Taisto Sarkola

Risk factors for out‐of‐home custody child care among families with alcohol and substance abuse problems

Aim: To study the risk of children to mothers with alcohol and/or substance abuse related problems for early childhood out‐of‐home care in Finland.

Evolution of the Arterial Structure and Function From Infancy to Adolescence Is related to Anthropometric and Blood Pressure Changes

Objective—To develop a normative data set and to study the relationship among arterial structure, different anthropometric measures, blood pressure, and arterial function during healthy childhood using very-high-resolution ultrasound (25–55 MHz). Methods and Results—In 135 healthy children between 0 and 18 years of age, we assessed the structure of the carotid arteries, larger peripheral arteries, aorta, and left ventricle with ultrasound. Arterial stiffness was assessed by pulse wave velocity and endothelial function by brachial flow-mediated dilation. Reference curves adjusted for age and body surface area of arterial lumen diameters, intima-media thickness, and adventitia thickness were developed. Arterial walls thicken during childhood predominantly as a result of a progressive increase in intima-media thickness. There were significant associations among lumen diameter (R2 range, 0.20–0.88 for different arteries; P<0.001), intima-media thickness (R2 range, 0.47–0.85; P<0.001), left ventricular mass (R2=0.90; P<0.001), and adventitia thickness (R2 range, 0.15–0.22; P<0.001) with sex, age, body surface, and systolic blood pressure. Arterial wall stress was associated with lumen diameter (R2 range, 0.52–0.83; P<0.001) and intima-media thickness (R2 range, 0.53–0.88; P<0.001). Limited relationships were found among arterial wall layer thickness, stiffness, and endothelial function. Conclusion—In healthy children, the evolution of the arterial structure is mainly related to anthropometrics and blood pressure.

Reference Values for Pulse Wave Doppler and Tissue Doppler Imaging in Pediatric Echocardiography

Background—In pediatric echocardiography, pulse wave Doppler, and tissue Doppler imaging velocities are widely used to assess cardiac function. Current reference values and Z scores, allowing adjustment for growth are limited by inconsistent methodologies and small sample size. Using a standardized approach for parametric modeling and Z score quality assessment, we propose new pediatric reference values and Z score equations for most left ventricular pulse wave Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging measurements. Methods and Results—Two hundred thirty-three healthy pediatric subjects 1 to 18 years of age were prospectively recruited. Thirteen pulse wave Doppler and 14 tissue Doppler imaging measurements were recorded. Normalization for growth was done via a complete and standardized approach for parametric nonlinear regression modeling. Several analyses were performed to ensure adequate Z score distribution and to detect potential residual associations with growth or residual heteroscedasticity. Most measurements adopted a nonlinear relationship with growth and displayed significant heteroscedasticity. Compared with age, height, and weight, normalization for body surface area was most efficient in removing the effect of growth. Generally, polynomial and allometric models yielded adequate goodness-of-fit. Residual values for several measurements had significant departure from the normal distribution, which could be corrected using logarithmic or reciprocal transformation. Overall, weighted parametric nonlinear models allowed us to compute Z score equations with adequate normal distribution and without residual association with growth. Conclusions—We present Z scores for normalized pulse wave Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging in pediatric echocardiography. Further studies are needed to define the threshold beyond which health becomes a disease by integrating other important factors such as ventricular morphology, loading conditions, and heart rate.

