The associations between metabolic profiles and sexual and physical abuse in depressed adolescent psychiatric outpatients: an exploratory pilot study

Background: Sexual and physical abuse have been associated with long-term systemic alterations such as low-grade inflammation and changes in brain morphology that may be reflected in the metabolome. However, data on the metabolic consequences of sexual and physical abuse remain scarce.Objective: This pilot study sought to investigate changes in the metabolite profile related to sexual and physical abuse in depressed adolescent psychiatric outpatients.Method: The study included 76 patients aged 14-18 years, whose serum samples were analysed with a targeted metabolite profiling methodology. We estimated the associations between metabolite concentrations and the Trauma and Distress Scale (TADS) Sexual and Physical Abuse factor scores using three linear regression models (one unadjusted and two adjusted) per metabolite and trauma type pair. Additional variables in the two adjusted models were 1) the lifestyle indicators body mass index, tobacco use, and alcohol use, and 2) depression scores and the chronicity of depression.Results: TADS Sexual Abuse scores associated positively with homogentisic acid, as well as cystathionine, and negatively with choline in linear regression analysis, whereas TADS Physical Abuse scores associated negatively with AMP, choline, γ-glutamyl cysteine and succinate, and positively with D-glucuronic acid.Conclusions: This pilot study did not include a healthy control group for comparison and the cohort was relatively small. Nevertheless, we observed alterations in metabolites related to one-carbon metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammation in depressed patients with a history of sexual or physical abuse.

The impact of postpartum depressive symptoms on self-reported infant health and analgesic consumption at the age of 12 months: A prospective cohort study

The infants of mothers with elevated depressive symptoms (EDS) postpartum appear to be at increased risk of somatic health problems during their first 12 months of life in low- and lower-middle-income countries. However, in higher-income countries, knowledge of this association is scarce. We sought to examine whether maternal reports of infant health problems, adherence to vaccination schedules and analgesic supply to the infant during the first 12 months of life differ between mothers with and without postpartum EDS. Altogether, 969 women who were enrolled in the Kuopio Birth Cohort study (www.kubico.fi) during 2012-2017 were included in this investigation. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale during pregnancy (1st and/or 3rd trimester) and at eight weeks postpartum. Infant health data were collected as a part of a 12-month online follow-up questionnaire for mothers and were based on self-reports of either maternal observations or physician-determined diagnoses. Postpartum EDS were associated with a 2- to 5-fold increased likelihood of abnormal crying and paroxysmal wheezing (based on parental observations), as well as gastroesophageal reflux and food allergy (based on physician-determined diagnoses). Mothers with postpartum EDS also supplied their infants with analgesic medication for longer periods. Adherence to vaccination schedules was similar between the examined groups. In conclusion, infants of mothers with postpartum EDS may be more likely to experience health problems or to be perceived by their mother as having health problems, and thus receive more medications.

Maternal Depressive Symptom Trajectories and Psychosocial Functioning in Young Adults: A 27-year Longitudinal Study

Introduction

Maternal depression is a well-known risk factor for child development. Longitudinal studies extending from pregnancy to adulthood, however, are rare.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to investigate whether maternal high depressive symptom trajectories (chronic or intermittent depressive symptom patterns) from pregnancy to the adolescence of the children predict lower adaptive functioning or higher levels of emotional or behavioural symptoms in young adults.

Methods

The sample comprised 329 first-time mothers from maternity centres in Tampere, Finland. Maternal depressive symptoms were assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) antenatally and at two months, six months, 4–5 years, 8–9 years and 16–17 years after delivery. A model including four symptom trajectories (very low, low-stable, high-stable and intermittent) was selected to describe the symptom patterns over time. Adaptive functioning and problems of the children (n = 144) were assessed by the Adult Self Report forms (Achenbach & Rescorla) at the age of 27 years.

Results

High maternal depressive symptom trajectories did not predict self-reported lower adaptive functioning of the children in adulthood. However, children of mothers with chronic or intermittent depressive symptom patterns reported higher levels of internalising problems as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety in young adulthood than the children of mothers with very low or low stable symptom patterns.

