Activity, functional capacity and well-being in ageing Finnish workers.
BACKGROUND
The ageing of the labour force and falling employment rates have forced policy makers in industrialized countries to find means of increasing the well-being of older workers and of lengthening their work careers.


OBJECTIVE
To longitudinally study the relationship between activity and functional capacity and the well-being of ageing workers.


METHODS
Follow-up study to that carried out by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in 1981-97 (n = 3817). Activity level was measured using various free-time activities, and functional capacity was measured through daily-life activities. The measure of well-being included items with both positive and negative affects. The associations between activity, functional capacity and well-being were analysed by general linear models with repeated measures.


RESULTS
Activity level and functional capacity had a strong positive effect (the effects of one unit increase were 0.32 and 0.30, respectively) on well-being. They were also interdependent. The impact of activity level in maintaining well-being became 31% greater during the follow-up, whereas the effect of functional capacity diminished by 17%.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the study indicate that both involvement in activities and functional capacity have an important, partly compensatory role in maintaining the well-being of ageing workers.
Seitsamo
Jorma
J
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland. jorma.seitsamo@ttl.fi
Tuomi
Kaija
K
Martikainen
Rami
R
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012179:Retirement