0000000000494243

AUTHOR

Mikaela Von Bonsdorff

Accumulation of disparity in physical activity in old age

Background and aims: The level of physical activity often declines in old age, although many older people would like to be more active than what they are capable of. This leads to unmet physical activity need, the feeling that one’s level of physical activity is inadequate, which is a manifestation of disparity in physical activity in old age. The accumulation of risk factors, including mobility limitations, low socioeconomic status (SES) and lack of social support may increase disparity in physical activity. The aim of this study was to investigate how the accumulation of risk factors is associated with unmet physical activity need in older community-living people. Methods: The study was b…

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Early life determinants of frailty in old age : the Helsinki Birth Cohort Stud

Background there is evidence suggesting that several chronic diseases have their origins in utero and that development taking place during sensitive periods may affect the aging process. We investigated whether early life determinants would be associated with frailty in old age. Methods at a mean age of 71 years, 1,078 participants belonging to the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study were assessed for frailty according to the Fried frailty criteria. Early life measurements (birth weight, length, mother body mass index [BMI] and parity) were obtained from birth, child welfare and school health records. Multinomial regression analysis was used to assess the association between early life determinants…

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Depressive Symptoms and Mortality : Findings from Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

Background Individuals with depression and depressive symptoms have a higher mortality rate than non-depressed individuals. The increased comorbidity and mortality associated with depression has remained largely unexplained. The underlying pathophysiological differences between depressive subtypes, melancholic and non-melancholic, may provide some explanation to this phenomenon. Methods 1995 participants (mean age 61 years) from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study were recruited for this prospective study and followed up for a mean of 14.1 years. Information regarding medical history, lifestyle, and biochemical parameters were obtained. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depressio…

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Eläkeuudistuksen sisältö tunnetaan huonosti – havaintoja terveydenhuollon tutkimuksesta

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Motives for competitive sports participation in masters track and field athletes : Impact of sociodemographic factors and competitive background

Objectives Masters athletes due to their lifelong engagement in sport represent a unique group to study motivation for regular physical activity, but there is less scientific data on the sport motives in masters athletes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association of age, sex, education, nationality, competitive background and training amount with sport motives of masters track and field athletes. Methods 811 (254 women) athletes aged 35–89 years participated in European Veterans Athletics Championships in the year of 2000. Sport motives were assessed with a questionnaire and categorized into1) well-being, 2) competitive and performance 3) health and fitness motives. R…

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Perceived High Involvement Work Practices and Retirement Intentions

Sustainable human resource management (HRM) stresses the importance of maintaining and developing organizations’ human capital for social, ecological and financial reasons. In the context of aging workforce, the social aspect of sustainable HRM relates to the discussion of retaining older employees and preventing their early exit from work life. This study builds on sustainable HRM literature and examines the antecedents of working until official retirement age and continuing working beyond retirement age with special reference to perceived high involvement work practices (HIWPs). The study population consisted of older (more than 50 years) nursing professionals who work at a Finnish univer…

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Reply to Billieux and Fournier (2022) : collaborative shortcut to ontological diversity

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Change in physical activity and health-related quality of life in old age : a 10-year follow-up study

The aim of the study was to examine the association between change in leisure‐time physical activity (LTPA) and change in health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptoms of depression during a 10‐year follow‐up. This prospective study included 1036 men and women (mean age at baseline = 61.2 years) from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. Leisure‐time physical activity was measured with a questionnaire, HRQoL with SF36 and depression symptoms with Beck's depression inventory (BDI). The association between the change in LTPA and change in HRQoL and BDI were investigated with sex‐stratified general linear models adjusted for age, smoking, educational attainment, comorbidity score, and baselin…

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Trajectories of mobility limitations over 24 years and their characterization by shift work and leisure-time physical activity in midlife

Background We aimed to investigate trajectories of mobility limitations (MLs) over a period of 24 years. In addition, we aimed to study how shift work and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in midlife predict assignment to MLs trajectories separately for those retired on statutory pensions (SPs) and on disability pensions (DPs). Methods Subjects who responded MLs questionnaires (1985–2009, N = 3048) in Finnish Longitudinal Study on Aging Municipal Employees were included in this prospective cohort study. LTPA and shift work were measured during baseline. International Classification of Functioning was used to code MLs. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify the trajectories of MLs.…

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Work-loss years among people diagnosed with diabetes : a reappraisal from a life course perspective