Conclusions

High maternal depressive symptom trajectories predict higher levels of emotional symptoms of children in young adulthood. The mechanisms of intergenerational transmission are important topics for further research.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Maternal and infant characteristics connected to shared pleasure in dyadic interaction

The aim of the study was to analyze which maternal factors (depressive symptoms, effect of life events, maternal sensitivity and structuring) and infant characteristics (temperament, social withdrawal symptoms, interactive behavior, genotype, gender) contribute to shared pleasure (SP) in parent-infant interaction. Participants were 113 mother-infant dyads. The mothers filled in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Infant Behavior Questionnaire, and the Life Events Questionnaire. The dyads were videotaped in a free-play situation, and the videos were analyzed using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale and the Emotional Availability Scales. The infants were genotyped for four genes involved in emotion regulation. The occurrence and duration of SP (SP-MD) in mother-infant interactions were analyzed from the videotapes. Higher maternal sensitivity and depressive symptoms, better infant responsiveness, and the infant having the GG variant of the gene tryptophan hydroxylase isoform 2 (TPH2) -307 were associated with the occurrence of SP. Lower level depressive symptoms, better maternal structuring, and greater infant involvement were associated with the longer duration of SP. Those dyads where the mother and infant were best able to read each other's positive cues and to respond to them were more likely to experience mutual positive affect, as seen in SP.

Maternal loneliness: concurrent and longitudinal associations with depressive symptoms and child adjustment

Loneliness has potentially adverse effects on health and is often connected with depression, while maternal depression has been shown to have a harmful effect on many indicators of children's socioemotional outcomes. The prevalence of loneliness among first-time mothers and its associations with depressive symptoms, background factors, and child outcomes in middle childhood and adolescence were investigated in this longitudinal study. A sample of 122 mother-child dyads was collected from maternal health clinics in Tampere, Finland. The mothers reported their feelings of loneliness at three time points: during pregnancy and when their firstborn child was 8-9 and 16-17 years old. Maternal depressive symptoms were screened using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at the same time points. The children's internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self Report (YSR) questionnaires. Some 34-38% of the mothers reported loneliness at the different study points. Maternal loneliness showed associations with dissatisfaction with life and the pair relationship, and with the presence of depressive symptoms. The mother's prenatal loneliness predicted the child's internalizing problems in adolescence. Interventions aimed at relieving loneliness should be provided for mothers at all stages of motherhood.

[Psychological well-being during pregnancy - early roots of the child's mental health?]

The conditions during pregnancy may influence the child's subsequent well-being via developmental programming. On the other hand, recurrence or continuation of the harmful exposure at a later stage during development may be more essential. The parent's mental disorder is one of the best known risk factors potentially affecting the mental health of the child. The mother's depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy have been found to be predictive of symptoms in the young person and in the adult. Regarding the risk of disorder, the recurrence of the exposure to psychological symptoms and accumulation of other risk factors at a later stage of development seem, however, to be more important.

Shared pleasure in early mother-infant interaction: predicting lower levels of emotional and behavioral problems in the child and protecting against the influence of parental psychopathology

Shared pleasure (SP) was analyzed in fifty-eight 2-month-old infants and their mothers in face-to-face interaction (T1, at 2 months). The association of SP with child's emotional and behavioral outcome at 2 years (T2) was examined. SP as a possible protecting factor in the presence of parental psychopathology also was studied. Mean duration of SP moments (SP-MD) was related to subsequent socioemotional outcome of the child: Infants of dyads with longer SP-MD showed fewer internalizing and externalizing problems 2 years later. In hierarchical linear regressions, SP-MD uniquely and significantly contributed to internalizing problems after adjusting for infant and maternal factors and mother's interactive behavior. SP protected the child against the influence of parental psychopathology. Father's mental health problems during the follow-up increased the child's risk for higher externalizing and internalizing problems, but only among children with short SP-MD at T1. Internalizing symptoms at T2 increased when moving from the category "no mental health problems" to "mental health problems in one parent" and further to "mental health problems in both parents," but this increase was found only among those with short SP-MD at T1. SP in parent-child interaction is an important feature that fosters positive psychological development and moderates the health effects of other risks such as parental psychopathology.

Long-term trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms and their antenatal predictors

BACKGROUND

Depressive symptoms, often long-term or recurrent, are common among mothers of young children and a well-known risk for child well-being. We aimed to explore the antecedents of the long-term trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms and to define the antenatal factors predicting the high-symptom trajectories.

