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T Pitkänen

Publications and source records attributed to T Pitkänen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Survival of Campylobacter jejuni in potable water biofilms: a comparative study with different detection methods.

Campylobacteria are important foodborne pathogens. C. jejuni bacteria have caused several drinking water-related epidemics in Finland. Normally, C. jejuni is not able to multiply in drinking water or in biofilms although it may survive in biofilms. The survival of C. jejuni in biofilms was studied using the Propella biofilm reactor. The number of bacteria was analysed with traditional culture methods and with fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). By culture methods C. jejuni was detectable for only 1 d after spiking whereas bacteria were found from biofilms for at least 1 week after spiking and from outlet water of the reactor for 3 weeks when using FISH. These results suggested that C. jejuni may survive in biofilms and culture methods probably seriously underestimate the real number in water and in biofilms.

Biofilms↗
PubMed2003

The sense of coherence, occupation and all-cause mortality in the Helsinki Heart Study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that people with a strong sense of coherence (SOC) have decreased all-cause mortality. METHODS: The effect of occupation and the SOC on all-cause mortality was studied among 4405 Finnish middle-aged employed men in a prospective 8-year follow-up study. RESULTS: Using Cox proportional hazards models the crude relative risk for all-cause mortality for the low SOC tertile when compared to the high SOC tertile was 1.23 (95% CI: 0.90-1.68). Adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol and occupation increased the risk slightly to 1.35. Occupation was an effect modifier, since among white-collar workers the corresponding relative risk of the low SOC tertile was 2.27 (95% CI: 1.12-4.59, p = 0.02) and among blue-collar workers the relative risk for all-cause mortality was stable (1.33-1.52) in each SOC tertile. The classic risk factors, smoking and alcohol, showed higher relative risks than the SOC. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of the health-promoting qualities of the SOC upon all-cause mortality was significant among white-collar workers, but not among blue-collar workers.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

Problem drinking and psychological well-being: a five-year follow-up study from adolescence to young adulthood.

The psychological well-being of 651 Finnish adolescents (approximately age 17) was followed to young adulthood (age 22) and examined in terms of their drinking styles at age 22. The young adults were grouped into four categories delineating drinking style (non-users, non-problem drinkers, presumptive problem drinkers, and problem drinkers), and each group was examined for evolved paths of psychological well-being. The psychological profile of the participants was comprised of seven variables: self-esteem, trait anxiety, somatic symptoms, eating concerns, and mature, neurotic, and immature defense styles. The comparison of the drinking style categories revealed that future problem drinkers had lower states of psychological well-being already in adolescence and that the differences became more pronounced during the transition to young adulthood. Poor psychological well-being is a risk for the development of later problem drinking, although the profile of this poor psychological state is somewhat different in women and men.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Fecal bacterial enzyme activities in infants increase with age and adoption of adult-type diet.

BACKGROUND: The present study was conducted to determine the effects of age and diet (breast milk, milk formula, weaning diet) on the activities of some bacterial enzymes in fecal samples collected from 3- to 24-month-old infants. These bacterial enzymes may generate toxic, mutagenic, or carcinogenic metabolites from plant glycosides (beta-glucuronidase, beta-glucosidase) or from urea (urease). METHODS: The subjects were 68 healthy children ages 3 (n = 20), 6 (n = 20), 12 (n = 17), and 24 (n = 11) months. None of the children had been given any antibiotics during 4 weeks before collection of the fecal samples. Health status, bowel habits, and food consumption of the children were determined by interview of one of the parents using a structured questionnaire. A spot fecal sample from each child was collected. RESULTS: The activities of beta-glucuronidase and beta-glucosidase increased from 0.52 and 1.17 nmol/min x mg protein (at 3 months) to 1.41 and 2.38 nmol/min x mg protein (at 2 years), respectively. However, at 2 years of age, the children had not yet reached the levels reported in earlier studies on adult populations. Urease activity increased from 4.18 nmol/min x mg protein (at 3 months) to 19.0 nmol/min x mg protein (at 2 years), reaching by 12 months of age the level observed in adults. Breast feeding as such had no consistent effect on fecal bacterial enzyme activities. beta-Glucuronidase and beta-glucosidase were higher in those 6- and 12-month-old children who consumed more meat, fish, sausages, or eggs. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that the fecal enzyme activities in the gastrointestinal tract increase and that their profile changes with age and adoption of adult-type diet. It remains open, however, whether these changes are caused by the normal physiological aging process or by stepwise introduction of new foods to the diet.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A prospective study of the precursors to problem drinking in young adulthood.

