Stature and long-term labor market outcomes: Evidence using Mendelian randomization.
We use the Young Finns Study (N = ∼2000) on the measured height linked to register-based long-term labor market outcomes. The data contain six age cohorts (ages 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18, in 1980) with the average age of 31.7, in 2001, and with the female share of 54.7. We find that taller people earn higher earnings according to the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation. The OLS models show that 10 cm of extra height is associated with 13% higher earnings. We use Mendelian randomization, with the genetic score as an instrumental variable (IV) for height to account for potential confounders that are related to socioeconomic background, early life conditions and parental investments, which ar…
Factors associated with six-year weight change in young and middle-aged adults in the Young Finns Study
Objective. To examine factors associated with weight change and obesity risk in young and middle-aged adults. Subjects/methods. The Young Finns Study with its 923 women and 792 men aged 24–39 years at baseline were followed for six years. Variables associated with the weight change were investigated with regression models. Results. The average weight change was 0.45 kg/year in women and 0.58 kg/year in men. In women, weight change was steady across all ages. In men, weight changes were more pronounced in younger age groups. In women (weight gain > 2 kg, n = 490), medication for anxiety, low occupational status, high baseline BMI (body mass index), high intake of sweet beverages, high chi…
Born entrepreneurs? : Adolescents’ personality characteristics and entrepreneurship in adulthood
Is there an entrepreneurial personality, and does it appear early in life? We provide a new answer to this important question by examining traits related to Type A behavior (Aggression, Leadership, Responsibility, and Eagerness-Energy) measured during adolescence and their relationship to entrepreneurship propensity in adulthood. The results indicate that the early-life Leadership dimension is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of 1) becoming an entrepreneur and 2) being more successful as an entrepreneur, as approximated by sales. peerReviewed
Temperament and Early Intentions to Retire
Abstract Objective: To examine associations between temperament traits and early retirement intentions. Methods: In the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, we analyzed early retirement intentions at the age 46 according to Cloninger temperament traits at the age 46 (n = 4409) and at the age 31 (n = 3226). Ordinal logistic regression analyses were used. Adjustments were made for marital status, education, work type, job satisfaction, perceived health, and mental health problems. Results: 11% of men and 9% of women had strong retirement intentions. Especially higher harm avoidance was associated with higher early retirement intentions in both sexes at the age of 46. A similar pattern of resul…
The biometric antecedents to happiness
It has been suggested that biological markers are associated with human happiness. We contribute to the empirical literature by examining the independent association between various aspects of biometric wellbeing measured in childhood and happiness in adulthood. Using Young Finns Study data (n = 1905) and nationally representative linked data we examine whether eight biomarkers measured in childhood (1980) are associated with happiness in adulthood (2001). Using linked data we account for a very rich set of confounders including age, sex, body size, family background, nutritional intake, physical activity, income, education and labour market experiences. We find that there is a negative rel…
Childhood Environmental and Genetic Predictors of Adulthood Obesity: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study
Obesity from childhood to adulthood is associated with adverse health later in life. Increased youth BMI is a risk factor for later obesity, but it is unknown whether identification of other risk factors, including recently discovered genetic markers, would help to identify children at risk of developing adult obesity.Our objective was to examine the childhood environmental and genetic predictors of adult obesity.We followed 2119 individuals of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study for up to 27 yr since baseline (1980, age 3-18 yr).We evaluated adult obesity [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2)].The independent predictors (P0.05) of adult obesity included childhood BMI, C-reactive pro…
Personality, occupational sorting and routine work
Purpose – A prominent labour market feature in recent decades has been the increase in abstract and service jobs, while the demand for routine work has declined. This article examines whether the components of Type A behaviour predict workers’ selection into nonroutine abstract, non-routine service and routine jobs. Design/methodology/approach – Building on the work by Barrick et al. (2013), this article first presents how the theory of purposeful work behaviour can be used to explain how individuals with different levels of Type A components sort into abstract, service and routine jobs. Then, using longitudinal data, it examines whether the components of Type A behaviour predict occupation…
Does Childhood Temperamental Activity Predict Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior over a 30-Year Period? Evidence from the Young Finns Study
We examined associations between childhood temperamental activity, physical activity (PA), and television (TV) viewing over a 30-year period. The participants (1220 boys and 1237 girls) were aged 3, 6, 9, and 12 years in 1980 and were followed until 2011. Temperamental activity was evaluated by participants' mothers at baseline. The PA was assessed based on maternal ratings of the child from ages 3 to 6 and via self-report age from the age of 9 across all measurements. TV viewing was assessed using self-reports taken from 2001 to 2011. The associations between temperamental activity and the level and change of PA and TV viewing were determined using linear growth modeling stratified by gend…
Parental Physical Activity Associates With Offspring's Physical Activity Until Middle Age: A 30-Year Study.