METHODS

The sample comprised 329 mothers from maternity centers. Maternal depressive symptoms were assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) antenatally and at two months, six months, 4-5 years, 8-9 years and 16-17 years after delivery. Maternal expectations concerning the baby were assessed with the Neonatal Perception Inventory (NPI). Background information was gathered with questionnaires.

RESULTS

A model including four symptom trajectories (very low, low-stable, high-stable and intermittent) was selected to describe the symptom patterns over time. The high-stable and the intermittent trajectory were both predicted pairwise by a high antenatal EPDS sum score as well as high EPDS anxiety and depression subscores but the other predictors were specific for each trajectory. In multivariate analyses, the high-stable trajectory was predicted by a high antenatal EPDS sum score, a high EPDS anxiety subscore, diminished life satisfaction, loneliness and more negative expectations of babies on average. The intermittent trajectory was predicted by a high antenatal EPDS sum score, a poor relationship with own mother and urgent desire to conceive.

LIMITATIONS

Only self-report questionnaires were used. The sample size was rather small.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest a heterogeneous course and background of maternal depressive symptoms. This should be considered in intervention planning.

Maternal depressive symptoms: associations with adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems and social competence

BACKGROUND

The negative effect of maternal depressive symptoms on child wellbeing has been quite extensively studied. There is, however, debate as to whether it is the timing, the recurrence or the chronicity of maternal depressive symptoms that puts the child's wellbeing at risk.

AIMS

This study explores the associations between the timing, recurrence and the patterns of maternal depressive symptoms and adolescent psychosocial functioning.

METHODS

One hundred and ninety-one mothers and 192 adolescents were followed up from the mother's pregnancy to the child's adolescence. Maternal depressive symptoms were screened with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale prenatally, postnatally, in early and middle childhood, and at adolescence. The adolescents' outcomes were screened using Child Behavior Checklists and Youth Self Reports.

RESULTS

The results indicate that the initial exposure to maternal depressive symptoms at pregnancy is associated with more externalizing problems in adolescence, 2 months postnatally with more internalizing problems, in early childhood with poorer social competence and concurrently with more externalizing problems. Combined analyses indicate that recurrent maternal depressive symptoms best explain adolescents' internalizing problems and the chronic pattern of maternal depressive symptoms externalizing problems. The chronic and intermittent patterns of maternal depressive symptoms best explained adolescents' poorer social competence.

CONCLUSIONS

Recurrent or chronic maternal depressive symptoms rather than the timing predict adolescents' psychosocial problems better. The timing, however, may explain the different kinds of problems in adolescence depending on the developmental task at the time of the exposure. The findings should be noted when treating both mothers and children in psychiatric clinics and other health services.

The trajectories of child’s internalizing and externalizing problems, social competence and adolescent self-reported problems in a Finnish normal population sample

Group-based modeling techniques are increasingly used in developmental studies to explore the patterns and co-occurrence of internalizing and externalizing problems. Social competence has been found to reciprocally influence internalizing and externalizing problems, but studies on its associations with different patterns of these problems are scarce. Using data from a Finnish longitudinal normal population sample, trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems were formed using the Child Behavior Checklist completed by the mother at the child’s age of 4- to 5-years-old, 8- to 9-years-old, and 16- to 17-years-old ( N = 261). The results indicate that adolescent’s self-reported internalizing and externalizing problems based on the Youth Self Report were associated with the trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems. Social competence both in early childhood and in adolescence was poorer among children with chronic internalizing problems and among those with adolescent-onset externalizing problems. One-third of the children who had a chronically high level of internalizing problems had an initially high but decreasing level of externalizing problems, while 33% of the adolescents with adolescent-onset externalizing problems had a chronically high level of internalizing problems. School psychologists are encouraged to screen for internalizing problems from children with behavioral, academic or social problems.

Fathers' postnatal depressive and anxiety symptoms: an exploration of links with paternal, maternal, infant and family factors

BACKGROUND

Postnatal psychological symptoms have been studied less often in fathers than in mothers. However, recent research shows that fathers' psychopathology may have long-term effects on their children's emotional and behavioural development independently of maternal psychopathology. More research is needed on factors associated with paternal symptoms at the early stage of child development.

