Frailty in Midlife as a Predictor of Changes in Body Composition from Midlife into Old Age: A Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have investigated the association between frailty and subsequent body composition. METHODS: We performed separate linear mixed model analyses to study the associations between changes in the participant frailty status assessed by a frailty index (FI) and subsequent body mass index (BMI), lean mass index (LMI), fat mass index (FMI), and FMI to LMI ratio values assessed on three occasions over 17 years. The analyses were carried out among 996 participants spanning from age 57 to 84 years. RESULTS: With advancing age, LMI and BMI decreased, whereas FMI and FMI to LMI ratio increased. Participants with "stable frailty," followed by those with "increasing frailty" experienced faster decreases in LMI and faster increases in FMI and FMI to LMI ratio values from midlife into old age relative to those in the group "stable not frail." Contrastingly, those in the highest third of absolute annual increase in FMI and FMI to LMI ratio became more frail faster from midlife into old age relative to those in the lowest third. CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence of an adverse health outcome of frailty where lean indices declined faster and fat indices and fat-to-lean ratios increased faster from midlife into old age. The changes resembled those that occurred with aging, but at a faster pace. The relationship between body composition and frailty is likely bidirectional, where high or increasing levels of fat are associated with the risk of becoming more frail earlier, but where a longer duration of frailty may increase the risk of faster age-related changes to body composition.

Lifestyle-related factors in late midlife as predictors of frailty from late midlife into old age: a longitudinal birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined longitudinal changes in lifestyle-related factors and frailty. METHODS: We examined the association between individual lifestyle factors (exercise, diet, sleep, alcohol, smoking and body composition), their sum at baseline, their change over the 17-year follow-up and the rate of change in frailty index values using linear mixed models in a cohort of 2,000 participants aged 57-69 years at baseline. RESULTS: A higher number of healthy lifestyle-related factors at baseline was associated with lower levels of frailty but not with its rate of change from late midlife into old age. Participants who stopped exercising regularly (adjusted ß × Time = 0.19, 95%CI = 0.10, 0.27) and who began experiencing sleeping difficulties (adjusted ß × Time = 0.20, 95%CI = 0.10, 0.31) experienced more rapid increases in frailty from late midlife into old age. Conversely, those whose sleep improved (adjusted ß × Time = -0.10, 95%CI = -0.23, -0.01) showed a slower increase in frailty from late midlife onwards. Participants letting go of lifestyle-related factors (decline by 3+ factors vs. no change) became more frail faster from late midlife into old age (adjusted ß × Time = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.30). CONCLUSIONS: Lifestyle-related differences in frailty were already evident in late midlife and persisted into old age. Adopting one new healthy lifestyle-related factor had a small impact on a slightly less steeply increasing level of frailty. Maintaining regular exercise and sleeping habits may help prevent more rapid increases in frailty.

Social Mobility and Health-Related Quality of Life Trajectory Classes Among Older Women and Men.

OBJECTIVES: Changes in socioeconomic status (SES) during life may impact health in old age. We investigated whether social mobility and childhood and adulthood SES are associated with trajectories of health-related quality of life (HrQoL) over a 17-year period. METHODS: We used data from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (n = 2003, 46% men, mean age 61.5 years). Social mobility was derived from childhood SES, obtained from healthcare records, and register-based adulthood SES. RESULTS: Logistic regression models showed that lower adulthood SES was associated with lower physical HrQoL trajectories. Among men low (OR 3.95, p < .001), middle (OR 2.20, p = .006), and declining lifetime SES (OR 2.41, p = .001) were associated with lower physical HrQoL trajectories compared to men with high SES. Socioeconomic status was not associated with mental HrQoL trajectories. DISCUSSION: Declining SES during life course may have negative health consequences, while improving SES is potentially as beneficial as high SES to later-life health among men.

Cardiovascular Disease Events in Adults with a History of State Care in Childhood: Pooling of Unpublished Results from 9 Cohort Studies.