Aims Early exit from the workforce has been proposed to be one of the unfavorable consequences of diabetes. We examined whether early exit from the workforce differed between persons who were and were not diagnosed with diabetes during their work career. Methods The cohort included 12,726 individuals of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, born between 1934 and 1944. Using data from nationwide registers, the cohort was followed up from early adulthood until they transitioned into retirement or died. Work-loss years were estimated using the restricted mean work years method. Results During a follow-up of 382,328 person-years for men and 349 894 for women, 36.8% transitioned into old age pension …

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Aktiivinen ja hyvinvoiva korkeakoulu -kyselyn tuloksia keväältä 2022

Liikkuva opiskelu -ohjelman myötä myös korkeakouluopiskelijoiden opiskelupäivän aikaiseen liikkumiseen ja paikallaanoloon on alettu kiinnittämään enemmän huomiota. Opiskelupäivien ja oppituntien aktivointi nähdään tarpeellisena, sillä vain puolet opiskelijoista liikkuu liikkumissuosituksiin nähden tarpeeksi. Myös istumista kertyy korkeakouluopiskelijoille lähes 11 tuntia päivittäin, ja iso osa tästä määrästä kertyy nimenomaan opiskelupäivän aikana. Istumisen vähentäminen ja opiskelupäivien aktivoiminen on perusteltua terveydellisistä syistä, mutta tauottamalla istumista tai aktivoimalla opetusta voidaan vaikuttaa myönteisesti myös opiskelijoiden jaksamiseen sekä opiskelukykyyn. Näihin teemo…

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Effect of physical activity councelling on disability in older people: A 2-year randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of a physical activity counseling intervention on instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) disability. DESIGN: Primary care–based, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. SETTING: City of Jyväskylä, central Finland. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred thirty-two people aged 75 to 81 who were able to walk 500 meters without assistance, were at most moderately physically active, had a Mini-Mental State Examination score greater than 21, had no medical contraindications for physical activity, and gave informed consent for participation. INTERVENTION: A single individualized physical activity counseling session with supportive phone calls from a physiotherapist ever…

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Physical activity as a predictor of disability and social and health service use in older people

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether functional status and physical activity history predict all-cause hospital and long-term care use among older community-dwelling people. In addition, the effects of physical activity counseling on instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) disability and home care service use in an older sedentary population were studied.Data from three larger studies were used. The Evergreen project cohorts born in 1910 and 1914 consisted of 617 persons. From the Evergreen project interview data on individuals born in 1908-1923, a decedent population was investigated (n=846). Screening and Counseling for Physical Activity and Mobility among Older Peop…

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Effect of physical activity counseling on home care use in older people

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Mid-career work patterns and physical and mental functioning at age 60–64 : evidence from the 1946 British birth cohort

Background: Previous studies of the associations between unemployment and health have primarily focused on mental health and long-term associations have not often been explored. This study investigated if discontinuous employment in mid-career was related to self-reported physical and mental functioning at age 60–64 years. Methods: Data come from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, a British cohort that has been followed-up since birth in 1946. A total of 2061 study members had data available on mid-career employment patterns and physical and mental functioning assessed using the Short Form 36 questionnaire at age 60–64. Employment patterns in mid-career …

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Tutkimusetiikka yhä tärkeämpää työelämän tutkimuksessa

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Non-melancholic depressive symptoms are associated with above average fat mass index in the Helsinki birth cohort study

AbstractThere is an existing link between two of the most common diseases, obesity and depression. These are both of great public health concern, but little is known about the relationships between the subtypes of these conditions. We hypothesized that non-melancholic depressive symptoms have a stronger relationship with both body composition (lean mass and fat mass) and dysfunctional glucose metabolism than melancholic depression. For this cross-sectional study 1510 participants from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study had their body composition evaluated as lean mass and fat mass (Lean Mass Index [LMI, kg/m2] + Fat Mass Index [FMI kg/m2] = Body Mass Index). Participants were evaluated for dep…

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Work ability as a determinant of old age disability severity: evidence from the 28-year Finnish Longitudinal Study on Municipal Employees

Background and aims: Lower occupational class correlates with a higher disability risk later in life. However, it is not clear whether the demands made by mental and physical work relative to individual resources in midlife predict well-being in old age. This study investigated prospectively whether work ability in midlife predicts disability severity in activities of everyday living in old age. Methods: Data come from the population-based 28-year follow-up called Finnish Longitudinal Study of Municipal Employees. A total of 2879 occupationally active persons aged 44-58 years answered a questionnaire on work ability at baseline in 1981 and activities of daily living in 2009. At baseline, pe…

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Keski-iän työkyky ennakoi elämän pituutta ja vanhuuden toimintakykyä

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