The FinnDiane Study
The nationwide Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane) Study launched in 1997 has established its position as the world leading study group on diabetic nephropathy. To date, the study comprises nearly 10,000 well characterized patients with type 1 diabetes recruited from 93 centers all over Finland.
Long disease duration accompanied by poor glycemic control increase the risk of late diabetic complications in patients with type 1 diabetes. However, genetic as well as lifestyle factors also affect the development of microvascular (nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy) and macrovascular complications (myocardial infarction, stroke). The main aim is to elucidate why one third of the patients develop diabetic nephropathy with subsequent risk of macrovascular disease and premature death. Understanding the interplay between the environment, genes and lifestyle may help identify people at risk and may help tailoring personalized preventative measures, and ultimately, to improve the quality of life of people with diabetes.
We have identified a number of environmental, life style and genetic risk factors associated with the risk of diabetic complications. One particular interest is to understand the potential deleterious effect of the chronic exposure to bacterial compounds and an inflammatory gut to the kidney health. Another promising hypothesis is diabetes-induced hypoxia that can cause irreversible damage to tissues through a number of downstream effects. Major efforts are made to dissect the genetic landscape of diabetic complications by employing state-of-the-art methods such as genome-wide association studies, exome- and whole genome sequencing, and epigenetics. We have identified multiple genetic factors that affect the risk of diabetic kidney disease, diabetic retinopathy, cardiovascular disease and blood glucose balance. As one of the largest studies participating in an international collaboration including 19,406 individuals with type 1 diabetes, we identified 16 novel genetic factors, including a common missense variant of COL4A3 gene that reduced the risk of diabetic kidney disease. With the ongoing sequencing efforts, we aim to identify also rare genetic factors that may have a larger impact on the risk of diabetic complications on individual level.
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Senior Scientists
Niina Sandholm, Principal Investigator
Lena Thorn, Principal Clinical Investigator
Per-Henrik Groop, Senior Advisor, Emeritus group leader
Markku Lehto, Co-Principal investigator
Valma Harjutsalo, Co-Principal investigator
Post-doctoral Scientists
Anmol Kumar
Anna Syreeni
Emma Dahlström
Fanny Jansson Sigfrids
Hanne Salmenkari
Heidi Tikkanen
Johan Wadén
Krishna Adeshara
Liisa Tomppo
Maija Feodoroff
Markku Saraheimo
Milla Kallio
Nina Elonen
Raija Lithovius
Rasmus Simonsen
Stefan Mutter
Stefanie Hägg-Holmberg
Doctoral Researchers
Aleksi Tarkkonen
Anni Antikainen
Anni Ylinen
Anniina Pirttiniemi
Anniina Tynjälä
Erkka Valo
Hanna Paajanen
Iiris Kyläheiko
Jani Haukka
Jussi Inkeri
Mari-Anne Härma
Marika Eriksson
Nadja Vuori
Patrik Smidtslund
Susanna Satuli-Autere
Tor-Björn Claesson
Vili Kostamo
Visiting Scientists
Daniel Gordin
Drazenka Pongrac
Erika Parente
Lars Stechemesser
Luciano Bernardi
Nicolae Panduru
Staff
Anna Sandelin
Ann-Sofie Sundbäck
Anu Dufva
Carina Brandstetter
Ekaterina Pylsy
Hanna Olanne
Heli Krigsman
Jaana Tuomikangas
Johanna Jalo
Jonna-Riikka Saastamoinen
Kirsi Uljala
Mira Korolainen
Medical Students
Emilia Franzén
Frida Lindholm
Isabella Herrlin
Johanna Blomqvist
Johanna Soininen
Matias Seppälä
Rebecka Bergdal
Renata Lindberg
Sara Itkonen
Thorn LM*, Shams S*, Gordin D, Liebkind R, Forsblom C, Summanen P, Hägg-Holmberg S, Putaala J, Tatlisumak T, Salonen O, Martola J**, Groop P-H**, FinnDiane Study Group.
Clinical and MRI features of cerebral small vessel disease in type 1 diabetes.
Diabetes Care 42: 327-330, 2019
Salem RM, Todd JN, Sandholm N, Cole JB, Chen W-M, Andrews D, Pezzolesi MG, McKeigue PM, Hiraki LT, Qiu C, Nair V, Di Liao C, Cao JJ, Valo E, Onengut-Gumuscu S, Smiles AM, McGurnaghan SJ, Haukka J, Harjutsalo V, Brennan E, Van Zuydam N, Ahlqvist E, Doyle R, Ahluwalia T, Lajer M, Hughes M, Park J, Skupien J, Spiliopoulou A, Liu A, Menon R, Boustany-Kari CM, Kang HM, Nelson RG, Klein R, Klein B, Lee K, Gao X, Mauer M, Maestroni S, Caramori ML, de Boer IH, Miller R, Gao J, Boright AP, Tregouet D, Gyorgy B, Snell-Bergeon JK, Maahs DM, Bull SB, Canty AJ, Palmer C, Stechemesser L, Paulweber B, Witgasser R, Sokolovska J, Rovite V, Pirags V, Prakapiene E, Radzeviciene L, Verkauskiene R, Panduru NM, Groop LC, McCarthyM, Gu H, Möllsten A, Falhammar H, Brismar K, Martin F, Rossing P, Costacou T, Zerbini G, Marre M, Hadjadj S, McKnight AJ, Forsblom C, McKay G, Godson C, Maxwell AP, Kretzler M, Susztak K, Colhoun HM, Krolewski A, Paterson AD, Groop P-H, Rich SS, Hirschhorn JN, Florez JC.
Genome-wide association study of diabetic kidney disease highlights biology involved in renal basement membrane collagen.
