Research Unit of Population Health
The Center for Life Course Health Research, the Research Unit of Oral Health Sciences and the Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research were combined to this new unit during the 2022 organizational re-arrangement of the Faculty of Medicine. PopH brings together the expertise of the researchers and research groups of different topics.
Director Professor Juha Auvinen
Vice director University researcher Virpi Harila
PopH in a nutshell
One of the five research units at the Faculty of Medicine
Established in 2022
Teaching in 14 disciplines for medical and dentistry students
Approx 110 staff members
The Research unit of Population Health aims at research excellence in the fields of life-course epidemiology, systems epidemiology, psychiatric epidemiology, occupational health, health activity, public health, environmental health as well as oral health and clinical practices.
Lifelong health is the cross cutting theme of our research. We view human health from the perspective of different disciplines from individual to global scale - from oral health to general practice and public health to environmental and planetary health. One important aspect is the use of high technology in maintaining and promoting oral health. Our multidisciplinary research groups host researchers with different backgrounds and expertise, from clinical researchers to gene researchers, health scientists to geographers, biologists and anthropologists.
The researchers are supported by international and national funding including Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects (EUCAN CONNECT, LongITools, EarlyCause, TRIGGER, EMERGE, InChildHealth), the Academy of Finland (APSY Oulu, RECIPE, SCHOOLWELL and Academy Research Fellows), Biocenter Oulu and several foundations.
You can find more information about the research groups and the projects from the links below.
Research groups
Life-course Epidemiology
The Life-course epidemiology group is inclusive, multicultural, multidisciplinary and international and researches the origins and life-course trajectories of cardio-metabolic diseases and chronic multi-morbidities.
CERH
Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH) is a multidisciplinary group, it's strategy is related to research, education and outreach activities related to global environmental health effects. Responsible of teaching public health.
Longitudinal outcomes in psychoses, and beneficial and harmful effects of antipsychotics in psychoses and off-label use
During years 2018-2023 our group will explore the effectiveness and adverse effects of antipsychotics in psychoses and in off-label use
Physical activity and health across the lifespan
The research group is multidisciplinary gathering together several research disciplines (sports sciences, public health, health sciences, pedagogics, psychology, medical technology, information studies and cultural anthropology).
Psychiatric Epidemiology - Northern Finland Birth Cohort studies 1966 and 1986
The research group investigates different topics relating to psychiatric epidemiology.
Working life network/working life groups
Working life network
Oral and craniofacial development research group
A major focus on studies is on NFBC-studies on tooth eruption, facial pain, lip morphology and aesthetics, occlusion and facial soft tissue characteristics.
Periodontal diseases and systemic health
We focus on the two-way relationship between periodontal and general health.
Systems epidemiology
The Systems Epidemiology laboratory at the Research Unit of Population Health is an internally and internationally actively collaborating group of around a dozen scientists in various career stages.
Current research projects
InChildHealth - Identifying determinants for indoor air quality and their health impact in environments for children: measures to improve indoor air quality and reduce disease burdens
SchoolWell - Future School of Comprehensive Well-Being
SoluTions foR mItiGatinG climate-induced hEalth tReaths (TRIGGER)
Dynamic longitudinal exposome trajectories in cardiovascular and metabolic non-communicable diseases (LongITools)
Sustainability Transformations doctoral education pilot (SusTra)
Completed projects (funding period ended)
GLORIA - Global health risks related to atmospheric composition and weather
SosClim, Social justice in climate policy – Adaptation of the Saami people to the climate change
LIIKENNE - Traffic emissions reduction, costs and just effects
SOIKE - Developing the indicators of adaptation
EMERGE - Evaluation, Control and Mitigation of the Environmental Impacts of Shipping Emissions
Causative mechanisms & integrative models linking early-life-stress to psycho-cardio-metabolic multi-morbidity (EarlyCause)
Digileap of oral health - towards virtual reception
The effects of antipsychotics in insomnia, anxiety and depression – APSY Oulu project
A federated FAIR platform enabling large-scale analysis of high-value cohort data connecting Europe and Canada in personalized health (EUCAN-Connect)
Societal and economic impacts of physical activity and sedentary behavior (SEPAS)
Resistant Cities: Urban Planning as Means for Pandemic Prevention (RECIPE)
Research Unit of Population Health is responsible of education for general medicine, geriatrics, occupational health, dentistry and public health. Our international research unit trains young researchers at different career stages in the master's and doctoral phase and in the post-doctoral phase. Many of our researchers teach epidemiology, molecular epidemiology and biomedical data science in the Epidemiology and Biomedical Data Science (EBDS) Master's Programme. Our unit is active in developing and implementing evidence-based practices, which also includes performing administrative tasks in the healthcare sector and developing specialist medical training at both local and national level. As an example, we implement two-year General Medicine GP training, which is in-depth training in the core competence areas of general medicine, in cooperation with the Unit of General Medicine at the Wellbeing Services County of North Ostrobothnia. Our unit bears the main responsibility for basic dental education and special education and basic medical education regarding multi-morbidity, multi-problems, functional capacity and health services.