Background: Individuals who were separated from their biological family and placed into the care of the state during childhood (out-of-home care) are more prone to developing selected physical and mental health problems in adulthood, however, their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is uncertain. Accordingly, we pooled published and unpublished results from cohort studies of childhood care and adult CVD. Methods: We used two approaches to identifying relevant data on childhood care and adult CVD (PROSPERO registration CRD42021254665). First, to locate published studies, we searched PubMed (Medline) until November 2023. Second, with the aim of identifying unpublished studies with the potential to address the present research question, we scrutinised retrieved reviews of the impact of childhood state care on related adult health outcomes. All included studies were required to have prospective measurement of state care in childhood and a follow-up of CVD events in adulthood as the primary outcome (incident coronary heart disease and/or stroke). Collaborating investigators provided study-specific estimates which were aggregated using random-effects meta-analysis. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess individual study quality. Findings: Thirteen studies (2 published, 11 unpublished) met the inclusion criteria, and investigators from nine provided viable results, including updated analyses of the published studies. Studies comprised 611,601 individuals (301,129 women) from the US, UK, Sweden, Finland, and Australia. Relative to the unexposed, individuals with a care placement during childhood had a 50% greater risk of CVD in adulthood (summary rate ratio after basic adjustment [95% confidence interval]: 1.50 [1.22, 1.84]); range of study-specific estimates: 1.28 to 2.06; I2 = 69%, p = 0.001). This association was attenuated but persisted after multivariable adjustment for socioeconomic status in childhood (8 studies; 1.41 [1.15, 1.72]) and adulthood (9 studies, 1.28 [1.10, 1.50]). There was a suggestion of a stronger state care-CVD association in women. Interpretation: Our findings show that individuals with experience of state care in childhood have a moderately raised risk of CVD in adulthood. For timely prevention, clinicians and policy makers should be aware that people with a care history may need additional attention in risk factor management.

Programming of cardiac metabolism by miR-15b-5p, a miRNA released in cardiac extracellular vesicles following ischemia-reperfusion injury.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the potential involvement of miRNAs in the developmental programming of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) by maternal obesity. METHODS: Serum miRNAs were measured in individuals from the Helsinki Birth Cohort (with known maternal body mass index), and a mouse model was used to determine causative effects of maternal obesity during pregnancy and ischemia-reperfusion on offspring cardiac miRNA expression and release. RESULTS: miR-15b-5p levels were increased in the sera of males born to mothers with higher BMI and in the hearts of adult mice born to obese dams. In an ex-vivo model of perfused mouse hearts, we demonstrated that cardiac tissue releases miR-15b-5p, and that some of the released miR-15b-5p was contained within small extracellular vesicles (EVs). We also demonstrated that release was higher from hearts exposed to maternal obesity following ischaemia/reperfusion. Over-expression of miR-15b-5p in vitro led to loss of outer mitochondrial membrane stability and to repressed fatty acid oxidation in cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that miR-15-b could play a mechanistic role in the dysregulation of cardiac metabolism following exposure to an in utero obesogenic environment and that its release in cardiac EVs following ischaemic damage may be a novel factor contributing to inter-organ communication between the programmed heart and peripheral tissues.