JASN 30: 2000-2016, 2019
Simonsen R, Järvinen A, Harjutsalo V, Forsblom C, Lehto M, Groop P-H, FinnDiane Study Group.
The association between bacterial infections and the risk of coronary heart disease in type 1 diabetes.
J Intern Med 288: 711-724, 2020
Antikainen AAV*, Sandholm N*, Tregouet DA, Charmet R, McKnight AJ, Ahluwalia TS, Syreeni A, Valo E, Forsblom C, Gordin D, Harjutsalo V, Hadjadj S, Maxwell AP, Rossing P, Groop PH:
Genome-wide association study on coronary artery disease in type 1 diabetes suggests beta-defensin 127 as a risk locus.
Cardiovasc Res. , 2020
Harjutsalo V, Pongrac Barlovic D, Groop PH.
Long-term population-based trends in the incidence of cardiovascular disease in individuals with type 1 diabetes from Finland: a retrospective, nationwide, cohort study.
Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2021 Sep;9(9):575-585. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(21)00172-8. Epub 2021 Jul 22.
Ahola AJ, Harjutsalo V, Forsblom C, Pouwer F, Groop PH.
Depression is associated with progression of diabetic nephropathy in type 1 diabetes.
Diabetes Care. 2021;44:174–180.
Parente EB, Dahlström E, Harjutsalo V, Inkeri JM, Mutter S, Forsblom C, Sandholm N Gordin D, Groop P-H, FinnDiane Study Group.
The relationship between body fat distribution and non-alcoholic fatty liver in adults with type 1 diabetes.
Diabetes Care2021 May 24:dc203175. doi: 10.2337/dc20-3175. Online ahead of print.
Mutter S, Valo E, Aittomäki V, Nybo K, Raivonen L, Thorn LM, Forsblom C, Sandholm N, Würtz, Peter, Groop P-H.
Urinary metabolite profiling identifies biomarkers for risk of progression of diabetic nehropathy in 2670 individuals with type 1 diabetes.
Diabetologia 2021(in press)
Jansson Sigfrids F, Groop PH, Harjutsalo V.
Incidence rate patterns, cumulative incidence, and time trends for moderate and severe albuminuria in individuals diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged 0-14 years: a population-based retrospective cohort study.
Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2022 Jul;10(7):489-498. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(22)00099-7. Epub 2022 Apr 27.
Smidtslund P, Jansson Sigfrids F, Ylinen A, Elonen N, Harjutsalo V, Groop PH, Thorn LM.
Prognosis After First-Ever Myocardial Infarction in Type 1 Diabetes Is Strongly Affected by Chronic Kidney Disease.
Diabetes Care. 2023 Jan 1;46(1):197-205. doi: 10.2337/dc22-1586.
National
Prof. Johan Eriksson (Folkhälsan Research Center, University of Helsinki)
Prof. Leif Groop (University of Helsinki and University of Lund, Sweden)
Prof. Sohvi Hörkkö (University of Oulu)
Doc. Matti Jauhiainen (University of Helsinki)
Doc. Juha Kirveskari (University of Helsinki)
Prof. Mikael Knip (University of Helsinki)
Prof. Sanna Lehtonen (University of Helsinki)
Doc. Markus Metsälä (University of Helsinki)
Prof. Markus Perola (University of Helsinki)
Prof. Kirsi Pietiläinen (University of Helsinki)
Doc. Pirkko Pussinen (University of Helsinki)
Doc. Jukka Putaala (University of Helsinki)
Doc. Paula Summanen (University of Helsinki)
Prof. Marja-Riitta Taskinen (University of Helsinki)
Prof. Heikki Tikkanen (University of Eastern Finland, University of Helsinki)
Prof. Ilkka Tikkanen (University of Helsinki)
Doc. Tiinamaija Tuomi (Folkhälsan Research Center, University of Helsinki)
International
Prof. Helen Colhoun (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Prof. Mark Cooper (Monash University, Australia)
Prof. Assam El-Osta (Monash University, Australia)
Ass. Prof. Paola Fioretto (University of Padova, Italy)
Prof. Jose Florez (Harvard University, USA)
Prof. Allan Flyvbjerg (University of Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark),
Prof. Alessia Fornoni (University of Miami, USA)
Prof. Catherine Godson (University of Dublin, Ireland)
Prof. Maria Gomez (University of Lund, Sweden)
Prof. Samy Hadjadj (University of Poitiers, France)
Prof. Joel Hirschhorn (Harvard University, USA)
Prof. Harry Holthöfer (University of Freiburg, Germany)
Prof. Alicia Jenkins (Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia)
Prof. Matthias Kretzler (University of Michigan)
Prof. Andrzej S. Krolewski (Harvard University, USA)
Ass. Prof. Christine Maric (NIH, USA)
Prof. A. Peter Maxwell (University of Belfast, UK)
Prof. Amy Jayne McKnight (University of Belfast, UK)
Ass. Prof. Andrew Patterson (University of Toronto, Canada)
Prof. Massimo Porta (University of Torino, Italy)
Prof. Peter Rossing (University of Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark)
Prof. Kumar Sharma (University of San Diego, USA)
Prof. Katalin Susztak (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
Prof. Karl Tryggvason (University of DukeNUS, Singapore)
Prof. Xia Yang (University of California, USA)
Finnish Diabetes Research Foundation
Finska Läkaresällskapet (Finnish Medical Society)
Folkhälsan Research Foundation
Innovate UK
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Liv och Hälsa Foundation
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Novo Nordisk Foundation
Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation
The Helsinki University Central Hospital Research Funds
University of Helsinki funded doctoral program
Wilhelm and Else Stockmann Foundation
Contact
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Niina Sandholm
MSc, DSc, Adjunct Professor, Group leader
Tel:
+358 44 788 1045-
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