Zoobenthos and problems with monitoring; an example from the Åland area

In 1986 and 1987 a transect off SW Åland, N Baltic Sea was sampled for macrozoobenthos at 14 stations ranging from 1 to 226 m depth. In connection to this survey comparative samples were taken at a "standard depth" of 19-20 m at 2 additional stations to estimate variability in space and time. The data were analyzed for primary community parameters (i.e. no. of species, abundance and biomass) including spatial and temporal differences, and the information is evaluated in relation to topography and hydrography. A more detailed analysis using the dominant components of the zoobenthic communities illustrated some of the difficulties in monitoring of the marine zoobenthos. There were significant differences in abundances and biomasses even over short distances. The differences get even more pronounced when trying to relocate an exact station with another boat and using different grab types on the same station. This is exemplified by samples from a 19-meter station using a modified Olausen box corer and an Ekman-Birge type grab sampling on different days from different vessels; the primary community data obtained with both grabs was 10 vs. 10 species (with Pontoporeia affinis vs. Macoma balthica dominating), 1945 ± 529 vs. 2168 ± 385 ind/m2, and 21.6 ± 9.5 vs. 209.0 ± 45.3 g/m2, respectively. Similarily, samplings at stations less than 1 n. mile apart at 20 m depth using the Ekman-Birge grab yielded 2168 ± 385 and 7000 ± 607 ind/m2; a highly significant difference. The no. of species (10/13) and biomasses (209.0 ± 45.3/184 ± 89.0 g/m2) showed no significant differences. The data also showed some depth dependency, but there was no correlation (r=0.22) between abundance and biomass for the entire material pooled, illustrating the importance of always measuring both. When using keyspecies for monitoring purposes, their natural distribution should also be known, as the dominance-patterns shows clear gradients with depth and sediment type

Retirement as a predictor of physical functioning trajectories among older businessmen

Background Associations between retirement characteristics and consequent physical functioning (PF) are poorly understood, particularly in higher socioeconomic groups, where postponing retirement has had both positive and negative implications for PF. Methods Multiple assessments of PF, the first of which at the mean age of 73.3 years, were performed on 1709 men who were retired business executives and managers, using the RAND-36/SF-36 instrument, between 2000 and 2010. Questionnaire data on retirement age and type of pension was gathered in 2000. Five distinct PF trajectories were created using latent growth mixture modelling. Mortality- and covariate-adjusted multinomial regression models were used to estimate multinomial Odds Ratios (mOR) on the association between retirement characteristics and PF trajectories. Results A one-year increase in retirement age was associated with decreased likelihood of being classified in the 'consistently low' (fully adjusted mOR = 0.82; 95%CI = 0.70, 0.97; P = 0.007), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.83, 0.96; P = 0.002), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 0.92; 95%CI = 0.87, 0.98; P = 0.006) trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory. Compared to old age pensioners, disability pensioners were more likely to be classified in the 'consistently low' (mOR = 23.77; 95% CI 2.13, 265.04; P = 0.010), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 8.24; 95%CI = 2.58, 26.35; P < 0.001), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 2.71; 95%CI = 1.17, 6.28; P = 0.020) PF trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory. Conclusions Among executives and managers, older age at retirement was associated with better trajectories of PF in old age. Compared to old age pensioners, those transitioning into disability and early old age pensions were at risk of having consistently lower PF in old age.Peer reviewe

Job strain among blue-collar and white-collar employees as a determinant of total mortality: a 28-year population-based follow-up

Objectives To investigate the effect of job demand, job control and job strain on total mortality among white-collar and blue-collar employees working in the public sector. Design 28-year prospective population-based follow-up. Setting Several municipals in Finland. Participants 5731 public sector employees from the Finnish Longitudinal Study on Municipal Employees Study aged 44–58 years at baseline. Outcomes Total mortality from 1981 to 2009 among individuals with complete data on job strain in midlife, categorised according to job demand and job control: high job strain (high job demands and low job control), active job (high job demand and high job control), passive job (low job demand and low job control) and low job strain (low job demand and high job control). Results 1836 persons died during the follow-up. Low job control among men increased (age-adjusted HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.42) and high job demand among women decreased the risk for total mortality HR 0.82 (95% CI 0.71 to 0.95). Adjustment for occupational group, lifestyle and health factors attenuated the association for men. In the analyses stratified by occupational group, high job strain increased the risk of mortality among white-collar men (HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.13) and passive job among blue-collar men (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.47) compared with men with low job strain. Adjustment for lifestyle and health factors attenuated the risks. Among white-collar women having an active job decreased the risk for mortality (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.00). Conclusion The impact of job strain on mortality was different according to gender and occupational group among middle-aged public sector employees.peerReviewe

Retirement age and type as predictors of frailty : a retrospective cohort study of older businessmen

Objectives To study the association between retirement characteristics and frailty in a homogenous population of former business executives. Design Cross-sectional cohort study using data from the Helsinki Businessmen Study. Setting Helsinki, Finland. Participants 1324 Caucasian men, born in 1919-1934, who had worked as business executives and managers and of whom 95.9% had retired by the year 2000. Questions on age at and type of retirement, lifestyle and chronic conditions were embedded in questionnaires. Primary and secondary outcome measures Frailty assessed according to a modified phenotype definition at mean age 73.3 years. Results Mean age at retirement was 61.3 years (SD 4.3) and 37.1% had retired due to old age. The prevalence of frailty was lowest among men retiring at ages 66-67 years but increased among those who worked up to age 70 years or older. Compared with men who retired before age 55 years, those retiring at ages 58-69 years were at decreased risk of frailty in old age relative to non-frailty (adjusted ORs 0.07-0.29, pPeer reviewe

