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Purpose: This study estimated the long-term individual-level productivity costs of physical inactivity. Methods: The data were drawn from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, to which the productivity cost variables (sick leaves and disability pensions) from Finnish registries were linked. Individuals (N = 6261) were categorized into physical activity groups based on their level of physical activity, which was measured in three ways: 1) self-reported leisure-time moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) at 46 yr old, 2) longitudinal self-reported leisure-time MVPA at 31–46 yr old, and 3) accelerometer-measured overall MVPA at 46 yr old. The human capital approach was applied to calculate the observed costs (years 2012–2020) and the expected costs (years 2012–2031). Results: The results showed that the average individual-level productivity costs were higher among physically inactive compared with the costs among physically active. The results were consistent regardless of the measurement type of physical activity or the period used. On average, the observed long-term productivity costs among physically inactive individuals were €1900 higher based on self-reported MVPA, €1800 higher based on longitudinal MVPA, and €4300 higher based on accelerometer-measured MVPA compared with the corresponding productivity costs among physically active individuals. The corresponding difference in the expected costs was €2800, €1200, and €8700, respectively. Conclusions: The results provide evidence that productivity costs differ according to an individual’s level of physical activity. Therefore, investments in physical activity may decrease not only the direct healthcare costs but also the indirect productivity costs paid by the employee, the employer, and the government.

We explore the effect of unemployment on mental health, using data from Finnish municipalities for the period 2002–2019. We measure mental illness using a mental morbidity index, as well as mental health care utilization and the use of antidepressants. There are significant differences across municipalities in Finland in both prevalence of mental health issues and illnesses, along with unemployment. Establishing a causal link between these two variables is challenging because of their reverse causality and joint determination. Using instrumental variable estimation, we establish a causal effect from unemployment to mental health. We present a strong connection between unemployment and mental health, especially for males between 25 and 64 years of age. Similar connection is not found among younger or older males, nor among females. Our findings are robust, since the results hold for various mental health measures. Our results reflect the possibility of differing mental health effects across the sources of unemployment.

This paper explores individuals’ economic preferences and temperament traits among different categories of business leaders (i.e., managers, self-employed with employees, self-employed without employees) and paid employees. We assume that these quite stable preferences and traits play a role in predicting occupational choice toward leadership roles. We use a large individual-level survey dataset (n = 5890) from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 at age 46 with linkages to nationally registered data. We construct survey measures for three types of economic preferences: risk, time, and social preferences. We use Cloninger’s inventory to measure four main temperament traits: harm avoidance, reward dependence, novelty-seeking, and persistence. We show that business leaders, in general, have different economic preferences and temperament traits than paid employees. To become a manager, especially the temperament trait of novelty-seeking seems relevant; and to become self-employed, particularly the economic preference of risk-taking appears as important.

Sleep has been shown to affect economic outcomes, including wages. The mechanisms by which sleep affects wages remain unclear. We examine the relationship between chronotype — morning larks, evening owls — and wages at mid-age. We propose a novel model relating chronotype to wages in consideration of human, social, and health capital constructs. Empirically, we explore the effects of chronotype mediated through life course choices, such as work experience, trust, and health behaviour. The data come from the 46-year-old follow-up study of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort (1966) and from registers of the Finnish Tax Administration. We find evening chronotype to have a significant indirect negative effect on wages, which occurs through accumulating less work experience and through poor health outcomes. The effect is largest for male workers, with a total indirect effect on average wages of − 4%. We also provide evidence that chronotype has a long-term association with wages between 29 and 50 years of age. We conclude that evening-type workers are less suited to typical working hours and accumulate less human, social and health capital which in turn negatively affects their wages. Our findings are of great socio-economic importance because evening chronotypes make up a significant part of the population.