AIMS

The aim of the study was to examine the paternal, maternal, infant and family factors associated with the occurrence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in fathers of infants.

METHODS

As part of a study conducted in Tampere, Finland, on infants' social withdrawal symptoms, both parents of 4-, 8- and 18-month-old infants (n = 194) completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and general information questionnaires during routine check-ups of the infants in well-baby clinics. Parental depressive and anxiety symptoms were screened using the recommended cut-off points for this purpose (5/6 for fathers and 7/8 for mothers on the EPDS). The associations between the fathers' symptoms and paternal, maternal, infant and family factors were explored.

RESULTS

Twenty-one per cent of the fathers and 24% of the mothers scored above the cut-off points for depressive and anxiety symptoms on the EPDS. Both paternal and maternal factors predicted high paternal symptom level in regression models. Infant factors were not statistically significantly associated with paternal symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Father's psychological symptoms were associated with many facets of both parents' impaired well-being. The whole family system should be considered whenever there are concerns about either parent's psychological well-being.

[Child psychiatric viewpoint towards early childhood feading disorders]

Early childhood feading disorders are estimated to occur in 20% to 40% of normally developing young children. In most severe cases, troubles associated with feading interfere with the child's growth and development and may continue until adulthood. Early childhood feading disorders are discernible into different types of disorder, such as early childhood anorexia, sensory food aversion and posttraumatic feading disorder. Early childhood feading disorders are often associated with problems in parent-child interaction either primarily or secondarily as factors maintaining the disorder. Interactive therapy is often beneficial regardless of the etiology of the disorder.

A longitudinal study of maternal prenatal, postnatal and concurrent depressive symptoms and adolescent well-being

BACKGROUND

Maternal depression is known to be a risk for abnormal child development. Girls and boys have been found to respond differently to maternal depression. Although prenatal and postnatal depression has been widely studied, longitudinal studies of adolescent outcome are still rare.

METHODS

The original sample of 349 mothers in this longitudinal study was collected in 1989-1990 in Tampere, Finland. At the latest stage, of the 327 contacted in 2006, 191 mothers and 192 adolescents aged 16 to 17 years participated in the study. Maternal depressive symptoms were screened using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) prenatally, postnatally and at the latest stage. Adolescent outcome was examined using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self Report (YSR).

RESULTS

Maternal concurrent depressive symptoms were associated with adolescent behavioral and emotional problems in both genders. Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms were associated with Externalizing Problems in the YSR and boys' lower Social Competence in both the CBCL and YSR. Maternal postnatal depressive symptoms were associated with boys' lower Social Competence both in the CBCL and YSR and Externalizing Problems in the YSR.

LIMITATIONS

Being a longitudinal normal population sample, the number of symptomatic mothers and adolescents is relatively small and the number of drop-outs is relatively high. Clinical evaluation of mothers and adolescents is also lacking.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal prenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms are a risk to adolescent boys' wellbeing and concurrent depressive symptoms a risk for both girls' and boys' well-being. This long-term influence should be noted when treating women with depressive symptoms throughout motherhood.

Infants' social withdrawal symptoms assessed with a direct infant observation method in primary health care

Distressed infants may withdraw from social interaction, but recognising infants' social withdrawal is difficult. The aims of the study were to see whether an infant observation method can be reliably used by front line workers, and to examine the prevalence of infants' social withdrawal symptoms. A random sample of 363 families with four, eight or 18-month-old infants participated in the study. The infants were examined by general practitioners (GPs) in well-baby clinics with the Alarm Distress BaBy Scale (ADBB), an observation method developed for clinical settings. A score of five or more on the ADBB Scale in two subsequent assessments at a two-week interval was regarded as a sign of clinically significant infant social withdrawal. Kappas were calculated for the GPs' correct rating of withdrawn/not withdrawn against a set of videotapes rated by developer of the method, Professor Guedeney and his research group. The kappas for their ratings ranged from 0.5 to 1. The frequency of infants scoring above the cut off in two subsequent assessments was 3%. The ADBB Scale is a promising method for detecting infant social withdrawal in front line services. Three percents of infants were showing sustained social withdrawal as a sign of distress in this normal population sample.

