Skip to main content
. 2021 Aug 30;50(6):1786–1787j. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyab109

Table 1.

The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 data collectionsa

Parental factors Birth 1 year 14 years
Mothers n = 12 055; fathers n = 11 068 Newborns n = 12 058 (live-born) n = 10 821 n = 11 010
  • Parents’ age, occupation, education, marital status, economy (mothers, fathers)

  • Parents’ place of residence, housing

  • Parents’ history of cardiovascular diseases in a family

  • Parents’ history of other diseases

  • Wantedness of the pregnancy

  • Birthweight of previous children

  • Maternal: weight, height, miscarriages, weight gain during pregnancy, age at menarche, stillbirths, parity, blood pressure (highest reading in 2-4th and 5-9th month), smoking 1 year before pregnancy and during pregnancy (no. of cigarettes), working during pregnancy, workload, Hb in the 3rd, 7th and 9th gestational month and before birth, oedema, albuminuria, certain infections, depression and subjective well-being during pregnancy, medication with type and dosage

  • Birthweight

  • Birth length

  • Gestational age

  • Placental weight and abnormalities, umbilical cord

  • Mode of delivery

  • Apgar score

  • Congenital abnormalities

  • Detailed information on neonatal hospital admission and diagnoses

  • Development (e.g. standing, walking, talking, neurological abnormalities)

  • Weight (also at 6 months)

  • Height (also at 6 months)

  • Head circumference

  • Vitamin supplementation

  • Diseases, hospitalizations, outpatient visits (causes)

  • Medication

  • Vaccination

  • Weight, height, waist-hip circumference, leg length

  • Physical activity

  • Smoking, alcohol drinking, drugs

  • Schooling

  • Family structure

  • Social mobility

  • Parental occupation

  • Long-term diseases (asthma, atopy, diabetes)

  • Central nervous infections

  • Brain damage

  • Parental history of chronic diseases


31 years 46 years 31 years 46 years
Postal questionnaire n = 8690 Postal questionnaire n = 7146 Clinical examination n = 6007 Clinical examination n = 5832

  • Marital status, family structure

  • Migration

  • Education, occupation and working life, income

  • Smoking, alcohol drinking, medication, nutrition

  • Cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure (diagnosed by a physician)

  • Long-term diseases, ISAAC questions about asthma, atopy and wheezing

  • Age at menarche

  • Birthweight of own children

  • Information on women’s own pre-eclampsia and deliveries

  • Family history of chronic diseases

  • Marital status, family structure

  • Migration

  • Education, occupation, working life, income, risk-taking

  • Smoking, alcohol drinking, medication, nutrition

  • Cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure (diagnosed by a physician)

  • Long-term diseases, ISAAC questions about asthma, atopy and wheezing

  • Life satisfaction, reserves of strength, sleep

  • Pregnancy, endometriosis, pre-eclampsia, PCOS, infertility

  • Cognitive tests (Paired Associates Learning, PAL)

  • Weight, height, waist-hip circumference

  • Blood pressure, pulse (a mercury sphygmomanometer)

  • Physical fitness (step test)

  • Back muscle strength

  • Compression force of hands (hand grip dynamometer)

  • Skin allergy tests (prick)

  • Spirometry (Vitalograph P-model spirometer)

  • Bone density (DTX 200, Osteometer Meditech) (n = 1000)

  • Weight, height, waist-hip circumference, bioimpedance (InBody 720)

  • Blood pressure (brachial), pulse (Omron M10)

  • Physical fitness with 2-week accelerometry measurements (Polar RX800RC, Hookie AM20)

  • Skin allergy tests (prick)

  • Spirometry (MasterScreen Pneumo, Spira)

  • 15-lead ECG (CAM14 GE Healthcare)

  • Heart rate variability (Polar RX800RC. Polar WearLink belt), step-test, brachial blood pressure (in sitting and standing positions), baroreflex measurement and breathing frequency

  • Back muscle strength

  • Pressure pain threshold (algometer, Somedic), thermal perception thresholds and tolerance (modular sensory analyser, Somedic)

  • Spinal and ankle movement tests, low back movement control tests (SpinalMouse Med Pro)

  • Compression force of hands (hand grip dynamometer)

  • Glucose tolerance test

  • Eye examination (vision, refraction, intraocular pressure, thickness of cornea, field of vision, eye photography), randomized for half of the cohortb


31 years biological samples and analyses

Maximum n = 6007

46 years biological samples and analyses

Maximum n = 5832

46 years extended study protocol for Oulu area

  • Biological samples collected: plasma, serum, EDTA-blood (DNA extracted)

  • Laboratory measurements such as blood count, high-sensitivity CRP, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, total LDL-, HDL-cholesterol, vitamins C and D

  • GWAS (n = 5402)

  • NMR metabolomics (n = 5739)

  • Methylation (n = 807)

  • Telomers (n = 1450)

  • Biological samples collected: plasma, serum, EDTA-blood (DNA extracted), PAXGene for RNA, cells, hair, saliva, faeces, urine

  • Laboratory measurements such as blood count, high-sensitivity CRP, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, total LDL-, HDL-cholesterol, vitamin D, S-T4V, S-TSH, S-TPOAb, cortisol

  • NMR metabolomics (n = 5800, OGGT n = 4900)

  • Methylation (n = 760)

  • Telomers (n = 5783)

  • Immunoglobulins (n = 5774)

  • Echo and carotid ultrasound (Vivid E9, GE Healthcare) (n = 1156)

  • Dermal examination by physician (n = 1930)

  • X-ray of knee, ankle, foot, (Simax/Fuji FCR XG-1) and OPTG (Orthopantomoraph OP100) (n = 1975)

  • Lumbar MRI (1.5 T imaging Signa HDxt, General Electric) (n = 1534)

  • Oral health: dental caries, periodontitis, occlusion, temporomandibular disorders, facial structures (3 D-imaging of mouth and teeth, Cadent iTero3D) (n = 1964)

ISAAC, International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Questionnaires; PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome; ECG, electrocardiogram; CRP, C-reactive protein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; GWAS, genome-wide association study; NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance; EDTA, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid; RNA, ribonucleic acid; S-T4V, serum tetraiodothyronine; S-TSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone; S-TPOAb, serum thyroid peroxidase antibodies; OGGT, oral glucose tolerance test; OPTG, orthopantomography.

a

More detailed information about each follow-up is available at [https://www.oulu.fi/nfbc/nfbc1966_1986].

b

Detailed study protocol has been described in Saarela et al. at [http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2415/13/51].