Assessment of vascular phenotype using a novel very-high-resolution ultrasound technique in adolescents after aortic coarctation repair and/or stent implantation: relationship to central haemodynamics and left ventricular mass

Objectives Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) has been associated with abnormal vascular function, increased blood pressure (BP) and premature cardiovascular disease even after a successful intervention. The objective was to determine the severity of residual cardiovascular abnormalities in youths after CoA repair and their relation to regional BP. Design Cross-sectional study in tertiary healthcare setting. Methods Thirty-six youths with CoA (age 16±1 years; neonatal surgery only: n=16; surgery and/or stent implantation: n=20) and 37 age-matched controls were prospectively examined using a very-high-resolution vascular ultrasound imaging, echocardiography and applanation tonometry. Results CoA was associated with increased right arm systolic BP (p<0.001), intima–media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid (p<0.001), right brachial (p<0.05) and radial (p<0.05) arteries and ascending aortic stiffness (p<0.05). Carotid IMT correlated positively with age at first intervention (r=0.36, p<0.05). With left subclavian flap-type repair, left-arm systolic BP (p<0.001) and left brachial (p<0.001), radial (p<0.001) and ulnar (p<0.05) arterial IMTs were all reduced. When adjusted for BP, body mass index, age and gender, only carotid IMT (p<0.001) and left ventricular mass (p=0.013) of stented patients, as well as left-arm arterial IMTs (p<0.01) in subclavian flap-type repair patients, remained different from the controls. The significant associations of the stented patients disappeared after the adjustment for later patient age at intervention (median 8.7 vs 0.03 years, p<0.001). Residual arm–leg BP gradients correlated positively with carotid and brachial IMT. No differences between the CoA patients and the controls were found for arterial adventitial thicknesses, lumen dimensions, thigh systolic BP, abdominal aorta and carotid stiffness and right carotid to radial pulse wave velocity. Conclusion CoA repair in early childhood is associated with increased preductal arterial IMT, left ventricular mass and ascending aortic stiffness in adolescents. The more pronounced cardiovascular abnormalities after CoA stent implantation are likely related to older patient age at the time of intervention.

Natural history of 107 cases of fetal aortic stenosis from a European multicenter retrospective study

Fetal aortic valvuloplasty (FV) aims to prevent fetal aortic valve stenosis progressing into hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), which results in postnatal univentricular (UV) circulation. Despite increasing numbers of FVs performed worldwide, the natural history of the disease in fetal life remains poorly defined. The primary aim of this study was to describe the natural history of fetal aortic stenosis, and a secondary aim was to test previously published criteria designed to identify cases of emerging HLHS with the potential for a biventricular (BV) outcome after FV.

Maternal welfare, morbidity and mortality 6-15 years after a pregnancy complicated by alcohol and substance abuse: a register-based case-control follow-up study of 524 women.

BACKGROUND A register-based retrospective case-control study to investigate the long-term morbidity, mortality, and welfare among women with alcohol and/or substance misuse identified during pregnancy. METHODS Cohort of 524 women followed-up ante- and perinatally 1992-2001 at special out-patient clinics of maternity hospitals in the capital area of Finland. The control group of 1792 women with no evidence of alcohol or substance misuse was matched for maternal age, parity, date of birth and hospital of index delivery. Both groups were followed-up until end of 2007. RESULTS 7.9% (42/524) of the cases and 0.2% (4/1792) of the controls had died by the end of the median follow-up of 9 years (OR 38, 95% CI 14-108). The cases displayed significant morbidity requiring in-patient care in the areas of mental disorders (AOR 8.8, 95% CI 6.5-11.9), viral (AOR 23.5, 95% CI 8.8-62.7) and bacterial (AOR 6.1, 95% CI 3.5-10.4) infections, skin diseases (AOR 3.9, 95% CI 2.0-7.8) and injury and poisoning (AOR 4.2, 95% CI 3.1-5.6). The cases displayed more out-patient visits (OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.7-2.8). Their mean length of hospital stay was longer compared to controls (10.3 vs. 4.4 days, p<0.001). The risk of pension granted due to a disorder, disease or disability (OR 8.8, 95% CI 6.0-13.0) and the risk for minimum unemployment benefit were higher compared to controls (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.8-2.5). CONCLUSIONS These women display significant long-term morbidity, mortality and loss of productivity after delivery. The results emphasize the importance of adequate postnatal follow-up and treatment for misuse.