Mother's early perception of her infant's difficult temperament, parenting stress and early mother-infant interaction

The current study investigated factors contributing to mother's early perception of her infant's difficult temperament. One hundred and twenty-four mother-infant dyads participated in the study. Mother's perception of the infant's temperament was assessed with the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ). The influence of mother-infant interaction, mother's mental health and parenting stress were investigated. Mother-infant interaction was videotaped during a face-to-face interaction and analysed using the Global Rating Scale. Mother's mental health was assessed through a structured interview (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, SCID) and parenting stress was examined by a questionnaire (Parenting Stress Index). First, the difficulty scale of the ICQ was used as a continuous variable and factors contributing to mother's perception of her infant's temperament as more or less difficult were examined. Secondly, infants were categorized into difficult and non-difficult, and factors increasing the infant's risk of being perceived as difficult were examined. The model including mother's mental health and parental distress accounted for 24% of the variance in perceived infant difficulty, with parental distress in particular being an influential contributor. When infants categorized as difficult were examined, mother's intrusiveness and infant's poor interactive behaviour in early mother-infant interaction as well as parental distress significantly increased the infant's risk of being perceived as difficult.

A longitudinal study of maternal depressive symptoms, negative expectations and perceptions of child problems

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the associations between maternal depressive symptoms and perceptions of children's problems. One hundred and nineteen mother-child dyads were followed from the third trimester of pregnancy for almost 10 years. Depressive symptoms and background factors of the mothers and the anticipated/perceived problems of their firstborn were assessed prenatally, postnatally, and when the child was 4-5 years and 8-9 years old. The simultaneous and long-term associations between maternal depressive symptoms and child's problems were examined. Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms, the continuity of negative expectations to postnatal problem perceptions, and high problem level at 4-5 years of child's age predicted high problem level in 8-9-year-olds.

Fathers' and mothers' perceptions of their child and maternal depressive symptoms

Fathers' reports concerning their children have seldom been considered in the previous studies on maternal depression and child development. The literature on parental reports in general suggests that discrepancies in mothers' and fathers' perceptions are associated with the psychological state of the parent and the gender of the child. As part of a prospective follow-up study, fathers' and mothers' perceptions of children's social competence and behavioural/emotional problems were assessed by the Child Behavior Checklists (CBCLs) when the firstborn children were 8-9 years old. The depressive symptoms of the mothers were screened by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at the same time point. The level of children's social competence and behavioural/emotional problems reported by the fathers were analysed by background factors. The reports of both parents were explored by the gender of the child and by the presence of maternal depressive symptoms. The concordance of parental reports concerning child's social competence was high, but fathers usually reported lower problem levels than mothers, particularly for boys' problems. The presence of maternal depressive symptoms was associated with child's high problem levels from both fathers' and mothers' perspective. Parental ratings of children's externalizing problems in particular were associated with high maternal depressive symptom level.

Infant-mother interaction as a predictor of child's chronic health problems

BACKGROUND

Psychological stress is associated with physical illnesses like asthma or infections. For an infant, situations perceived as stressful are highly dependent on the relationship with the caregiver. Constantly poor mother-infant interaction increases the child's vulnerability to stressful conditions and experiences. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of the quality of early mother-infant interaction on the subsequent physical health of the child. Poor mother-infant interaction was hypothesized to be associated with chronic or recurrent health problems in the child.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-seven mother-infant dyads from families at risk of psychosocial problems and 63 from non-risk families, altogether 120 dyads, participated in the study. Families were drawn from normal population, from well-baby clinics in the city of Tampere, Finland. Infants were full-term and healthy, families with severe risks like psychotic illnesses of the parents or a history of child protection concerns were excluded from the study.

METHODS

After the initial interview with the mother, the mother-infant interaction was videotaped when the infants were 8-11 weeks of age and the interaction was assessed using the Global Rating Scale for Mother-Infant Interaction (Murray et al. 1996a). After the 2-year follow-up mothers were interviewed again and the health problems of the child were elicited.