Early growth, stress, and socioeconomic factors as predictors of the rate of multimorbidity accumulation across the life course: a longitudinal birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Early growth, stress, and socioeconomic factors are associated with future risk of individual chronic diseases. It is uncertain whether they also affect the rate of multimorbidity accumulation later in life. This study aimed to explore whether early life factors are associated with the rate at which chronic diseases are accumulated across older age. METHODS: In this national birth cohort study, we studied people born at Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland between Jan 1, 1934, and Dec 31, 1944, who attended child welfare clinics in the city, and were living in Finland in 1971. Individuals who had died or emigrated from Finland before 1987 were excluded, alongside participants without any registry data and who died before the end of the registry follow-up on Dec 31, 2017. Early anthropometry, growth, wartime parental separation, and socioeconomic factors were recorded from birth, child welfare clinic, or school health-care records, and Finnish National Archives. International Classification of Diseases codes of diagnoses for chronic diseases were obtained from the Care Register for Health Care starting from 1987 (when participants were aged 42-53 years) until 2017. Linear mixed models were used to study the association between early-life factors and the rate of change in the number of chronic diseases over 10-year periods. FINDINGS: From Jan 1, 1934, to Dec 31, 2017, 11 689 people (6064 [51·9%] men and 5625 [48·1%] women) were included in the study. Individuals born to mothers younger than 25 years (ß 0·09; 95% CI 0·06-0·12), mothers with a BMI of 25-30 kg/m2 (0·08; 0·05-0·10), and mothers with a BMI more than 30 kg/m2 (0·26; 0·21-0·31) in late pregnancy accumulated chronic diseases faster than those born to older mothers (25-30 years) and those with a BMI of less than 25 kg/m2. Individuals with a birthweight less than 2·5 kg (0·17; 0·10-0·25) and those with a rapid growth in height and weight from birth until age 11 years accumulated chronic diseases faster during their life course. Additionally, paternal occupational class (manual workers vs upper-middle class 0·27; 0·23-0·30) and wartime parental separation (0·24; 0·19-0·29 for boys; 0·31; 0·25-0·36 for girls) were associated with a faster rate of chronic disease accumulation. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that the foundation for accumulating chronic diseases is established early in life. Early interventions might be needed for vulnerable populations, including war evacuee children and children with lower socioeconomic status. FUNDING: Finska Läkaresällskapet, Liv och Hälsa rf, the Finnish Pediatric Research Foundation, and Folkhälsan Research Center. TRANSLATIONS: For the Finnish and Swedish translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Healthy ageing from birth to age 84 years in the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, Finland: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: The true prevalence of healthy ageing on a population level is unknown. In this study we aimed to examine the upper limit for the prevalence of healthy ageing, by quantifying the probability of surviving and remaining free of chronic diseases that could impact functioning (ie, healthy survival) across adulthood. We also estimated the prevalence of clinically assessed healthy ageing, and the determinants of healthy survival and healthy ageing. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, we assessed men and women born in 1934-44 from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (Helsinki, Finland; n=13 140). We obtained information on chronic diseases, deaths, and early-to-midlife variables from national registers, databases, and health records for the period Jan 1, 1971, to Dec 31, 2017 (follow-up 951 088 person-years). We also collated data from clinical visits conducted in 2001-04 and 2017-18. Healthy ageing was defined on the basis of clinical data according to six criteria covering chronic diseases, cognitive function, physical performance, depressive symptoms, pain interference, and social functioning. We analysed the probability of healthy survival across adulthood using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the determinants of healthy survival using Cox regression models. We assessed the association of healthy ageing status in 2017-18 (n=813 with available data) with late-midlife factors collected in 2001-04 using age-adjusted logistic regression. FINDINGS: The probability of healthy survival was 42·8% (95% CI 41·6-44·0) in men and 40·1% (38·9-41·4) in women at age 65 years, and 22·5% (21·5-23·6%) in men and 24·4% (23·3-25·6) in women at age 75 years. Healthy survival was associated with socioeconomic position in childhood (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], upper-middle class vs manual worker, men: 1·21 [1·11-1·31]; women: 1·15 [95% CI 1·05-1·26]) and years of education (aHR per 1 SD increase, men: 1·12 [1·08-1·16]; women: 1·03 [1·00-1·07]). In men, healthy survival was also associated with lower maternal BMI in late pregnancy (aHR per 1 SD increase 0·93 [0·90-0·96]), and in women, with shorter height at age 7 years (aHR per 1 SD increase 0·95 [0·91-0·99]). Among the 813 individuals with relevant clinical assessment data, 159 (19·6%) met all six criteria for healthy ageing at mean age 76 years (SD 3). In addition to age, we found that nutrition (Alternative Healthy Eating Index, age-adjusted odds ratio [aOR] per 1 point increase 1·03 [1·01-1·05]), former smoker status (vs non-smoker status, aOR 0·68 [0·47-0·98], and use of lipid-lowering medication (vs not used, aOR 0·60 [0·42-0·87]) in late midlife (mean age 61 years [SD 3]) were associated with healthy ageing. INTERPRETATION: The probability of healthy survival, as the upper limit for healthy ageing, was less than 50% from age 65 years. The probability of healthy survival and healthy ageing was influenced by several factors across the life course. Promotion of healthy ageing needs to take a life course approach. FUNDING: Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, Samfundet Folkhälsan, Finska Läkaresällskapet, Medicinska Understödsföreningen Liv och Hälsa, European Commission Seventh Framework Programme, EU Horizon 2020, and the Academy of Finland.

