Early physical development and growth and work career as determinants of old age health and functioning – A life course epidemiology approach (DEWOAGE)

Little is known about whether the effects of early life physical development and growth extend to the work career and how these factors together effect old age. This study combines research in early life physical development and growth, work career and old age health and functioning to better understand the aging process from a life course epidemiology perspective. The study bridges early life environment and development and old age health and functioning via a link to socioeconomic position and lifestyle factors.

Datasets with follow-up up to 70 years will be used e.g. Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (HBCS), National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) and Finnish Longitudinal Study of Ageing Municipal Employees (FLAME).

Combining these research areas will produce new novel information and expertise and these insights will further help in understanding the epidemiology of early life development, socioeconomic position, work career and old age health and functioning. Expected findings contribute new information on the life course epidemiology of aging persons’ health and functioning. Several scientific papers will be produced in the project.

Funding

Academy of Finland, Fulbright Center Finland, Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation

Principal investigator

Senior researcher, Docent Mikaela von Bonsdorff, mikaela.vonbonsdorff[at]jyu.fi, Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä

Collaborators

University of Helsinki, Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Helsinki, Finland

Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, Medical Research Council, London, UK

National Institute on Aging, Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland

Selected publications

von Bonsdorff MB, Rantanen T, Sipilä S, Salonen MK, Kajantie E, Osmond C, Barker DJP, Eriksson JG. Birth Size and Childhood Growth as Determinants of Physical Functioning in Older Age: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 2011;174:1336-44.

von Bonsdorff MB, Muller M, Aspelund T, Garcia M, Eiriksdottir G, Rantanen T, Gunnarsdottir I, Birgisdottir BE, Thorsdottir I, Sigurdsson G, Gudnason V, Launer L, Harris TB for the AGES-Reykjavik Study Group. Persistence of the effect of body size at birth on dysglycaemia and type 2 diabetes in old age: the AGES-Reykjavik Study. AGE 2013;35:1401-9.

von Bonsdorff MB, Groffen D, Vidal JS, Rantanen T, Aspelund T, Garcia M, Eiriksdottir G, Sigeirsdottir K, Launer  L, Gudnason V, Harris TB for the AGES-Reykjavik Study Group. Coronary artery calcium and physical performance as determinants of mortality in old age: the AGES-Reykjavik Study. International Journal of Cardiology 2013;168:2094-9.

von Bonsdorff MB, von Bonsdorff ME, Törmäkangas T, Kulmala J, Seitsamo J, Leino-Arjas P, Nygård CH, Ilmarinen J, Rantanen T. Mental and physical job strain in midlife and use of hospital care in later life: A 28-year prospective follow-up. Age and Ageing 2014;43:393-9.

von Bonsdorff MB, Törmäkangas T, Rantanen T, Salonen MK, Osmond C, Kajantie E, Eriksson JG. Early life body mass trajectories and mortality in older age: findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. Annals of Medicine 2014;DOI:10.3109/07853890.2014.963664.

 von Bonsdorff MB, Cooper R, Kuh D. Job demand and control in midlife and physical and mental functioning in early old age –  do childhood factors explain these associations in a British birth cohort? BMJ Open 2014;4:e005578.