Biomedical subjects

I Moilanen

Publications and source records attributed to I Moilanen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Maternal responsiveness and infant intentional communication: implications for the early communicative and linguistic development.

BACKGROUND: Maternal responsiveness has been found to have an important role in early language acquisition. From early on, children can also be regarded as active participants in interaction who demonstrate increasing competence in conveying messages to their interactive partners. Hence, in order to demonstrate consistent effects of maternal responses, it is important to take into account individual differences among children. In the present study, the relation between the frequencies of maternal responses and infant intentional communicative acts as well as their predictive validity to subsequent early communicative and linguistic skills was examined. METHODS: The participants were 27 Finnish-speaking mothers and their healthy firstborn infants. Maternal and infant interactive behaviour was analysed from 20-min samples of free play collected during home visits at the infants' age of 10 months. At 12 months the children were assessed for their communicative and linguistic skills by using the Finnish version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories and the Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales. RESULTS: The frequencies of maternal responses and infant intentional communicative acts were not intercorrelated. As for subsequent communicative and linguistic skills, the results of regression analyses indicated that both maternal responsiveness and infant intentional communication predict early comprehensive skills, whereas expressive skills--the use of both verbal and gestural communicative means--are predicted only by infant intentional communication. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that maternal responsiveness during the prelinguistic stage is not necessarily dependent on children's communicative competence. As predictors of early communicative and linguistic skills, both maternal responsiveness and infant intentional communication make a distinctive contribution.

Cognition↗

PubMed2005

Similarities in the phenotype of the auditory neural substrate in children with Asperger syndrome and their parents.

Asperger syndrome (AS) is a developmental disorder of brain function characterized by deficits in social interaction including difficulties in understanding emotional expressions. Children with AS share some of the behavioural characteristics with their parents and AS seems to run particularly in the male members of the same families. The aim of the present study was to determine whether similarities could be found between children with AS and their parents at central auditory processing. It was found that in children with AS the sound encoding, as reflected by the exogenous components of event-related potentials, was similarly abnormal as in both their mothers and fathers. However, their abnormal cortical auditory discrimination, as indexed by the prolonged latency of the mismatch negativity, resembled that of their fathers but not that of their mothers. The present results suggest that complex genetic mechanisms may contribute to auditory abnormalities encountered in children with AS.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2004

Is a large family a protective factor against behavioural and emotional problems at the age of 8 years?

