New study with @jessicanisen.bsky.social and Henrik Schubert Finland's fertility fell from 1.87 TFR (2010) to under 1.4—now the record low. Secularization is related to lower fertility; and couples' changing religious beliefs shape childbearing decisions. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Secularization and low fertility: How declining church membership changes couples’ childbearing

Previous studies have shown that secularization altered historical Western fertility patterns, but few studies have addressed the role of religion in …

sciencedirect.com

Our findings are particularly relevant for Europe right now. As the EU advances its High-Speed Rail Network Blueprint to connect all capitals by 2040, this creates a powerful opportunity to bring health to the forefront of transport policy.

PsyPost@psypost.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Expanding high-speed rail systems provides unexpected cognitive benefits for aging populations

👩 Our new paper treats China’s Urban–Rural Integrated Medical Insurance System as a large-scale quasi-natural experiment, covering roughly 650 million women, to examine its causal impact on women’s entrepreneurship. dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Empowering women entrepreneurs: The impact of integrated medical insurance system in China

China’s urban-rural Integrated Medical Insurance System (IMIS) has expanded universal health coverage, reducing disparities in healthcare access between urban and rural populations and addressing chal...

dx.plos.org

All are welcome, both online and in person!

Helsinki Institute for Demography and Population Health@pophel.bsky.social · 6mo ago

PopHel Talks: Next Monday, 2nd of February, @xuzong.bsky.social presents with title: AI in Health Inequality Research - Promises, Challenges, and an Agenda. 2nd of February, 02:00-02:45 PM (UTC+2) Please register for a Zoom link: elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/13...

🪵➡️♻️ Our study highlights that transitioning to cleaner fuels goes beyond cleaner air. It is a long-term investment in cognitive wellbeing and an upstream strategy to protect brain health in an ageing society. @pophel.bsky.social @helsinki.fi

Respro® Masks@resprouk.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Childhood exposure to air pollution linked to poorer cognitive performance in later life #AirPollution #Health medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01...

What, Why, and How: An Empiricist’s Guide to Double/Debiased Machine Learning | Information Systems Research pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/...

♻️🧠Thrilled to publish my first sole-authored paper in Socail Science & Medicine. This study revealed the link of childhood indoor air pollution with later-life cognitive health and its mechanisms, using national data and a machine learning approach. @pophel.bsky.social @helsinki.fi

👩‍💻Our new paper in BMC Geriatrics shows that Internet use can 'heal' loneliness among older Chinese adults, especially married ones. Social participation & online connections partly explain this. Notably, WeChat Moments use is key for lowering loneliness. @pophel.bsky.social @helsinki.fi

Unravelling the association between internet use and loneliness among Chinese older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of potentially moderating and mediating factors - BMC Geriatrics

Background The benefits of Internet use in reducing loneliness among older adults have been well-documented, particularly during COVID-19 lockdowns. However, most existing research has focused on high...

bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com

✝️ Our study found: While religion may help those raised in difficult family environments to cope, it cannot fully offset the health risks associated with childhood adversity (e.g,parental mental health issues). @pophel.bsky.social @helsinki.fi @share-eric.bsky.social www.helsinki.fi/en/news/fair...

Religious upbringing linked to better physical health in old age | University of Helsinki

Could a religious upbringing offer a path to healthier ageing? While religion may help those raised in difficult family environments to cope, it cannot fully offset the health risks associated with po...

helsinki.fi

📣 Our new preprint used machine learning across 30 countries to reveal key life-course social determinants of loneliness among older adults. We also developed a Streamlined Loneliness Predictive Model for future applications. @pophel.bsky.social @share-eric.bsky.social doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Machine Learning to Investigate Life-Course Social Determinants of Loneliness among Older Adults in the US, England, Israel, and 27 European Countries during the Pandemic

Background: Loneliness in later life is common and shaped by social determinants, with the COVID-19 pandemic and regional contexts further influencing disparities. Yet the role of life-course social d...

doi.org

📢 PopHel Newsletter for March - September 2025 is out!! 📰 To receive our newsletter you can subscribe to our mailing list by sending an email to mila.lyytinen@helsinki.fi 📩 You will also receive information on upcoming public talks 👩‍🏫 and open positions at PopHel‼️ www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

PopHel Newsletter | Helsinki Institute for Demography and Population Health | University of Helsinki

This newsletter shares our research activities at the Helsinki Institute for Demography and Population Health (PopHel).

helsinki.fi

🚆🚀 Thrilled to share our paper has been published in Social Science & Medicine, as well as my second paper in this journal. We first reveal the olders' cognitive health externalities of high-speed rail and related mechanisms using ML causal approach and national data. @pophel.bsky.social