This study investigated the association between physical activity (PA) and midlife income. The population-based data comprised employed members of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (N = 2797). Using binned scatterplots and polynomial regressions, we evaluated the association between accelerometer-measured moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) at 46 years old and register-based income at 50 years old. The models were adjusted for sex, marital status, number of children, education, adolescent PA, occupational physical strenuousness, and time preference. We found MPA (p < 0.001), VPA (p < 0.05), and MVPA (p < 0.001) to associate curvilinearly with income. In subgroup analyses, a curvilinear association was found between MPA (p < 0.01) and MVPA (p < 0.01) among those with physically strenuous work, VPA among all females (p < 0.01) and females with physically light work (p < 0.01), and MPA and MVPA among all males and males with physically strenuous work (p < 0.05; p < 0.01; p < 0.05; p < 0.05, respectively) and income. The highest income benefits occurred at PA volumes higher than current PA guidelines. Linear associations between PA and income were found among females for MPA (p < 0.05) and MVPA (p < 0.05), among those with physically light work for MPA (p < 0.05), VPA (p < 0.05), and MVPA (p < 0.05), and among females with physically strenuous work for VPA (p < 0.05). We conclude that PA up to the current recommended level is associated with income, but MPA exceeding 505.4 min/week, VPA exceeding 216.4 min/week, and MVPA exceeding 555.0 min/week might have a negative association with income.

We conduct an analysis of the link between colloquialisation and democratisation in debates in the British parliament. Our corpus is a sampler of the Hansard archive, covering the period 1803–2005 and containing 170 million words. We first investigate how the linguistic patterns of parliamentary debates have evolved, and second how the content of the debates has changed over time. Combining these two research questions allows us to step to a third question: are there direct relations between linguistic features, most notably colloquialisation and compression of language, and the topical content of parliamentary discourse, particularly its underpinnings in social and political democratisation processes? We also critically discuss strong correlations between features of language complexity and democracy indices. We adopt an interdisciplinary perspective embedded in both linguistics and political sciences.

We conduct an analysis of the link between colloquialisation and democratisation in debates in the British parliament. Our corpus is a sampler of the Hansard archive, covering the period 1803–2005 and containing 170 million words. We first investigate how the linguistic patterns of parliamentary debates have evolved, and second how the content of the debates has changed over time. Combining these two research questions allows us to step to a third question: are there direct relations between linguistic features, most notably colloquialisation and compression of language, and the topical content of parliamentary discourse, particularly its underpinnings in social and political democratisation processes? We also critically discuss strong correlations between features of language complexity and democracy indices. We adopt an interdisciplinary perspective embedded in both linguistics and political sciences.

Background: Severe health events may lead to reduced income among survivors. Importantly, individuals’ risks for both severe health events and for lower income are shaped by early life course. Our aim was to consider early-life factors in determining lost individual income after stroke, heart attack and cancer between ages 18 and 50. Methods: A population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (N = 12 058) was used. Early-life factors were collected since mid-pregnancy until age 16 years and used to match all persons with stroke, heart attack, or cancer (n = 995) with four controls. Registered annual individual income development 15 years before and after the event was compared between cases and propensity score matched controls using time-to-event mixed models, stratified for sex. Results: Compared to controls, a new decreasing income trend emerged among women after stroke (logarithmic income per time −0.54; 95% CI −0.88 to −0.20), whereas men getting stroke showed declining earnings already by the time of the event, further declining after stroke (−1.00, −1.37 to −0.63). Getting heart attack was associated with a new declining trend both in women (−0.68; −1.28 to −0.09) and men (−0.69, −1.05 to −0.32). Income declined also among control men (−0.24, −0.34 to −0.14), who had higher income but were less educated than control women. Conclusions: Stroke and heart attack but not cancer have exogenous deleterious effects on individual economy, independently of early-life factors. The effects accelerate by time. Negative income trend in control men shows that severe health events do not explain all decrease in income.

This paper studies the impact of long-term unemployment on physical activity. We examined the effects 6 and 15 years following a severe business cycle downturn in Finland over the period 1991–1994. The study sample comprised residents of Northern Finland. The unemployed individuals were 23–26 years old during the downturn. Physical activity, measured by MET minutes and meeting WHO guidelines, was higher 15 years later among those people who experienced the longest periods of unemployment in 1991–1994. Physical activity was somewhat lower among people with relatively shorter periods of unemployment.