AIM: To study the prevalence of behavioural and emotional problems among children from different family types, sibship size and birth order. METHODS: A prospective birth cohort (n = 9357) study where parents filled in two questionnaires and teachers assessed children's behaviour using the Rutter scale (RB2). RESULTS: 14.3% scored above the cut-off point (RB2 > or = 9) indicating probable psychiatric disturbance, boys more often than girls (OR 2.6, 95% CI 2.3-3.0). Behavioural problems (9.2%) were more common than emotional ones (4.1%). Boys living in families other than two-parent families were at risk for probable psychiatric disturbance, and a corresponding risk was observed for girls living in single-parent or always one-parent families. Other than two-parent family was also a risk for behavioural problems; for boys adjusted odds ratios ranged significantly from 1.8 to 2.4 and for girls from 2.0 to 3.7. "Only children" had the highest prevalence of behavioural problems, while children in very large families had the lowest. Living in a very large family was a protective factor against behavioural problems among boys but not among girls. Eldest children were at lower risk of behavioural problems than the other children. The single-parent and always one-parent family was associated with higher risk of emotional problems among girls. CONCLUSION: Children's psychiatric problems are manifested at school mostly as behavioural problems. A two-parent family and being the oldest in the sibling series seem to be protective factors. Very large family size, if not connected to social disadvantages, does not seem to be a risk factor for children's behaviour.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Total plasma l-tryptophan, free l-tryptophan and competing amino acid levels in a homicidal male adolescent with conduct disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Several studies have shown abnormal findings in human serotonin metabolism, such as increased total plasma l-tryptophan and free l-tryptophan levels among habitually violent antisocial offenders. It is not clear if these increased l-tryptophan levels are associated with adult antisocial personality disorder (ASP) or history of substance abuse, or if these levels are already present in adolescent subjects with conduct disorder (CD). METHOD: Total plasma and free l-tryptophan and competing amino acids (CAAs) were measured in a 15-year-old adolescent offender, who was convicted for two homicides, and in 10 healthy male controls of similar age and body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: In the juvenile offender, plasma total l-tryptophan/CAA was 84% and free l-tryptophan/CAA 143% higher than average mean among controls. CONCLUSION: From this very aggressive boy with CD, findings of free l- and total l-tryptophan/CAA values were similar to those of habitually violent adult ASP offenders. As severe CDs in adolescence tend to develop into adults with ASP, increased l-tryptophan/CAA and free l-tryptophan/CAA values may serve as early indicators for the development of habitually violent adult offenders.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Poor sleep and psychiatric symptoms at school: an epidemiological study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between sleep problems and psychiatric symptoms at school. A random sample consisting of 5813 eight- to nine-year-old children was selected from ordinary schools. Both parents' and children's reports of sleep problems were taken into account. The psychiatric symptoms were addressed according to the teachers' reports (the Rutter Scale B). Children with severe sleep problems were more likely to have a psychiatric disturbance according to the Rutter B Scale (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.85-3.25). Logistic regression models showed that severe sleep problems were highly associated with emotional problems (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.84-4.13), school attendance problems (OR 2.53, 95% OR 1.45-4.41), behavioural problems (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.59-3.75) and hyperactivity (OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.30-3.13). Over 95% of severe sleep problems were reported only by the children themselves. In conclusion, children with severe sleep problems have substantially more teacher-reported psychiatric symptoms than those with no or mild sleep complaints. In diagnosing sleep disorders, it is important to include children as informants because relevant information may be overlooked when only parents are questioned.

Child↗

PubMed2001

Somatically expressed psychological distress and alexithymia in adolescence--reflecting unbearable emotions?

The characteristics of five 11- to 15-year-old patients with somatic symptoms and alexithymia in conjunction with psychological distress are reported. The findings are compared with the existing literature. Preceding somatic disorders and difficulties at school and in peer relationships were found. Family violence was evident in two cases. We postulate that the developmental tasks of adolescence were complicated by the threat of disability, disease, and death. The parents were incapable of expressing their feelings either in general or because of their recent traumatic experiences. Our findings suggest that unbearable emotions often precede the combination of preadolescent and adolescent alexithymia and somatization in clinically relevant cases.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Predictors of delayed social maturation and mental health disorders in young adults chronically ill since childhood.

To ascertain the influence of juvenile-onset chronic physical diseases and associating factors of social environment on delayed social maturation and mental health disorders in young adults, we analysed a group of 407 (184 female, 223 male) subjects with these conditions and compared the results with those of 123 (63 female, 60 male) healthy controls studied at the age of 19-25 years. The social maturation index was formed on the basis of a demographic interview, which also reviewed the state of social development and the family situation during childhood. Mental health disorders were assessed with a Present State Examination (PSE) interview analysed with the CATEGO program. With regard to social maturation at least half of the patients and controls were doing well, whereas for 29% (CI(95), 25%-33%) of the patients and 17% (CI(95), 10%-24%) of the controls the index showed delayed maturation. Subjects with poor social maturation were found most often among the disabled patients but also among the patients without severe diseases. The prevalence of PSE-CATEGO-identified psychiatric syndromes was equal in the patients and the controls (22% versus 20%). However, the patients with severe or disabling diseases had more severe psychiatric syndromes. The prevalences of depressive syndromes were also equal, but the depression of the patients was more often a profound affective disorder. Male sex, poor scholastic and vocational success, and social problems in the family during childhood were significantly associated with poor social maturation. On the other hand, the most significant predictors of mental health problems in young adults were female sex, family distress during childhood, and a severe disease. Juvenile-onset physical disease was considered to delay social maturation in some subjects and to deepen or modulate the clinical picture of mental health disorders. It is concluded that juvenile-onset physical diseases combined with family-related factors affect in different ways the social growth and psychiatric well-being. The results suggest that the subjects with chronic diseases during childhood should be thoroughly assessed by a child psychiatrist to evaluate the orientation of psychological development and the impact of the child's disease on the family and to ensure balanced psychological and social growth.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Autism in Northern Finland.

