Why do Swedish-speaking Finns have longer active life? An area for social capital research.
We performed ecological and individual register studies to compare disability-free life expectancies and disability pensions among Swedish-speaking and Finnish-speaking Finns residing on the western coast of Finland. The study was conducted to establish our assumption that the Swedish-speaking ethnic minority has a longer active life than the Finnish-speaking majority and to show that this disparity can be seen in a limited geographical area with similar socio-economic and health service structures. We suggest that the observed disparities in active life and in mortality depend on differences in the extent of social capital. A detailed characterization of the social capital and its impact on the health of the Swedish-speaking individuals is in progress.
Research and Development Centre of Kela (The Social Insurance Institution of Finland), FIN20720 Turku, Finland. markku.hyyppa@kela.memonet.fi
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Hyyppä
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Mäki
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008017:Life Expectancy / Q000208:ethnology*; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010415:Pensions; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012933:Social Identification; D013548:Sweden / Q000208:ethnology