Our disciplines are:
- General practice
- Geriatrics
- Occupational health
- Public health
- Physical activity
- Orthodontics
- Prosthetics
- Periodontology
- Cariology
- Oral and jaw surgery
- Oral radiology
- Oral health care
- Oral pathology
- Dental prothodontics and stomatognathic physiology
More information about teaching / studies
PhD Defences 2025
Unemployment and type 2 diabetes
Detecting and treating fearful dental patients in primary health care – a practice-based study
Implementation and antecedents of oral care for older people in private enhanced housing units and nursing homes in Finland. The view of supervisor nurses
Recovery from severe mental disorders – Effectiveness of a combination of psychiatric interventions in a residential setting and psychometric properties of a measure of support for personal recovery
Comprehensive molecular characterisation of lipoproteins and lipids in epidemiological studies: towards combining NMR metabolomics and LC-MS/MS lipidomics
The effects of exposure to air pollution and cold weather on the risk of asthma and respiratory infections in children and young adults
PhD Defences 2024
Asthma subtypes formed by epidemiological and clinical methods
Occlusal characteristics, temporomandibular disorders, and oral health-related quality of life in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966.
Natural Residential Environment and Physical Activity in Adolescence and Midlife – The Role of Greenness, Landscape Diversity, and Nature Relatedness
Epidemiological applications of quantitative urinary NMR metabolomics
Health promotion in sports clubs – adolescents’ dietary habits, competitive goals in sports, and body image
Chronotype, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Sleep Regularity–Associations with cardiometabolic health at midlife in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966
Associations of physical activity with productivity and primary healthcare costs
Vitamin D status and its associations with disease over the course of adulthood – a Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 study
Associations of early-life motor development, young adulthood temperament and anhedonia with physical activity in midlife and changes in physical activity during adulthood – Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966.
Temporomandibular disorders in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. The role of sociodemographic and health-related factors, pain sensitivity, genetics, and association with dental anxiety
PhD Defences 2023
Clinical and psychosocial outcomes among patients with clefts in Norhern Finland
Occupational and other outcomes in schizophrenia and other psychoses
Sedentary behavior in middle-aged adults: Measurement method development and associations with lipid and glucose metabolism
Metabolic health and obesity: Early determinants, trajectories and causal analysis. The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 and 1986 studies.
Metabolic syndrome and periodontal condition – results of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 study
Effects of regular exercise on asthma control
Effects of indoor molds and smoking on lung function levels among adults with newly diagnosed asthma and healthy adults.
Temporomandibular disorders - prevalence of symptoms and association with health behaviors and oral health-related quality of life
Psychosocial Assessment of Patients With Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD). Suitability of the Finnish Version of Diagnostic Criteria for TMD Axis II Instruments
A register-based study of eruption patterns in the maxillary permanent canines and dental developmental abnormalities. Features seen in panoramic radiographs and treatment needs in permanent canines
Epidemiological investigations of circulating biomarkers for cardiometabolic diseases
Digital Magic Circle: Physically Activating Properties of the Augmented Reality Games in the Northern Context
Intensified lifestyle intervention with exercise as a treatment of severe obesity and prevention of cardiometabolic risks
Malocclusions and their associations with oral health-related quality of life in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966
Predictive Features and Potential Treatment Targets for Oral Tongue Cancer
Decoding health and disease blog
Contact information
Research Unit of Population Health (PopH)
Mailing address: Research Unit of Population Health (PopH), P.O. Box 5000, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland
Visiting address: Research Unit of Population Health (PopH), Faculty of Medicine, Kontinkangas Campus, Aapistie 5 B / Aapistie 3 (Oral health), Oulu, Finland.
Staff email addresses: firstname.lastname (a) oulu.fi
The Research Unit of Population Health hosts the editorial office archives of the Arctic Medical Research (1972-1996), International Journal of Circumpolar Health (1997-2011), and Circumpolar Health Supplements (2007-2010). For article requests, please contact cerh(a)oulu.fi.