Characterization of soft-bottom benthic habitats of the Aland islands, northern Baltic sea

Sediment surface and profile imaging (SPI) was used in combination with grab sampling of sediment (sediment type, organic content, benthic infauna) and hydrography (temperature, oxygen saturation of bottom water) to analyze and describe the soft-bottom benthic habitats of the Aland archipelago (60 degrees 00\u27 to 60 degrees 30\u27 N, 19 degrees 30\u27 to 20 degrees 30\u27 E) in the northern Baltic Sea. The SPI analysis covered 42 stations (5 to 263 m depth), from inner sheltered bays to open coastal waters, with varying sediment types (soft mud with high organic content to sandy substrates with low organic content; loss on ignition: 0.5 to 12.4%). Clustering of the sampled stations (sediment properties) yielded 3 distinct categories of sedimentary habitats: (1) inner archipelago areas and bays with high organic content of the sediment and reduced oxygen saturation in the bottom water, (2) archipelago waters with intermediate values of all analyzed parameters, and (3) open coastal sediments with low organic content and high oxygen saturation (2 deep offshore stations formed an additional group based primarily on depth). Visual analysis of the images provided information on several additional abiotic and biotic characteristics of the sediment, and significant correlations were found mainly between oxygen saturation, organic content, sediment type, shear strength (penetration of gear), surface relief and the depth of the redox potential discontinuity layer in the sediment. The sediment properties were also reflected in the zoobenthos. The correlations between parameters measured are discussed in relation to applicability of the SPI method, monitoring demands, and basic understanding of the sediment-animal relationships

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 and 63.2% exited workforce early. Among men, 40.5% of those with and 32.8% of those without diabetes transitioned into old age pension (p=0.003). The corresponding numbers for women were 48.6% and 40.4% (p = 0.013), respectively. Mean age at exit from the workforce was 60.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.6 to 60.7) years among men with diabetes and 57.6 (95% CI, 57.2 to 58.0) years among men without diabetes (p = 0.016). Among women, corresponding ages were 61.4 (95% CI, 60.8 to 61.9) years for those with diabetes and 59.5 (95% CI, 59.3 to 59.7) years for those without diabetes (p <0.001). The difference in mean restricted work-loss years according to diabetes was 2.5 (95% CI 0.5 to 4.6) for men and 1.9 (95% CI 1.0 to 2.8) for women. Among individuals followed up throughout their work career, those with a diabetes diagnosis exited the workforce approximately two years later compared to those without diabetes.Peer reviewe

Multisite musculoskeletal pain trajectories from midlife to old age : a 28-year follow-up of municipal employees

Objectives We studied the developmental trajectories of multisite musculoskeletal pain (MSP) to learn whether pain in midlife persists to old age, and whether pain trajectories associate with midlife work or lifestyle exposures or retirement from work. Methods Municipal employees aged 44–58 years were studied in 1981 (n=6257) with follow-ups in 1985, 1992, 1997 and 2009. Pain in the neck, low back, and upper and lower limbs was assessed in each survey. Trajectories of the number (0–4) of pain sites were defined using growth mixture modelling (n=3093). Workload, lifestyle and morbidity were elicited by questionnaire and retirement from registries. Associations of baseline factors with pain trajectories were assessed by multinomial logistic regression. Cumulative hazard curves for retirement by trajectory group were calculated. Results Three trajectories of pain over 28 years emerged: low (25%), moderate (52%) and high-decreasing (23%). In the latter, the number of pain sites first decreased sharply, stabilising to a moderate level after most subjects had retired. The disability pension rate was highest in this trajectory, which associated with high baseline morbidity, particularly musculoskeletal disorder (OR 8.06; 95% CI 5.97 to 10.87). Also high biomechanical exposure (2.86;95% CI 2.16 to 3.78), high job demands (1.79; 95% CI 1.39 to 2.30), high job control (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.54 to 0.90), body mass index (BMI) ≥25.0 kg/m2 (1.40; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.80) and low leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) (1.39; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.78) at baseline were associated with this trajectory. However, high LTPA and BMI in repeated surveys also associated with the high-decreasing trajectory. Conclusion MSP in midlife often persists to old age. However, high widespreadness of pain may decrease with retirement from work.peerReviewe

Work careers in adults separated temporarily from their parents in childhood during World War II

Introduction: Traumatic experiences, such as separation from parents in childhood causing early life stress (ELS) may increase the risk of adverse long-term health outcomes and biological age-related changes. This may have an impact on work career. Our aim was to examine long term consequences of ELS due to temporary separation from parents during World War II (WWII) in relation to work career. Material and methods: The Helsinki Birth Cohort Study comprises 13,345 individuals born in Helsinki, Finland, between the years 1934-1944. From the original cohort, 1781 individuals were identified as being separated temporarily from their parents due to World War II. Information on date and type of pension was provided by the Finnish Centre for Pensions and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. The cohort members either transitioned into old age pension at the statutory retirement age or retired earlier and transitioned into disability, unemployment, part-time pension or died before retirement. Results: Those who were separated were more likely to have transitioned into disability pension (RRR: 1.26: 95% CI: 1.06-1.48), especially due to diseases of the musculoskeletal system (OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.20-2.07), or into unemployment pension (RRR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.02-1.53) compared with those not separated from their parents. Longer duration of separation was associated with early exit from the workforce compared with non-separation. Conclusions: Exposure to ELS may have an impact upon lifetime work career. Early interventions preventing exposure to ELS or mitigating its negative effects may prolong future work careers along with healthier aging across the life-span.Peer reviewe

Midlife Cardiovascular Status and Old Age Physical Functioning Trajectories in Older Businessmen

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