We are live! The SoGreen project website is now online: 🔗 sogreen-project.eu We invite you to explore, share, and follow along as we build knowledge to support just and evidence-based policies in the green transition in Europe. @ess-survey.bsky.social @ggp.bsky.social @guide-cohort.bsky.social

Home • SoGreen

SoGreen is a European research collaboration integrating the four leading longitudinal social science surveys to track how people across Europe experience and respond to climate change. By adding a gr...

sogreen-project.eu

Uusi kirja “Mitä kuuluu, Suomi? Ihmiset ja yhteiskunta suurten murrosten keskellä” on nyt tilattavissa! 📚 Oma kappaleeni käsittelee Suomen väestötrendejä ja väestöennusteita sekä sitä, miten voimme varautua tulevaan. www.gaudeamus.fi/teos/mita-ku...

Mitä kuuluu, Suomi? - Gaudeamus

Mitä kuuluu Suomi? piirtää tutkittuun tietoon pohjaavaa tilannekuvaa yhteiskunnasta ja auttaa ymmärtämään meihin vaikuttavia ajankohtaisia ilmiöitä. Tilaa kirja verkosta.

gaudeamus.fi

⏳I will present new machine learning (ML)–based causal approach—double machine learning (DML)—with an applied example, at the ML-SDH Workshop on Oct 17, 2–3 PM, 2025 (Helsinki time, Zoom)! If you're interested in ML-based causal inference in health research, welcome to click link below to join us.

📣 I am seeking postdoctoral or faculty positions starting in 2026. My research focuses on aging, health, and machine learning, and published multiple papers in leading journals. Any opportunities would be appreciated, thank you for sharing! 😊 More about me: researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/x...

Xu Zong

researchportal.helsinki.fi

👶➡️🧑‍🦳 Our study shows that adverse childhood circumstances such as lack of friendships, poor housing, increase the risk of 💔 suicidal thoughts in later life, highlighting the need for a lifespan approach to suicide prevention. @pophel.bsky.social @share-eric.bsky.social www.helsinki.fi/en/news/fair...

Lack of childhood friendships linked to suicidal thoughts in over-50s | University of Helsinki

An international University of Helsinki study has found that adverse childhood circumstances increase the risk of suicidal ideation in later life.

helsinki.fi

🎤Thrilled to have delivered my oral presentation at the 30th International Population Conference (IPC) in Brisbane 🇦🇺today! The thoughtful comments and engaging discussions made it such a rewarding experience! #IPC2025 #Brisbane #PopulationResearch

#IPC2025 ⏰ I will present my paper about childhood exposure to air pollution and cognitive decline in old age, during Session Early Life Exposure and Cohort Change in Health and Mortality on 16/07/2025, from 08:30 to 10:00. Look forward to everyone who have interest in this topic.😊 #IUSSP

IUSSP@iussp.bsky.social · last yr.

🌏 It all begins today! #IPC2025 kicks off in Brisbane — the international gathering of population experts. Explore fertility, migration, health, climate & more. Visit our desk onsite to plan your #VisitBrisbane & Queensland! 📍 July 13–18 | Brisbane #IUSSP 🔗 ipc2025.iussp.org/final-program/

💚 publication in Journal of Affective Disorders! We provided novel evidence of dose-repsonse relationships between childhood adversity and 🦠COVID-19-related mental disorders, also uncovered some protective moderating factors @pophel.bsky.social @share-eric.bsky.social

🧒 New publication in Journal of Affective Disorders ! We developed advanced machine learning model to investigate strong and often overlooked emotional and behavioural risk factors that can be predicted to be present in five-year-old children. @pophel.bsky.social www.helsinki.fi/en/news/fair...

Lack of breastfeeding, low birth weight and smoking during pregnancy predict behavioural difficulties for the child | University of Helsinki

The researchers identified strong and often overlooked emotional and behavioural risk factors that can be predicted to be present in five-year-old children.

helsinki.fi

🚀 New publication in Social Science & Medicine! We used cross-national data and a machine learning approach to examine how early religious upbringing is associated with later-life health. It varied in health domains, life-course conditions. @pophel.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Heterogeneous associations between early-life religious upbringing and late-life health: Evidence from a machine learning approach

Religious upbringing was common in Europe during the childhood of older adults today. However, studies are still lacking on how early-life religious u…

sciencedirect.com

⏳This Friday, we are thrilled to invite Jiani Yan (University of Oxford) to share her Nature Computational Science paper, “On the Unknowable Limits to Prediction.” Learn how to enhance predictive performance of Machine Learning! blogs.helsinki.fi/zongx/introd... Welcome to register via the link 👏🏻