Association between resilience and frailty in older age: Findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: Resilience, a capacity to cope with adversity, has been linked to better functioning and health in older age. However, little is still known about resilience in relation to frailty. We explored whether resilience would be associated with frailty in older age and if we would observe differences in association between resilience and frailty according to the type of adversity. METHODS: The study included 681 participants from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, born in Helsinki between 1934 and 1944. Adversities in older age and resilience were assessed between 2015 and 2018 with the Hardy-Gill resilience scale, scores ranging from 0 (low) to 18 (high resilience). Frailty was assessed in 2017-18 by using a deficit accumulation-based Frailty Index with a scale from 0 to 1. Adversities were coded into categories by using a data-driven approach. A linear regression analysis was used to explore the association between resilience and frailty. RESULTS: Resilience was inversely associated with frailty in older age (ß -0.009, 95% CI -0.011 to -0.007, p<0.001). The association was observed for all other type of adversities except adversity in relationships and economical adversity. DISCUSSION: A higher resilience was related to lower levels of frailty in older age. Differences in association between resilience and frailty were observed according to the type of adversity. Focusing on the type of adverse events and the capacity to "bounce back" after an adversity in older age may reveal new perspectives on how to prevent and postpone frailty.

Physical and mental functioning trajectory classes among older adults and their association with specialized healthcare use.

BACKGROUND: Sex-specific physical and mental functioning trajectory classification could offer a way of understanding the differences in healthcare use at older age. METHODS: Using latent growth mixture models, sex-specific physical and mental functioning trajectory classes were formed for 1991 participants (mean age 61.5 years) of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. Physical and mental functioning were evaluated with the SF-36 survey conducted in clinical examinations in 2001-2004, 2011-2013, and 2017-2018. First and follow-up outpatient visits, emergency visits, and hospital days were extracted from a national register between the first clinical examination and the year 2017. We used regression models to examine the associations between healthcare use and trajectory classes. RESULTS: Two physical and mental functioning trajectory classes, high and intermediate, were observed for both sexes. The intermediate physical functioning trajectory class was associated with higher utilization rates of all examined specialized healthcare services (fully-adjusted IRRs varying 1.36-1.58; 95% CI = 1.03-1.79, 95% CI = 1.21-2.05) compared to the high trajectory class. Relative to the high trajectory class, the intermediate mental trajectory class was associated with the use of first outpatient visits (fully-adjusted IRRs 1.17, 95% CI = 1.03-1.33 for men, and 1.16, 95% CI = 1.04-1.30 for women). The findings were similar among both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the high trajectory class, the intermediate physical functioning trajectory class was associated with greater specialized healthcare use and the intermediate mental trajectory class with first outpatient visits. Public health interventions should be considered to support functioning with aging.

Effect of common pregnancy and perinatal complications on offspring metabolic traits across the life course: a multi-cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Common pregnancy and perinatal complications are associated with offspring cardiometabolic risk factors. These complications may influence multiple metabolic traits in the offspring and these associations might differ with offspring age. METHODS: We used data from eight population-based cohort studies to examine and compare associations of pre-eclampsia (PE), gestational hypertension (GH), gestational diabetes (GD), preterm birth (PTB), small (SGA) and large (LGA) for gestational age (vs. appropriate size for gestational age (AGA)) with up to 167 plasma/serum-based nuclear magnetic resonance-derived metabolic traits encompassing lipids, lipoproteins, fatty acids, amino acids, ketones, glycerides/phospholipids, glycolysis, fluid balance, and inflammation. Confounder-adjusted regression models were used to examine associations (adjusted for maternal education, parity age at pregnancy, ethnicity, pre/early pregnancy body mass index and smoking, and offspring sex and age at metabolic trait assessment), and results were combined using meta-analysis by five age categories representing different periods of the offspring life course: neonates (cord blood), infancy (mean ages: 1.1-1.6 years), childhood (4.2-7.5 years); adolescence (12.0-16.0 years), and adulthood (22.0-67.8 years). RESULTS: Offspring numbers for each age category/analysis varied from 8925 adults (441 PTB) to 1181 infants (135 GD); 48.4% to 60.0% were females. Pregnancy complications (PE, GH, GD) were each associated with up to three metabolic traits in neonates (P≤0.001) with some evidence of persistence to older ages. PTB and SGA were associated with 32 and 12 metabolic traits in neonates respectively, which included an adjusted standardised mean difference of -0.89 standard deviation (SD) units for albumin with PTB (95% CI: -1.10 to -0.69, P=1.3×10-17) and -0.41 SD for total lipids in medium HDL with SGA (95% CI: -0.56 to -0.25, P=2.6×10-7), with some evidence of persistence to older ages. LGA was inversely associated with 19 metabolic traits including lower levels of cholesterol, lipoproteins, fatty acids, and amino acids, with associations emerging in adolescence, (e.g. -0.11 SD total fatty acids, 95% CI: -0.18 to -0.05, P=0.0009), and attenuating with older age across adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: These reassuring findings suggest little evidence of wide-spread and long-term impact of common pregnancy and perinatal complications on offspring metabolic traits, with most associations only observed for newborns rather than older ages, and for perinatal rather than pregnancy complications.