Recent research reports show that autistic spectrum disorders may actually be more common than previously believed. General awareness and clinical knowledge of these disorders have increased, and the criteria in the ICD-10 and the DSM-IV are also now more detailed. The diagnostic criteria and the methods of ascertainment influence the prevalence. The age specific incidence obtained in this study showed the cumulative incidence to be lowest, 6.1 per 10,000, in the oldest age group of 15- to 18-year-old children, and highest, 20.7 per 10,000, in the age group of 5-7 year-olds, when the criteria of the ICD-10 and the DSM-IV were used. In this study, almost 50% of the autistic cases had a tested IQ above 70. The degree of autism, as assessed by the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), varied from mild autistic features in 8.5% through moderate in 58.5% to severe in 33.0%.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Elevated hypothalamic/midbrain serotonin (monoamine) transporter availability in depressive drug-naive children and adolescents.

Cumulative data suggest depression in adulthood being connected to reduced availability of brain serotonin while the role of dopamine remains less specific. Prospective studies have shown a continuity of depressive episodes from childhood to adulthood, combined with poor social function and excess mortality. The object of this study was to examine whether alterations in brain serotonin and/or dopamine transporter levels are already present in depressive children and adolescents. We examined 41 drug-naive patients (aged 7-17) by single photon emission tomography (SPET) using iodine-123-labelled 23-carbomethoxy-3P3(iodophenyl) tropane [123I]beta-CIT as a tracer for monoamine transporters. In addition to the ordinary clinical examination, the patients were given a structured interview and information was gathered from teachers and parents with questionnaires. The diagnoses were established by consensus evaluation between three child psychiatrists. To test the serotonin hypothesis and the dopamine hypothesis regarding depression in children and adolescents, the series was divided into groups with depression present (31) and no depression present (10). In this study, the depressive child and adolescent patients had significantly higher serotonin transporter availability (P < 0.02) in the hypothalamic/midbrain area. Age did not correlate to the hypothalamic/midbrain serotonin transporter binding ratio. No significant difference in dopamine transporter availability in striatum was found between the depressive and the nondepressive children and adolescents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Sleep problems of school-aged children: a complementary view.

The aim of this population-based multicentre study was to evaluate the prevalence rates of sleep problems among 8-9-y-old children. The sample consisted of 5813 Finnish children, making up 10% of the age cohort. Both parents and children provided information. Disturbed sleep was reported by 21.7% of parents. Most of the problems were mild; only 0.3% were serious. Dyssomnias were frequent: 11.1% had difficulties with sleep onset, 7.1% with night waking and 2.3% with waking too early. Multiple sleep problems were present in 9.1% of the children. 17.8% of children reported disturbed sleep, 12.7% had problems many nights and 5.1% every night. In 32.0% of cases, either the parent or the child reported disturbed sleep; 7.4% of these reports came from both the parent and the child, 14.1% from the parent only and 10.3% from the child only. The correspondence between informants was poor (kappa = 0.224). Sleeping problems were associated with somatic and psychiatric problems. It is concluded that by restricting questioning to parents only, one-third of all potential cases of sleep problems may go unnoticed. In order to increase the sensitivity of screening children's sleep problems, both parents and children should provide information in epidemiological settings as well as in clinical work.

Chi-Square Distribution↗

PubMed2000

Bilingualism, school achievement, and mental wellbeing: a follow-up study of return migrant children.