Background: We report here the first population-based incidence rates and prognosis of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) in Finland. Methods: Finnish Cancer Registry data by histological diagnosis and tumor location (2007–2017) for cases with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Results: During 2007–2017, 392 new cases of PCNSL were reported (195 males, 197 females). The average age-adjusted incidence was 0.68/100,000 person-years. Incidence for males was 0.74/100,000 and for females 0.63/100,000, respectively. The incidence was highest, 2.93/100,000, among people aged 75–79 years. Concerning all cases in 2007–2017 the 2-year age-adjusted relative survival rate was 33% and the corresponding 5-year survival rate was 26%. Among patients under the age of 70, the age-adjusted 5-year relative survival rate increased from 36% in 2007–2012 to 43% for 2013–2017. Among patients aged 70+ the corresponding survival rates were poor, 7 and 9%. Conclusions: PCNSL incidence in Finland is among the highest reported in the world. The annual increase in incidence was 2.4%. The prognosis is still dismal, especially in elderly patients.

Tiivistelmä. Sinkki on raskasmetalli, joka esiintyy vesiliuoksessa kahdenarvoisena kationina. Sinkkiä käytetään paljon teollisuudessa, joka on samalla suurin syy sinkin runsaaseen esiintymiseen vedessä. Sinkin pitoisuus juomavedessä ei saa ylittää arvoa 5 mg/l, sillä liian suurina pitoisuuksina se aiheuttaa terveysongelmia. Metallikationeja voidaan poistaa vedestä usealla eri menetelmällä, joista adsorptio on yleisin. Adsorbentteina voivat toimia esimerkiksi hiilipohjaiset, happipitoiset, polymeeriset ja luonnon materiaalit. Adsorption tehokkuuteen vaikuttavat muun muassa käytetty adsorbentti, reaktioaika, lämpötila, pH, konsentraatio ja adsorbentin annostus. Tämän lisäksi adsorbenttia voidaan myös modifioida, jolloin pinnalle kiinnittyvien adsorbaattien selektiivisyyttä voidaan kohdentaa. Aktiivihiili on maailmalla käytetyin adsorbentti ja sitä tuotetaan vuosittain merkittäviä määriä. Aktiivihiili pystyy adsorboimaan sekä orgaanisia että epäorgaanisia yhdisteitä ja sitä käytetään paljon raskasmetallien poistoon. Aktiivihiiltä voidaan valmistaa esimerkiksi sahanpurusta ja muista biomassapohjaisista jätteistä. Hiilimateriaalien käyttöä adsorbentteina puoltaa niiden tehokkuus, mutta myös regeneroitavuus. Nämä yhdessä mahdollistavat helpon, mutta edullisen vedenpuhdistusmenetelmän. Tutkielmassa perehdytään adsorptioon ja desorptioon metallien poiston näkökulmasta, sekä tutkitaan mahdollisia aktivointi- ja modifiointikeinoja sinkin selektiivisen poiston saavuttamiseksi. Kirjallisuuskatsauksessa esitellään tutkimuksia, joissa sinkin poistoa adsorptiossa on pyritty optimoimaan hiilimateriaaleille sekä panos- että kolonnikokeissa. Lisäksi tutkielmassa perehdytään regenerointiin ja regenerointikemikaalien valintaan metallikationien talteenotossa, jotta adsorbentti voidaan palauttaa toimintakykyiseksi. Lopuksi tutkielmassa luodaan näkökulmia adsorptio-desorptiosyklien päätepisteeseen tulleen adsorbentin ja regeneroinnissa syntyneen jäteliuoksen kierrätykselle.

