Psychosocial resilience surrounding age-typical losses among older adults in Sweden: group-based trajectories over a 25-year-period.

Introduction: Resilience is an important but often neglected aspect of healthy or successful aging. This study used a new approach for modelling psychosocial resilience to investigate responses when faced with age-typical losses. Rather than viewing resilience as a trait, we modelled trajectories of life satisfaction when faced with partner or functional loss in later life to identify resilient trajectories.

National trends in loneliness and social isolation in older adults: an examination of subgroup trends over three decades in Sweden.

Introduction: Loneliness and social isolation are public health concerns. This study aimed to examine levels and trends in loneliness and social isolation among older adults (77+ years) in Sweden, assess subgroup variations, and determine associations between loneliness and social isolation.

Methods: The 1992, 2002, 2004, 2011, 2014 and 2021 waves of the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD) were analysed through ordered logistic and linear regressions.

20-Year trends in the social participation of the oldest old.

Aims: To investigate 20-year trends in social participation among the oldest old (77+ years) in Sweden and assess the extent to which changes in educational attainment and functional abilities explain these trends.

Methods: Seven waves of the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD) spanning 2002-2021 were used with a repeated cross-sectional design. To analyse the association between time and social participation we employed the Karlson-Holm-Breen method of decomposition.

Does losing family members in midlife matter for late-life mental and cognitive health? A longitudinal study of older Swedes spanning 30 years.

Objectives: Mental and cognitive health is crucial to ensure well-being in older age. However, prolonged periods of stress, grief, and bereavement might compromise mental health balance, leading to profound changes. This study investigated the sex-stratified associations between midlife bereavement experiences (e.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Swedish adults aged 77 years and older: Age differences in lifestyle changes.

Aims: This study aimed to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle and social activities among older adults in Sweden, with a special focus on differences between the 'younger old' (aged 77-84) and 'older old' (aged 85-109).

Methods: This study is based on a nationally representative sample of older adults (aged ⩾77 years) in Sweden (SWEOLD). Data were collected between May 2021 and April 2022, when many recommendations were removed but the virus was still classified as a public health disease.

Physical functioning as a predictor of retirement: Has its importance changed over a thirty-year period in Sweden?

Unlabelled: Many countries, including Sweden, are implementing policies aimed at delaying retirement and encouraging older workers to remain on the labour market for longer. During recent decades, there have been several major reforms to the pension and social security systems in Sweden. Moreover, the nature of occupations has shifted towards more non-manual and sedentary activities, older women are today almost as active in the labour market as men in Sweden, and physical functioning has improved over time.

Is the mental health of older adults receiving care from their children related to their children's dual burden of caregiving and work stress? A linked lives perspective.

Objectives: Mental health problems are a major concern in the older population in Sweden, as is the growing number of older adults aging alone in their homes and in need of informal care. Using a linked lives perspective, this study explored if older parents' mental health is related to their children's dual burden of informal caregiving and job strain.

Methods: Data from a nationally representative Swedish survey, SWEOLD, were used.

Part-time work and health in late careers: Evidence from a longitudinal and cross-national study.

In this exploratory study, we examine how older workers' part-time employment and health are associated in four countries promoting this type of employment in late careers but with a different welfare regime: the United States, Germany, Sweden, and Italy. Using data from two large representative panel surveys and conducting multichannel sequence analysis, we identified the most typical interlocked employment and health trajectories for each welfare regime and for three different age groups of women and men. We found that there is more heterogeneity in these trajectories in countries with a liberal welfare regime and among older age groups.

How to Measure Retirement Age? A Comparison of Survey and Register Data.

Due to an increasing heterogeneity in retirement transitions, the measurement of retirement age constitutes a major challenge for researchers and policymakers. In order to better understand the concept of retirement age, we compare a series of measures for retirement age assessed on the basis of survey and register data. We use data from Sweden, where flexible retirement schemes are implemented and register data are available.

Heavy alcohol consumption before and after negative life events in late mid-life: longitudinal latent trajectory analyses.

Background: People who experience negative life events report more heavy alcohol consumption compared with people without these experiences, but little is known about patterns of change this group. This study aims to identify trajectories of heavy alcohol consumption before and after experiencing either divorce, or severe illness or death in the family. Furthermore, the aim is to examine characteristics of individuals belonging to each trajectory.

Trends in older people's drinking habits, Sweden 2004-2017.

Aims: To examine if and how the drinking habits of older people aged 60-79 years in Sweden have changed during 2004-2017, with a specific focus on age groups and gender.

Data And Measures: A Swedish, nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional telephone survey covering the years 2004-2017 ( = 225,134) was used. Four aspects of alcohol consumption were investigated: proportion of alcohol consumers, frequency of drinking, amount per drinking occasion, and prevalence of heavy episodic drinking.