Measures of Early-life Behavior and Later Psychopathology in the LifeCycle Project - EU Child Cohort Network: A Cohort Description.

BACKGROUND: The EU LifeCycle Project was launched in 2017 to combine, harmonize, and analyze data from more than 250,000 participants across Europe and Australia, involving cohorts participating in the EU-funded LifeCycle Project. The purpose of this cohort description is to provide a detailed overview of the major measures within mental health domains that are available in 17 European and Australian cohorts participating in the LifeCycle Project. METHODS: Data on cognitive, behavioral, and psychological development has been collected on participants from birth until adulthood through questionnaire and medical data. We developed an inventory of the available data by mapping individual instruments, domain types, and age groups, providing the basis for statistical harmonization across mental health measures. RESULTS: The mental health data in LifeCycle contain longitudinal and cross-sectional data from birth throughout the life course, covering domains across a wide range of behavioral and psychopathology indicators and outcomes, including executive function, depression, ADHD, and cognition. These data span a unique combination of qualitative data collected through behavioral/cognitive/mental health questionnaires and examination, as well as data from biological samples and indices in the form of imaging (MRI, fetal ultrasound) and DNA methylation data. Harmonized variables on a subset of mental health domains have been developed, providing statistical equivalence of measures required for longitudinal meta-analyses across instruments and cohorts. CONCLUSION: Mental health data harmonized through the LifeCycle project can be used to study life-course trajectories and exposure-outcome models that examine early life risk factors for mental illness and develop predictive markers for later-life disease.

Body Composition in Late Midlife as a Predictor of Accelerated Age-associated Deficit-accumulation From Late Midlife into Old Age: A Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) may not be an optimal predictor of frailty as its constituents, lean and fat mass, may have opposite associations with frailty. METHODS: A linear mixed model analysis was performed in the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (n = 2 000) spanning from 57 to 84 years. A 39-item frailty index (FI) was calculated on three occasions over 17 years. Body composition in late midlife included BMI, percent body fat (%BF), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), lean mass index (LMI), and fat mass index (FMI). RESULTS: Mean FI levels increased by 0.28%/year among men and by 0.34%/year among women. Among women, per each kg/m2 higher BMI and each unit higher %BF the increases in FI levels per year were 0.013 percentage points (PP) steeper (95% CI = 0.004, 0.023) and 0.009 PP steeper (95% CI = 0.002, 0.016) from late midlife into old age. Among men, per each 0.1-unit greater WHR the increase in FI levels was 0.074 PP steeper per year (95% CI = -0.0004, 0.148). Cross-sectionally, greater FMI and LMI in late midlife were associated with higher FI levels but the direction of the association regarding LMI changed after adjustment for FMI. The categories "high FMI and high LMI" and "high FMI and low LMI" showed the highest FI levels relative to the category "low FMI and low LMI". CONCLUSIONS: In late midlife, greater adiposity (%BF) among women and abdominal obesity (WHR) among men may predispose to higher levels of frailty from late midlife into old age. Greater lean mass alone may be protective of frailty, but not in the presence of high fat mass.

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: One thousand nine hundred and ninety five 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 Depression Inventory. Standardized mortality ratios were calculated. RESULTS: Participants were followed up for a total of 28,044 person-years. The melancholic depressive group had an increased adjusted risk of mortality [HR 1.49 (95% CI: 1.02-2.20)] when compared to the non-depressive group. Comparing mortality to the whole population of Finland using standardized mortality ratios (SMR) both the non-melancholic [1.11 (95% CI: 0.85-1.44)] and melancholic depressive [1.26 (95% CI: 0.87-1.81)] groups had higher mortality than the non-depressive group [0.82 (95% CI: 0.73-0.93)]. CONCLUSIONS: Melancholic depressive symptoms are most strongly related to a higher mortality risk.