Tiivistelmä. Veri-aivoeste muodostaa tärkeän suojan selkärankaisten keskushermostolle muun muassa patogeenejä, kuten viruksia, vastaan. Normaaleissa oloissa aivojen parenkyymissä esiintyy hyvin rajattu kokoonpano leukosyyttejä. Virusten neuroinvaasio järkyttää aivojen homeostaasia, jonka seurauksena veri-aivoeste avautuu valikoidusti käynnistääkseen immuunivasteen virushyökkäykselle. Tästä seuraa keskushermoston eriasteisten vaurioiden muodostuminen. Virukset ovat kehitelleet hyvin erilaisia mekanismeja läpäistäkseen veri-aivoesteen. Eroja tuovat neurotrooppisten virusten käyttämät kulkumekanismit sekä läpäisyn jälkeinen toiminta aivojen parenkyymissä. Virusten neuroinvaasiokyvyissä on myös huomattavia eroja, jotka näkyvät niiden aiheuttamissa neurologisissa häiriössä. Virusten neuroinvaasio-mekanismien tutkiminen solutasolla on avannut suuresti erilaisten neurologisten häiriöiden muodostumisen taustoja. Mekanismeissa on havaittu viruksien suora veri-aivoesteen ylitys tai niiden kulkeutuminen aivojen parenkyymiin käyttämällä ei-hematogeenisia reittejä. Tässä tutkielmassa keskityn aiheen mukaisesti viruksien suoraan veri-aivoesteen ylitykseen ja niiden käyttämiin mekanismeihin. Virusten kulkeutumisen keskushermostoon mahdollista yleensä kehon oma immuunivaste virusinvaasioon. Yleiset muutokset veri-aivoesteessä ovat sen rakenteen tiivisliitoksiin kohdistuvat muutokset sekä sen solujen permeabiliteetin lisääntyminen. Tämän saa aikaan muun muassa veri-aivoesteen solujen erittämät proinflammatoriset tekijät, jotka heikentävät veri-aivoesteen tiivistä rakennetta. Virusten neuroinvasiivinen toiminta on suorassa yhteydessä niiden aiheuttamiin neurologisiin häiriöihin. Eri virustyypit infektoivat erilaisia solutyyppejä ja johtavat infektiotyypillisien sairauksien kehittymiseen. Neurotrooppisten virusten toiminnan tutkiminen on lisääntynyt suuresti 2000-luvulla ja on mahdollistanut hoitomuotojen kehittämisen eri virusinfektioihin. Tutkimuksissa on käytetty lähinnä eläintauti

This study explores age- and gender-specific suicide mortality due to unemployment and economic crises, for 21 OECD countries over the period 1960 to 2011. The findings indicate that a higher unemployment rate leads to an increase in suicides in almost all age groups. Further, using dataset on economic/financial crisis events, results show that, in general, these crises increase suicide rates. However, the evidence also shows that economic crises have no effect on those in the 45 to 64 years age group in terms of suicides. Further, we assessed whether suicide mortality can be attributed to a ‘crisis effect’ beyond that of unemployment. For males, we found a significant joint effect between crises and unemployment. Finally, we investigated the possible nonlinear threshold response of suicides to unemployment. We found that suicides among young males (<45 years) are due to marked increases in unemployment in association with global economic crises.

Objectives: This is the first general population study to evaluate whether evening chronotypes (E) have poorer work ability (WA) and higher probability for early disability pensions (DPs) than morning types (M) in middle age. Methods: Among non-retired individuals (n=5831; 2672 men, 3159 women) of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, chronotype was determined at the age of 46 years with shortened Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaires in 2012. The outcomes were poor WA in 2012, indicated by scores 0–7/10 of Work Ability Score, and registered emergence of DPs in 2013–2016. Multivariate logistic and Cox regression analyses were separately adjusted for factors related to sleep, health and behaviours, sociodemographic and economic factors, or working times. Results: E-types represented 10% (n=264) of men and 12% (n=382) of women. Compared with M-types, the unadjusted ORs with 95% CIs of poor WA for E-type men and women were 2.24 (95% CI 1.62 to 3.08) and 2.33 (95% CI 1.74 to 3.10), respectively. The odds remained statistically significant and approximately twofold in all separate adjustment models tested. During 2013–2016, 8 (3.0%) E-type men and 10 (2.6%) E-type women were granted DP, which, compared with M-types, represented a higher HR that was statistically significant for men (HR 3.12, 95% CI 1.27 to 7.63) and remained significant except when multiple sleep variables or working times were adjusted for. Conclusions: Eveningness appears a previously unrecognised risk factor for poor WA and early disability. We suggest that individual chronotype be considered in attempts to lengthen work careers.