Comparing older people's drinking habits in four Nordic countries: Summary of the thematic issue.

Aim: The present article summarises status and trends in the 21st century in older people's (60-79 years) drinking behaviour in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and concludes this thematic issue. Each country provided a detailed report analysing four indicators of alcohol use: the prevalence of alcohol consumers, the prevalence of frequent use, typical amounts of use, and the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (HED). The specific aim of this article is to compare the results of the country reports.

Trends in the Mortality Risk of Living Alone during Old Age in Sweden, 1992-2011.

This study investigates the association between living alone and mortality over a recent 19-year period (1992-2011). Data from a repeated cross-sectional, nationally representative (Sweden) study of adults ages 77 and older are analyzed in relation to 3-year mortality. Findings suggest that the mortality risk associated with living alone during old age increased between 1992 and 2011 ( = .

Association between psychosocial working conditions in mid-life and leisure activity in old age.

Leisure activity helps people engage with life, and it promotes health and well-being as we age. This study investigated whether individuals with active jobs (high psychological demands, high control) in mid-life were more active during leisure time in old age compared with those with less active jobs. Two individually linked Swedish surveys were used (=776) with 23 years of follow-up.

Social integration and alcohol consumption among older people: A four-year follow-up of a Swedish national sample.

Background: Today's older people drink more alcohol than earlier cohorts of older people. Social integration has been identified as an important factor for older people's drinking, but the association is complex. This study investigates both high and low levels of social integration and their associations with longitudinal patterns of alcohol consumption among older women and men.

Planned and Unplanned Hospital Admissions and Their Relationship with Social Factors: Findings from a National, Prospective Study of People Aged 76 Years or Older.

Objective: To examine the relationship between social factors and planned and unplanned hospital admissions among older people.

Data Sources/study Setting: 2011 data from the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD) and data from the Swedish National Patient Register until December 31, 2012.

Study Design: The study had a prospective design.

Why is the gender gap in life expectancy decreasing? The impact of age- and cause-specific mortality in Sweden 1997-2014.

Objectives: To enhance the understanding of the current increase in life expectancy and decreasing gender gap in life expectancy.

Methods: We obtained data on underlying cause of death from the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden for 1997 and 2014 and used Arriaga's method to decompose life expectancy by age group and 24 causes of death.

Results: Decreased mortality from ischemic heart disease had the largest impact on the increased life expectancy of both men and women and on the decreased gender gap in life expectancy.

Who Lives Alone During Old Age? Trends in the Social and Functional Disadvantages of Sweden's Solitary Living Older Adults.

This study identifies specific social and functional disadvantages associated with living alone during old age in Sweden and assesses whether these associations have changed during recent decades. Data came from repeated cross-sectional surveys of Swedish adults aged 77+ during 1992-2014. Findings indicate that several types of disadvantage are consistently associated with the probability of living alone including financial insecurity and having never married for women and having never married and mobility impairment for men.

Lonelier than ever? Loneliness of older people over two decades.

To live with feelings of loneliness has negative implications for quality of life, health and survival. This study aimed to examine changes in loneliness among older people, both with regard to prevalence rates, and socio-demographic, social and health-related correlates of loneliness. This study had a repeated cross-sectional design and was based on the nationally representative Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD).

Does the association between leisure activities and survival in old age differ by living arrangement?

Background: Government policies to promote ageing in place have led to a growing frail population living at home in advanced old age, many of whom live alone. Living alone in old age is associated with adverse health outcomes, but we know little about whether it moderates the health impact of other risk and protective factors. Engagement in leisure activities is considered critical to successful ageing.

Smoking and Physical Inactivity as Predictors of Mobility Impairment During Late Life: Exploring Differential Vulnerability Across Education Level in Sweden.

Objectives: To test whether older adults from high and low educational groups are differentially vulnerable to the impact of smoking and physical inactivity on the progression of mobility impairment during old age.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of older Swedish adults (n = 1,311), aged 57-76 years at baseline (1991), were followed for up to 23 years (2014). Multilevel regression was used to estimate individual trajectories of mobility impairment over the study period and to test for differences in the progression of mobility impairment on the basis of smoking status, physical activity status, and level of education.

Work Stressors in Late Midlife and Physical Functioning in Old Age.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between work stressors in late midlife and physical functioning in old age.

Method: Two linked nationally representative Swedish surveys were used: the 1991 Level of Living Survey (age 57-65) and the 2011 Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old. Work stressors were measured with the job demand-control model and physical functioning in old age with physical performance tests, lung function tests, and self-reported mobility.