Use of prescription benzodiazepines and related drugs in family caregivers: a nation-wide register-based study.

BACKGROUND: objective indicators of sleep and mental health problems in family caregivers have rarely been reported. OBJECTIVE: to study the use of prescription benzodiazepines and related drugs (BZDRD) in Finnish family caregivers and matched controls. DESIGN: prospective follow-up in 2012-17. SETTING: nationwide register-linkage study. SUBJECTS: all individuals who received family caregiver's allowance in Finland in 2012 (N = 42,256; mean age 67 years; 71% women) and controls matched for age, sex and municipality of residence (N = 83,618). METHODS: information on purchases of prescription BZDRD, including the number of defined daily doses (DDDs), between 2012 and 2017 was obtained from the Dispensations Reimbursable under the National Health Insurance Scheme register. Background information was obtained from national registers. RESULTS: more caregivers than controls used BZDRD, both among women (users per 100 person-years: 17.2 versus 15.2, P < 0.001) and men (14.6 versus 11.8, P < 0.001). These differences were largely explained by hypnotic BZDRD use. There were also more long-term BZDRD users per 100 person-years among caregivers than controls, both among women (5.0 versus 4.3, P = 0.001) and men (5.3 versus 3.8, P < 0.001). Use of hypnotic BZDRD in number of DDDs was higher in caregivers than in controls, particularly among men above 50 years. Caregivers used more anxiolytic BZDRD than controls from middle age to 75 years but less in the oldest age groups. CONCLUSIONS: higher level of BZDRD use among caregivers indicates that caregivers have more sleep and mental health problems than non-caregivers. Adequate treatment of these problems and support for caregiving should be ensured for caregivers.

Adiposity-Related Predictors of Vascular Aging From a Life Course Perspective-Findings From the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.

The main objective of this study was to study predictors of vascular health with focus on adiposity-related factors. Glucose metabolism, blood lipids, inflammatory markers and body composition were assessed 15 years before assessment of vascular health which was assessed with pulse wave velocity (PWV) in 660 subjects born 1934-44. In a univariate analysis in women the strongest association with PWV was seen for age, systolic blood pressure, dysglycemia, dyslipidemia, inflammatory markers and body fat percentage measured in late midlife and PWV measured 15 years later. In men age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, dysglycemia, and body fat percentage in late midlife were associated with PWV. One novel finding was that adiposity-related factors were strong predictors of vascular health, something not fully encapsulated in BMI, lean body mass or body fat percentage alone. A higher fat mass index was associated with worse vascular health, which was not ameliorated by a higher lean mass index. Our findings stress the importance to study body composition and fat and lean body mass simultaneously because of their close interaction with each other also in relation to vascular health.

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

There 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 depressive symptoms utilizing the Beck depression inventory, and had laboratory assessments including an oral glucose tolerance test. Higher than average FMI was associated with a higher percentage (mean [%], 95% CI) of participants scoring in the depressive range of the Beck depression inventory (20.2, 17.2-23.2) compared to those with low FMI (16.3, 13.8-18.9; p = 0.048) when adjusted for age, sex, education, and fasting plasma glucose concentration. Higher FMI was associated with a higher likelihood of having depressive symptoms (OR per 1-SD FMI = 1.37, 95% CI 1.13-1.65), whereas higher LMI was associated with a lower likelihood of having depressive symptoms (OR per 1-SD LMI = 0.76, 95% CI 0.64-0.91). Participants with an above average FMI more frequently (mean [%], 95% CI) had non-melancholic depressive symptoms (14.7, 11.8-17.7) as compared to those with low FMI (9.7, 7.6-11.9; p = 0.008) regardless of LMI levels. There was no difference between the body composition groups in the likelihood of having melancholic depressive symptoms. The non-melancholic group had higher (mean [kg/m2], SD) FMI (9.6, 4.1) than either of the other groups (BDI < 10: 7.7, 3.1; melancholic: 7.9, 3.6; p < 0.001), and a higher (mean [mmol/l], SD) 2-h glucose concentration (7.21, 1.65) than the non-depressed group (6.71, 1.70; p = 0.005). As hypothesized, non-melancholic depressive symptoms are most closely related to high fat mass index and dysfunctional glucose metabolism.