In the first phase of this follow-up study we investigated how the use of more than one language affects mental wellbeing and school achievement among 320 school-aged Finnish-Swedish re-migrant children. Now, in the second phase, we screened the same series of children 6 years after migration for psychiatric and psychosomatic symptoms. Out of five groups distinguished in terms of patterns of language use, two had fared well and three showed evident vulnerability. Both successful groups were marked by consistent use of the two languages, Finnish and Swedish, whereas the risk groups were characterised by mixed use of languages before re-migration or substantial language shift after re-migration.

Achievement↗

PubMed1999

Design and subjects of a Finnish epidemiological study on psychiatric disorders in childhood.

In an epidemiological multi-centre study, parents filled in the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2) and teachers filled in the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) for almost 6000 children. The children filled in the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The subjects well represented the entire population of 8-9-year-old children in Finland. The material and design of the study as well as the basic demographic characteristics are presented.

Catchment Area, Health↗

PubMed1999

Behavioural and emotional symptoms in 8-9-year-old children.

We present epidemiological data from a multi-centre study on psychiatric symptoms among 6017 8-9-year-old children representing a total annual birth cohort (N = 60007) in Finland. The results are based on three questionnaires: the Rutter Parent Scale (RA2), the Rutter Teacher Scale (RB2), the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The proportion of children that scored above the cutoff points, indicating probable psychiatric disturbance, were 11.2% for the RA2, 13.9% for the RB2 and 6.9% for the CDI. Twenty-four percent of the subjects scored above the cutoff point on at least one of the questionnaires. Low family social status and disrupted family relations correlated strongly with high rates of symptoms in the children.

Child↗

PubMed1999

Psychiatric disorders in 8-9-year-old children based on a diagnostic interview with the parents.

Using three questionnaires, the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2), The Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), we screened 8-9-year-old children representing a total annual birth cohort (N = 60007) in Finland. In a second stage we interviewed the parents of 119 screen negative, and 316 screen positive children by using a structured parent interview. At the population level the overall prevalence rate for psychiatric disturbance was 21.8%, higher among boys (29.8%) than among girls (12.8%). Nine percent of the children were in urgent need of treatment and, in addition, 25% were in need of assessment. The prevalence of different levels of disturbance was: reactive 9.5%; neurotic 18.4%; borderline 3.1%; and other severe disorders 2.3%. The prevalence of different diagnostic groups were: anxiety disorder 5.2%; depressive disorder 6.2%; specific fears 2.4%; defiant and conduct disorder 4.7%; and attention-deficit hyperactivity-disorder 7.1%. The prevalence for the most common single first Axis-I DSM-III-R diagnoses were: attention-deficit hyperactivity-disorder 7%; dysthymia 4.6%; adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotion and conduct 3.4%; oppositional defiant disorder 2.7%; specific fear 1.7%; anxiety disorder 1.5%; enuresis nocturnal 1.5%; and depression 1.4%. Only 3.1% of the children had visited health professionals for psychiatric problems during the previous three months. Only a minority of the children with psychiatric disturbances had ever consulted health professionals for their problems. Of all the children, 7.5% had a severe psychiatric disturbance that had lasted for more than 3 years.

Child↗

PubMed1999

Psychiatric disorders, performance level at school and special education at early elementary school age.

We assessed the relationship between psychological deviance and performance level at school among 8-year-old children. The use of special education among children with psychiatric disorders was also studied. In Stage 1, 5813 children were studied using the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2), the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). In Stage 2, a subsample (n = 424) of these children were interviewed, using the Isle of Wight Interview. In Stage 1, more children defined as low achievers (LAs) came from low SES families than did average (NAs) and high achievers (HAs). They also had more psychiatric symptoms, and they scored above the cutoff (13 points on the RA2, nine points on the RB2 and 17 points on the CDI) more commonly than other children. In Stage 2, two thirds of children who received special education had some psychiatric disorder. The probability of a child with psychiatric disorder obtaining some extra tutoring or special education was 3.1-fold when compared with children without psychiatric disorders. Depressive children and children with attention deficit disorders most commonly had extra tutoring (4.8-fold) when compared with children without psychiatric disorders. The probability of getting special education was highest for attention deficit disorders (6.2-fold), thereafter for anxiety (3.1-fold), and for oppositional/conduct disorders (2.8-fold).