This study was part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study on Social Development. The subjects (196 males, 173 females) were studied at age 8, 14 and 26. Three components in drinking habits were obtained at age 26: social, problem and controlled drinking. Moderate to severe problem drinking was obtained for 26% of the men and 1% of the women, and mild problem drinking for 23% of the men and 15% of the women. Problem drinking (defined by the CAGE Questionnaire, arrest for alcohol abuse and other indicators of heavy drinking) was directly accounted for by poor school success at age 14 and, for men, by conduct problems and low anxiety. Variables at age 8 that contributed indirectly to adult problem drinking were aggression, low anxiety, low prosociality and poor school success for men, and high anxiety and poor school success for women. Women and men differed in the effect of social anxiety; in men, anxiety was a protective factor against problem drinking; in women, it was a risk factor. Although conduct problems often precede severe problem drinking, other risk factors may exist among sons of alcoholic parents. Parental drinking had a significant threshold effect on male off-springs' drinking: if parental drinking was low, there was less problem drinking among the male offspring than if a mild dependence on alcohol was observed in the parents.

Achievement↗
PubMed1990

Furuncular myiasis.

Two cases of cutaneous myiasis are described. The first, acquired in West Africa, consisting of 36 furuncle-like lesions, was caused by the larvae of Cordylobia anthropophaga. An adult fly was raised from one larva. In the second patient, the infestation was caused by five larvae of Dermatobia hominis acquired in Central America. Neither patient was aware of any infestation, but the clinical presentation, although also suggestive of bacterial skin infection, showed a typical course and symptoms of cutaneous myiasis in both patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Prospective study of the etiology of diarrhea in adult outpatients and inpatients.

A prospective study of the etiology of diarrhea in 253 adult outpatients and inpatients was conducted in Helsinki in 1985-86. The outpatients constituted 84.6% of all patients studied. A broad panel of diagnostic techniques was applied, including detection of bacteria and parasites in the feces and determination of the serologic responses to campylobacter, salmonella, Yersinia enterocolitica, and several viruses. Pathogens were identified for 28.5% of the patients. The commonest findings were Campylobacter jejuni/coli in 13.0% and Salmonella species in 7.1% of the patients. Mixed infections of several pathogens were found in 16 patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in a 3-year-old Finnish visitor to France.

A child with non-ulcerating cutaneous leishmaniasis after a 3-week visit to Southern France is reported. Diagnosis was histological. The possibility of the patient having had a visceral infection was taken into account when designing the final treatment.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1983

Campylobacter enteritis in 188 hospitalized patients.

The clinical picture and epidemiologic characteristics of infection due to Campylobacter fetus subspecies jejuni were studied in 188 patients hospitalized in Finland during a three-year period. All but two patients had diarrhea; 90% had abdominal pain, fever, and fatigue; half had vomiting and headache; one third experienced electrolyte disturbances; and one fifth of the patients had other complications, most commonly pancreatitis (6%) and arthritis (5%). All age groups were affected, most usually those who were 0 to 9 years old and 20 to 29 years old. The incidence of domestic cases increased during the summer months. With only three exceptions (1.3%), all jejuni strains were sensitive to erythromycin. Among Finns who visited ten popular tourist countries, the incidence of hospitalized C jejuni enteritis cases varied from 0 to 63 per 100,000 travelers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Treatment of Trichuris trichiura infection with a single dose of oxantel pamoate.