Background:Parents’ physical activity associates with their children’s physical activity. Prospective designs assessing this association are rare. This study examined how parents’ physical activity was associated with their children’s physical activity from childhood to middle adulthood in a 30-year prospective, population-based setting.Methods:Participants (n = 3596) were from the ongoing Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study started in 1980. Participants’ physical activity was self-reported at 8 phases from 1980 to 2011, and their parents’ physical activity at 1980. Analyses were adjusted for a set of health-related covariates assessed from 1980 to 2007.Results:High levels of mothers’ …
Physical Activity, Sleep, and Symptoms of Depression in Adults - Testing for Mediation
Abstract Purpose: Physical activity, sleep problems, and symptoms of depression contribute to overall well-being. The factors are reciprocally associated, but the nature of these associations remains unclear. The present study examined whether sleep problems mediated the association between physical activity and depressive symptoms. Methods: The eligible population (n = 3596) consisted of adults from the ongoing, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study started in 1980. Participants’ leisure-time physical activity was assessed with physical activity index (2007) and sleep problems with Jenkins’ Sleep Questionnaire in 2007 and 2011. Depressive symptoms were measured using mo…
Personality, occupational sorting and routine work
PurposeA prominent labour market feature in recent decades has been the increase in abstract and service jobs, while the demand for routine work has declined. This article examines whether the components of Type A behaviour predict workers' selection into non-routine abstract, non-routine service and routine jobs.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the work by Barrick et al. (2013), this article first presents how the theory of purposeful work behaviour can be used to explain how individuals with different levels of Type A components sort into abstract, service and routine jobs. Then, using longitudinal data, it examines whether the components of Type A behaviour predict occupational sor…
The benefits of sustained leisure-time physical activity on job strain
Background The long-term effects of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) on job strain have not been assessed in a large prospective population-based cohort study. Aims To examine the relationship between the LTPA and the prevalence of job strain. Methods The participants were 861 full-time employees (406 men and 455 women), aged 24―39 years in 2001, from the ongoing Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. LTPA was assessed using a self-report questionnaire in 1992 and in 2001. The participants were grouped into four categories according to tertiles of LTPA index at two time points: persistently active, increasingly active, decreasingly active and persistently inactive. Job strain was me…
Factors associated with six-year weight change in young and middle-aged adults in the Young Finns Study
Objective. To examine factors associated with weight change and obesity risk in young and middle-aged adults. Subjects/methods. The Young Finns Study with its 923 women and 792 men aged 24–39 years at baseline were followed for six years. Variables associated with the weight change were investigated with regression models. Results. The average weight change was 0.45 kg/year in women and 0.58 kg/year in men. In women, weight change was steady across all ages. In men, weight changes were more pronounced in younger age groups. In women (weight gain > 2 kg, n = 490), medication for anxiety, low occupational status, high baseline BMI (body mass index), high intake of sweet beverages, high chi…
Depressive symptoms and long-term income: The Young Finns Study
Abstract Background Higher depressive symptoms have been associated with lower future income. However, studies examining this issue have had limited follow-up times and have used self-reported measures of income. Also, possible confounders or mediators have not been accounted. Methods 971 women and 738 men were selected from the ongoing prospective Young Finns Study (YFS) that began in 1980. Depressive symptoms were measured in 1992 when participants were from 15 to 30 years old. Information on annual income and earnings from 1993 to 2010 were obtained from the Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data (FLEED) of Statistics Finland and linked to the YFS. Results Higher depressive symptoms…
Factors associated with six-year weight change in young and middle-aged adults in the Young Finns Study.
To examine factors associated with weight change and obesity risk in young and middle-aged adults.The Young Finns Study with its 923 women and 792 men aged 24-39 years at baseline were followed for six years. Variables associated with the weight change were investigated with regression models.The average weight change was 0.45 kg/year in women and 0.58 kg/year in men. In women, weight change was steady across all ages. In men, weight changes were more pronounced in younger age groups. In women (weight gain2 kg, n = 490), medication for anxiety, low occupational status, high baseline BMI (body mass index), high intake of sweet beverages, high childhood BMI, high salt (NaCl and/or KCl) use, l…
Healthy Learning Mind - a school-based mindfulness and relaxation program: a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial
Abstract Background Mindfulness has shown positive effects on mental health, mental capacity and well-being among adult population. Among children and adolescents, previous research on the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions on health and well-being has shown promising results, but studies with methodologically sound designs have been called for. Few intervention studies in this population have compared the effectiveness of mindfulness programs to alternative intervention programs with adequate sample sizes. Methods/design Our primary aim is to explore the effectiveness of a school-based mindfulness intervention program compared to a standard relaxation program among a non-clinical c…
Is It Good To Be Good? Dispositional Compassion and Health Behaviors
Background Despite the documented importance of dispositional compassions for a range of health-related outcomes, its role in predicting health behaviors remains unclear. Purpose This study examined the associations between dispositional compassion and three domains of health behavior, including physical activity, alcohol use, and smoking. Methods The participants (N = 1,279–1,913) were from the Finnish population-based Young Finns study. We collected self-reports of compassion in 1997 and 2011 and health behaviors in 2001, 2007, and 2011. In addition, an objective pedometer measure of physical activity was collected in 2011. Linear and logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the…
Trajectories of Physical Activity Predict the Onset of Depressive Symptoms but Not Their Progression: A Prospective Cohort Study
This prospective, community-based study examined trajectories of physical activity from childhood to adulthood and whether these trajectories contributed to depressive symptoms in adulthood to a greater degree than adulthood physical activity. Participants (n=3596) were from the ongoing Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study which started in 1980. Depressive symptoms were measured with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in 2012, and physical activity was assessed from 1980 to 2011 with self-reports. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, childhood negative emotionality, socioeconomic factors, previous depressive symptoms, social support, body mass index, and smoking status (1980–2007). High…