Achievement↗

PubMed1999

Behavioural/emotional symptoms among 8-9-year-old children with somatic symptoms or illnesses as reported by their teacher.

The aim of this study was to assess children's behavioural/emotional symptoms at school and to compare these symptoms of somatically healthy children with those of children with somatic illnesses or symptoms. The Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) was used for measuring psychiatric symptoms in 5813 children aged 8-9 years. The parents reported the somatic symptoms and illnesses of their children during the previous 12 months. One hundred and sixty one children had a marked or serious chronic illness, 292 had a mild chronic illness, and 92 had one or several symptoms. The findings suggest that boys with a marked or serious chronic somatic illness are prone to manifest psychiatric symptoms in their interactions with peers and teachers at school and that boys with a mild chronic illness have less psychiatric symptoms than healthy boys.

Child↗

PubMed1999

Are twins' behavioural/emotional problems different from singletons'?

We compared twins with singletons in the National Epidemiological Child Psychiatric Study, which included 122 twins and 5455 singletons, born in 1981 and selected at random. Behavioural and emotional symptoms were assessed in 1989 on the basis of questionnaires filled in by the parents (Rutter Parent Questionnaire) (RA2), teachers (Rutter Teacher Questionnaire) (RB2) and the children themselves (Children's Depression Inventory) (CDI). Parents' reported proportions of probable behavioural/emotional disorders did not differ between the twin and singleton girls, but among the twin boys there was a nonsignificant trend of being more often probably disturbed. Twins were reported to be less disturbed than singletons according to the teachers' assessments. No difference was found between twins and singletons in their self-reports. When analysing parents' reported values of various sum scores, the twin boys obtained slightly higher scores than singletons, while twin girls scored significantly lower on total and emotional disturbances. Twin boys obtained lower mean scores than singletons for probable disorder in the teachers' evaluations, the differences arising mostly in the emotional area. The same type of trend, however nonsignificant, was found among the teachers' evaluations of girls. No significant difference was found in the mean scores for hyperactivity. This large population-based sample suggests that twins may have a lower rate of behavioural problems in childhood than singletons, a finding that has to be taken into account in behavioural genetic studies.

Child↗

PubMed1999

Smoking and drinking habits in adolescence--links with psychiatric disturbance at the age of 8 years.

Smoking and drinking habits were studied among 1098 14-15-year-old adolescents using a mailed questionnaire. The subjects were drawn from a representative population of 5813 randomly selected 8-year-old children previously studied in the National Epidemiological Child Psychiatry Study in Finland in 1989. The questionnaire included items on the adolescents' smoking habits and alcohol consumption. Regular smoking was more common among boys (and girls) who, in childhood, had been rated by their parents (Rutter Parent Questionnaire) (RA2) as disturbed, 14.6% (30.3%), than among the nondisturbed, 6.6% (8.4%). Similarly, more of the previously disturbed (according to the RA2) adolescent boys drank alcohol regularly, 19.7%, as compared to the nondisturbed boys, 9.3%. Among girls, regular alcohol consumption was more common among those who previously had behavioural or mixed type problems (according to the RA2), 70.7%, as compared to those who previously had emotional or no problems, 12.2%. More of the previously depressed girls smoked regularly, 45.1%, than those who had not been depressed, 7.9%. Behavioural and emotional problems in childhood seemed to predispose to smoking and drinking in adolescence. The parents were more sensitive than the teachers in recognising the long-lasting problems of their children.

Adolescent↗