166 patients with trichuriasis have been treated at the Department of Tropical Diseases, Aurora Hospital, Helsinki, from January 1975 to October 1979. Final results could be confirmed in 141 patients. Thiabendazole was found discouraging, because of frequent side effects and low cure rate (29% of 24 in-patients). In contrast, a single dose of oxantel pamoate gave minimal side effects in 37 in-patients and in 80 outpatients with a high overall cure rate of 98%. Neither allergic nor adverse haematological reactions were encountered during 3 years and 10 months' experience of treatment with oxantel pamoate.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Travellers' diarrhoea caused by Campylobacter jejuni.

Over a period of 18 months Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from the faeces of 19 (5.8%) of 329 travellers with diarrhoea, among 2488 patients attending the Outpatient Department of Tropical Diseases at Aurora Hospital. Incidences of Salmonella, Shigella and C. jejuni in diarrhoeal patients were very similar. C. jejuni caused initial symptoms of diarrhoeal disease indistinguishable from travellers' diarrhoea from other causes. Double bacterial or bacterial-parasitic infections were shown in 22 patients. During the same period at Aurora Hospital a total of 48 patients were found to have imported C. jejuni from 21 countries outside Scandinavia. Of these 83% had been on tourist trips.

Campylobacter Infections↗
PubMed1981

Clinical and serological studies in patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni infection: I. Clinical findings.

Stool samples from 775 patients with diarrhoea referred to a hospital over an 18-month period were cultured for Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni, and in 55 patients (7.1%), infections were identified. In addition, one asymptomatic patient had a positive stool sample and serological evidence of a current infection. The patients were aged between 11 and 76 years, the majority being in the age group 15 to 39 years. The symptoms included diarrhoea (in almost 100%), fever (in 80%) and abdominal tenderness (in 35%). Almost half the patients vomited. The total leucocyte count was usually normal, but half the patients showed increased numbers of juvenile neutrophils. Eosinopenia and high serum C-reactive protein were frequently seen in the acute phase of the illness. Complications included haematemesis, pancreatic affection, carditis, reactive arthritis, urticaria, and transient malabsorption in one patient who had had a previous Billroth II operation. Invasive disease was occasionally suggested by clinical manifestations of extensive mesenteric lymphadenitis, septicaemia and focal bone necrosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Clinical and serological studies in patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni infection: II. Serological findings.

The serological responses of 53 patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni enteritis were determined with formalinized, boiled and autoclaved antigen suspensions of four reference strains and the autologous isolate. Agglutinin titres of 400 or greater were found against both formalinized and boiled reference antigens in 64% of the patients. Using boiled reference antigens five seropositive patients were found who had not been detected with the formalinized reference antigens, and vice versa. Autoclaved antigens were less useful. The use of paired sera permitted the demonstration of a serological response in some additional patients, although their maximal titre did not exceed 200. The total number of patients with serological responses to reference antigens was thus 48 (91%). The use of autologous antigens detected only one further patient.

Antigen-Antibody Reactions↗
PubMed1981

Arthritis associated with Campylobacter jejuni enteritis.

Among 342 patients with infection due to Campylobacter fetus ss. jejuni, 8 cases (2.3%) of arthritis were found. Three patients had monoarthritis and 5 oligoor polyarthritis. The arthritis began 4 days - 4 weeks after the onset of diarrhoea; this interval and the synovial fluid findings suggest that the arthritis was reactive. The histocompatibility antigen HLA-B 27 was identified in 5 of the 7 patients tested.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Campylobacter enteritis mimicking acute abdominal emergency.

Among 81 hospitalized patients with enteritis due to Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni, abdominal pain was found to be an outstanding symptom, being observed in half the patients on admission. In 16 patients pain was the main reason for admission and in 5 prompted laparotomy. In 4 cases appendicitis was suspected, but in only 2 was slight inflammation seen; in 1 of these, however, the inflammation could not be verified by microscopic examination. One patient was operated on because of intestinal occlusion, presumably due to Campylobacter enteritis. In 10 further cases a surgeon was consulted because the abdominal pains were at first suspected to be due to cholecystitis, pancreatitis or other abdominal emergencies. Thus, acute phase of Campylobacter infection may mimick acute abdominal emergency. The diagnosis is sometimes hampered by the late onset of diarrhoea or even by its total absence, as well as by the usual presence of abdominal tenderness and severe abdominal pains.

Abdomen, Acute↗