Radiotherapy‐related arterial intima thickening and plaque formation in childhood cancer survivors detected with very‐high resolution ultrasound during young adulthood

The aim of the study was to evaluate arterial morphology and function in a national cohort of long‐term survivors of high‐risk neuroblastoma (NBL) treated with high‐dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with or without total body irradiation (TBI).

Early healthcare utilization and welfare interventions among children of mothers with alcohol and substance abuse: a retrospective cohort study

Aim:  Early childhood healthcare utilization, mortality and welfare interventions were studied among children of mothers with identified gestational alcohol and/or substance abuse.

Fetal left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy and fatal outcome due to complete deficiency of mitochondrial trifunctional protein

AbstractWe report a fetal case with fatal outcome having a novel mutation in the HADHB gene, coding the beta-subunit of the mitochondrial trifunctional protein. Parents had a previous pregnancy loss due to fetal heart failure and hydrops. The next pregnancy led to left ventricular noncompaction and increasing pleural effusions after 29 gestational weeks. The fetus was small for gestational age, and long bones were abnormally short. The baby was born severely asphyxiated at 32 gestational weeks by cesarean section. Intensive care was withdrawn due to failure to thrive and suspicion of a severe mitochondrial disorder. Postmortem brain MRI suggested microcephaly with a simplified gyral pattern. The lateral cerebral ventricles were normal. Chromosome analysis was normal (46, XX). Fibroblasts cultured from a skin biopsy of the baby revealed the large homozygous deletion c.1109+243_1438-703del in the HADHB gene, and heterozygous mutations were detected in both parents. The deletion has not been reported earlier. Conclusion: It is important to differentiate systemic metabolic diseases from disorders that affect only the cardiac muscle. Trifunctional protein deficiency is a relatively rare disorder of the fatty acid β-oxidation cycle. The mutation in the HADHB gene causes a systemic disease with early-onset cardiomyopathy. Understanding the molecular genetic defect of the patient allows appropriate genetic counseling of the family.What is Known:• Mitochondrial disorders as a group are an important etiology for fetal cardiomyopathies including human trifunctional protein (TFP) disorders and several other mitochondrial diseases.What is New:• We report a fetal case with fatal outcome having a novel mitochondrial trifunctional protein mutation (c.1109+243_1438-703del in the HADHB gene).

Semi-automatic border detection software for the quantification of arterial lumen, intima-media and adventitia layer thickness with very-high resolution ultrasound

BACKGROUND The aim was to evaluate the accuracy, precision and feasibility of semi-automatic border detection software (AMS) in comparison to manual electronic calipers (EC) in the analysis of arterial images obtained with transcutaneous very-high resolution vascular ultrasound (VHRU, 25-55 MHz). METHODS 100 images from central elastic and peripheral muscular arteries were obtained on two separate imaging occasions from 10 healthy subjects, and independently measured with AMS and EC. RESULTS No bias between AMS and EC was found. The intraobserver coefficients of variation (CV) for carotid lumen dimension (mean dimension 5.60 mm) was lower with AMS compared with EC (0.4 vs. 1.9%, p = 0.033; N = 20). No consistently significant differences in intra, inter or test-retest CVs were observed overall for muscular artery dimensions between AMS and EC. The intra CV for adventitial thickness (AT, mean 0.111 mm; 15.6 vs 24.8%, p = 0.011; N = 41) and inter CV for intima-media thickness (IMT, mean 0.219 mm; 14.3 vs. 21.2%, p = 0.001; N = 58) obtained with AMS in higher quality thin muscular artery images was lower compared with EC. The mean reading time was significantly lower with AMS compared with EC (71.5 s vs. 156.6 s, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION AMS is accurate, precise, and feasible in the analysis of arterial images obtained with VHRU. Minor, although statistically significant, differences in the precision of AMS and EC-systems were found. The precision of AMS was superior for AT and IMT in higher quality images likely related to a decrease in the technical variability imposed by the observer.