RESULTS

Poor dyadic mother-infant interaction and infant's poor interactive behaviour assessed at two months were separately associated with the physical health of the child during the two-year follow-up. After adjusting for other factors in the logistic regression analysis infant's poor interactive behaviour remained as a significant predictor of chronic or recurrent health problems in the child. Infant's health problems at the time of the initial interview and day care centre attendance were also significant predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that interactional issues between a mother and her infant are related to the child's subsequent physical health. Children with recurrent or chronic health problems may have relationship difficulties with which they need help. Also, early avoidant behaviour of the infant should be regarded as an indicator of the infant's distress with possibly adverse outcomes in the child's physical health, among other consequences.

Longitudinal study of maternal depressive symptoms and child well-being

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether prenatal, postnatal, and/or current maternal depressive symptoms are associated with low level of psychosocial functioning or high level of emotional/behavioral problems in school-age children.

METHOD

As part of a prospective longitudinal study, maternal depressive symptoms were screened with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale prenatally, postnatally, and when the children were 8 to 9 years old. The original sample of 349 mothers was collected in 1989-1990 in Tampere, Finland. Of the 270 mother-child pairs at the latest stage of the study in 1997-1998, 188 mother-child pairs participated and 147 were included. The associations between maternal depressive symptoms at different points in time and the level of children's psychosocial functioning and problems reported on the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher's Report Form were examined.

RESULTS

Children's low social competence and low adaptive functioning were associated with concurrent maternal depressive symptoms. Maternal postnatal depressive symptoms predicted low social competence. The presence of prenatal depressive symptoms in the mother was a strong predictor of child's high externalizing and total problem levels (odds ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval 1.1-8.9 and odds ratio 8.5, 95% confidence interval 2.7-26.5). Prenatal as well as recurrent maternal depressive symptoms were associated with the least favorable child outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal depressive symptomatology at any time, especially prenatally, is a risk factor for the child's well-being. This should be noted already in prenatal care. The timing and the recurrence of maternal depressive symptoms affect the outcome for the child.

Emotional and behavioural symptoms in 8-9-year-old children in relation to family structure

The association between family structure and behavioural and emotional symptoms in prepubertal children was studied in an epidemiological survey conducted in Finland. Five thousand eight hundred thirteen children aged 8 and 9 years were screened using the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2) for parents and the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) for teachers. Information concerning family type, birth order and sibship size were obtained from the parents. The majority of the children (84%) in the sample lived with both their biological parents, 10% with a single parent, and around 5% with a biological parent and a stepparent. Around 1% of the children lived outside their original home. The prevalence of behavioural and emotional symptoms was lowest in children living with both their biological parents and highest among children living outside their original home according to both parents' and teachers' reports. Children living with a parent and a stepparent had problems more often at home, but less often at school than children living with a single parent. Living with a single father was associated with having more externalizing, school-related problems, while living with a stepfather was associated with having more internalizing, home related problems. Having younger siblings seemed to be associated with fewer problems at school, and being the youngest child with having less problems both at home and at school.

Long-term musculoskeletal disorders and work career in 55-year-old workers

The purpose of the present study was to describe the associations between long-term disorders of musculoskeletal system and work career in elderly workers. The data were obtained by a postal questionnaire and clinical examinations. The study group consisted of 778 elderly urban persons, who were 55 years old and who lived in the city of Oulu in northern Finland. Long-term musculoskeletal disorders were reported by 62% of the women and 57% of the men. The high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was significantly associated with heavy physical work. However, job mobility and declining work career were correlated with the occurrence of long-term musculoskeletal disorders in women whereas advanced work career was connected with a low prevalence of long-term musculoskeletal disorders.

Progress of work career, retirement-orientation and health in middle-aged workers

A lifelong work career has been stated to have an influence on a worker's health and ability to work. Nevertheless, the significance of the work career has been neglected in most retirement-studies. The aim of the present study was to describe the associations between progress of the work career, the retirement-orientation, health and ability to work among aged workers. The data was obtained by a postal questionnaire and clinical examinations. The study group consisted of 706 (70%) middle-aged urban persons (383 women and 323 men), who were 55 years old and who lived in northern Finland. The state of health and ability to work were significantly better among the work-oriented than among the retirement-oriented workers and the health of the retired was the worst. Correspondingly, the state of health and ability to work were estimated to be better among the participants who advanced during their work career than among the other participants.