between CRF and cardiometabolic health. We investigated the asso...

Objectives The association between the subjective experience of pain-related disability (PRD) and device-measured physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in overweight and obese adults is not well known. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of pain markers with accelerometer-measured SB duration and different intensi...

Objectives To determine how components of accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA), and fitness are associated with insulin sensitivity in adults with metabolic syndrome. Design Cross-sectional. Methods Target population was middle-aged (40-65 years) sedentary adults with metabolic syndrome. SB, breaks in SB, stan...

Background : Studies measuring physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior on a 24/7 basis are scarce. The present study assessed the feasibility of using an accelerometer at the hip while awake and at the wrist while sleeping to describe 24/7 patterns of physical behavior in working-aged adults by age, sex, and fitness. Methods : The study was b...

Background Osteoporosis and atherosclerosis are complex multifactorial diseases sharing common risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms suggesting that these are comorbidities. Omics studies identifying joint molecular markers associated with these diseases are sparse. Subjects and methods Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry...

Accelerometry is a commonly used method to determine physical activity in clinical studies, but the duration and timing of measurement have seldom been addressed. We aimed to evaluate possible changes in the measured outcomes and associations with insulin resistance during four weeks of accelerometry data collection. This study included 143 partici...

Objective We studied the associations between accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior (SB) and habitual physical activity (PA) as well as markers of body adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors with liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT).MethodsA total of 144 middle-...

We analysed whole blood genome-wide expression data to identify gene co-expression modules shared by early traits of osteoporosis and atherosclerosis. Gene expression was profiled for the Young Finns Study participants. Bone mineral density and content were measured as early traits of osteoporosis. Carotid and bulbus intima media thickness were mea...

Depending on their cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), people may perceive the exertion of incident physical activity (PA) differently. Therefore, the use of relative intensity thresholds based on individual fitness have been proposed to evaluate the accumulation of PA at different intensity levels. A subsample of the FinFit2017-study, 1952 adults (80...

Background Lumbar puncture is a common clinical procedure that can occasionally be difficult. Various needle guidance methods can facilitate performing this procedure, but at the expense of special expertise, equipment and facility. In the present study, we evaluated the clinical feasibility of a novel bioimpedance needle system regarding its abili...

Comprehensive management of coronary artery disease (CAD) includes physical exercise as a part of daily lifestyle therapy. Still CAD patients generally have low physical activity (PA) and high sedentary behaviour (SB). This review summarizes the effect of exercise training and habitual PA and SB on physical fitness and quality of life (QoL) as well...

Background Vitamin D deficiency and related metabolic bone diseases in pet rabbits have been intermittently debated. In human research, the parathyroid hormone concentration in relation to the 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration is used to determine vitamin D deficiency. Thus, this study aimed to identify the breakpoint in the 25-hydroxyvitamin D con...

SummaryA 12-month exercise program reversibly prevented hip bone loss in premenopausal women with early breast cancer. The bone-protective effect was maintained for 2 years after the end of the program but was lost thereafter.PurposeBreast cancer survivors are at an increased risk for osteoporosis and fracture. This 5-year follow-up of a randomized...

Motives for physical activity may vary considerably by age, sex and the level of physical activity. We aimed to examine motives for physical activity in older men and women with different physical activity levels as well as whether genetic and/or environmental factors explain those motives. Finnish twins (mean age 72.9 years, 262 full twin pairs) s...

Background: Exercise interventions focusing on balance and strength training have been shown to be effective for falls prevention. The aim of this 20-year register-based follow-up was to examine whether long-term participation in recreational female gymnastics is associated with a lower risk of medically-attended injurious falls. Methods: Health...

Purpose: Polygenic risk scores (PRS) summarize genome-wide genotype data into a single variable that produces an individual-level risk score for genetic liability. PRSs have been used for prediction of chronic diseases and some risk factors. As PRSs have been studied less for physical activity (PA), we constructed PRSs for PA and studied how much...

Background: Studies have shown that osteoporosis and atherosclerosis are comorbid conditions sharing common risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms. Understanding these is crucial in order to develop shared methods for risk stratification, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study was to apply a system-level bioinformatics...

Introduction: Low bone mineral density is a risk factor for fractures. The aim of this follow-up study was to assess the association of various bone properties with fall-related fractures. Materials and methods: 187 healthy women aged 55 to 83 years at baseline who were either physically active or inactive were followed for 20 years. They were d...

Background: Fall-induced traumatic brain injuries (TBI) of elderly adults are a major public health concern. Methods: We determined the current trends in the absolute number and incidence (per 100,000 persons) of severe fall-induced TBI among 80-year-old or older Finns by taking into account all persons who were admitted to Finnish hospitals for...

Introduction The most promising way to promote active life years in old age is to promote regular participation in physical activity (PA). Maintaining lower extremity muscle function with good balance has been associated with fewer falls and the need of help from others. This article describes the design and intervention of a randomised controlled...

Introduction Personalized intervention to increase physical Activity and reduce sedentary behaviour in rehabilitation after Cardiac Operations (PACO) is a smartphone-based and accelerometer-based eHealth intervention to increase physical activity (PA) and reduce sedentary behaviour (SB) among patients recovering from cardiac surgery. Design Prospe...

This study determined the nationwide trends in unintentional injury deaths of adult Finns. For this purpose, we obtained from the Finnish Official Cause-of-Death Statistics the data for persons 15 years of age or older whose deaths occurred between 1971 and 2016 due to an unintentional injury. During the study period, a steep decline occurred in ro...

During the winter time in Finland, sunlight is inadequate for vitamin D synthesis. Many pet rabbits live as house rabbits with limited outdoor access even during summer and may therefore be dependent on dietary sources of vitamin D. The aims of this study were to report the serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in Finnish pet rabbits and to iden...

Active commuting to work (ACW) has beneficial effects on health, traffic, and climate. However, more robust evidence is needed on how to promote ACW. This paper reports the findings of a multilevel natural experiment with a randomized controlled trial in 16 Finnish workplaces. In Phase 1, 11 workplaces (1823 employees) from Area 1 were exposed to e...

The purpose of this study was to describe the accelerometry-based characteristics of overall sedentary behavior (SB) and sitting among adults under free-living conditions. Thirty-six (mean age 47.6 years) volunteers carried a waist-worn accelerometer for ≥4 days with data ≥600 min/d during 14 consecutive days. A machine learning (ML) based method w...

Background/aim: This is a report of the 5-year quality of life (QoL) findings of the BREX-study (n=444). Patients and methods: A 12-month exercise intervention was arranged shortly after adjuvant treatments. Physical activity (PA) was assessed by PA diary, physical performance by a 2- km walking test, QoL by the EORTC QLQC30 and BR-23 questionna...

Background Most Finnish adolescents are not sufficiently physically active. Health education (HE) provides beneficial starting point for physical activity (PA) promotion in schools. This study evaluates an intervention integrated into three HE lessons to increase PA and reduce sedentary behavior (SB) among eighth graders. Methods All public second...

This cross-sectional study analysed the association of sedentary behaviour (SB) and standing with waist circumference. Finnish adults aged 30-75 years from a sub-sample of population-based Health 2011 Study used a hip-worn tri-axial accelerometer (Hookie AM20, Traxmeet, Ltd, Espoo, Finland) for seven days. Those 1405 participants (57% women) who us...