Work incapacity among family caregivers: a record linkage study.

BACKGROUND: Family caregiving-related physical and mental health problems may lead to work incapacity in employed caregivers. The aim of this study was to quantify sickness absences and disability pensions (SADP) among high-intensity family caregivers available to the labour market compared with a control population. METHODS: The study sample included all individuals in Finland, who had received caregiver's allowance and were available to the labour market in 2012 (n=16 982) and their controls (n=35 371). Information on the number of sickness absence (spells >10 days) and disability pension (SADP) days and related diagnoses according to ICD-10 were obtained from national registers for the years 2012-2017. The analyses were adjusted for age, sex, occupational status, education, income and degree of urbanisation. RESULTS: During the follow-up, 40.9% of caregivers and 39.5% of controls had at least one sickness absence spell and 6.1% and 4.7%, respectively, received disability pension. The mean annual number of SADP days was 23.2 (95% CI 22.3 to 24.1) for caregivers and 18.5 (95% CI 18.0 to 19.0) for controls (adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR)=1.16, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.22). The number of annual SADP days due to mental disorders was higher in caregivers (7.2, 95% CI 6.7 to 7.8) than controls (4.0, 95% CI 3.8 to 4.3; adjusted IRR 1.58, 95% CI 1.42 to 1.75). There were no differences in SADP days due to cancer, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, or musculoskeletal diseases, or external causes. DISCUSSION: Higher number of SADP days due to mental disorders in caregivers suggests that family caregiving has an adverse effect on work capacity and that caregivers are at increased risk for mental disorders.

Early-Life Factors as Predictors of Age-Associated Deficit Accumulation Across 17 Years From Midlife Into Old Age.

BACKGROUND: Early-life exposures have been associated with the risk of frailty in old age. We investigated whether early-life exposures predict the level and rate of change in a frailty index (FI) from midlife into old age. METHODS: A linear mixed model analysis was performed using data from 3 measurement occasions over 17 years in participants from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (n = 2 000) aged 57-84 years. A 41-item FI was calculated on each occasion. Information on birth size, maternal body mass index (BMI), growth in infancy and childhood, childhood socioeconomic status (SES), and early-life stress (wartime separation from both parents) was obtained from registers and health care records. RESULTS: At age 57 years the mean FI level was 0.186 and the FI levels increased by 0.34%/year from midlife into old age. Larger body size at birth associated with a slower increase in FI levels from midlife into old age. Per 1 kg greater birth weight the increase in FI levels per year was -0.087 percentage points slower (95% confidence interval = -0.163, -0.011; p = 0.026). Higher maternal BMI was associated with a higher offspring FI level in midlife and a slower increase in FI levels into old age. Larger size, faster growth from infancy to childhood, and low SES in childhood were all associated with a lower FI level in midlife but not with its rate of change. CONCLUSIONS: Early-life factors seem to contribute to disparities in frailty from midlife into old age. Early-life factors may identify groups that could benefit from frailty prevention, optimally initiated early in life.

Mental, Physical and Social Functioning in Independently Living Senior House Residents and Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Senior houses provide social interaction and support, potentially supporting older people's physical and mental functioning. Few studies have investigated functioning of senior house residents. The aim was to compare functioning between senior house residents and community-dwelling older adults in Finland. We compared senior house residents (n = 336, 69% women, mean age 83 years) to community-dwelling older adults (n = 1139, 56% women, mean age 74 years). Physical and mental functioning were assessed using the SF 36-Item Health Survey. Loneliness and frequency of social contacts were self-reported. The analyses were adjusted for age, socioeconomic factors and diseases. Physical functioning was lower among men in senior houses compared to community-dwelling men (mean 41.1 vs. 46.4, p = 0.003). Mental functioning or the frequency of social contacts did not differ between type of residence in either sex. Loneliness was higher among women in senior houses compared to community-dwelling women (OR = 1.67, p = 0.027). This was not observed in men. Results suggest that women in senior houses had similar physical and mental functioning compared to community-dwelling women. Male senior house residents had poorer physical functioning compared to community-dwelling men. Women living in senior houses were lonelier than community-dwelling women despite the social environment.