We provide research findings on the physics of aerosol and droplet dispersion relevant to the hypothesized aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during the current pandemic. We utilize physics-based modeling at different levels of complexity, along with previous literature on coronaviruses, to investigate the possibility of airborne transmission. The previous literature, our 0D-3D simulations by various physics-based models, and theoretical calculations, indicate that the typical size range of speech and cough originated droplets (d⩽20μm) allows lingering in the air for O(1h) so that they could be inhaled. Consistent with the previous literature, numerical evidence on the rapid drying process of even large droplets, up to sizes O(100μm), into droplet nuclei/aerosols is provided. Based on the literature and the public media sources, we provide evidence that the individuals, who have been tested positive on COVID-19, could have been exposed to aerosols/droplet nuclei by inhaling them in significant numbers e.g. O(100). By 3D scale-resolving computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, we give various examples on the transport and dilution of aerosols (d⩽20μm) over distances O(10m) in generic environments. We study susceptible and infected individuals in generic public places by Monte-Carlo modelling. The developed model takes into account the locally varying aerosol concentration levels which the susceptible accumulate via inhalation. The introduced concept, ’exposure time’ to virus containing aerosols is proposed to complement the traditional ’safety distance’ thinking. We show that the exposure time to inhale O(100) aerosols could range from O(1s) to O(1min) or even to O(1h) depending on the situation. The Monte-Carlo simulations, along with the theory, provide clear quantitative insight to the exposure time in different public indoor environments., Cited By :11; Export Date: 7 December 2020; Article

We examine whether the psychometric feature, called fear of uncertainty, predicts self-employment choice by individuals. Using the most recent Northern Finland birth cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) data from 2012, we find no clear evidence of such an effect. We also explore whether this effect might have changed due to increase of females in labour market, endogenous adaptation in risk preferences or because of the self-employment experience itself affects risk preferences. These effects are not significant, either.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the orientation of the heart, measured as an angle between the long axis of the heart and ascending aorta midline (heart-aorta-angle, HAA), associates with ascending aortic (AA) dilatation. Furthermore, the association between HAA and wall shear stress (WSS) was studied. Methods: HAA was retrospectively measured in 1000 consecutive coronary artery computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) images in patients with low-to-moderate pretest probability for coronary artery disease (CAD). To evaluate the effects of HAA on AA flow, 4D flow MRI was performed for 28 patients with AA dilatation (> 40 mm) and WSS was analyzed. Results: The mean age of patients undergoing CCTA was 52.9 ± 9.8 years; 66.5% were women. Their median HAA was 128.7° and interquartile range 123.3–134.1°. HAA was significantly smaller in patients with dilated AA (median 126.7° [121.3–130.8°]) compared with the patients with normal AA (median 129.5° [124.3–135.3°], p < 0.001). HAA was smaller in males (p < 0.001) and in patients with diabetes (p = 0.016), hypertension (p = 0.001), CAD (p = 0.003), hypercholesterolemia (p < 0.001), and bicuspid aortic valve (p = 0.025) than without these factors. In a subpopulation without any of these underlying diseases (n = 233), HAA was still significantly smaller in the patients with dilated AA (median 127.9° [124.3–134.3°]) compared with patients with normal AA (median 131.9° [127.6–136.9°], p = 0.013). In 4D flow MRI, a smaller HAA correlated with increased total WSS in the outer curvature of the proximal AA (r = − 0.510, p = 0.006). Conclusions: A smaller HAA associates with AA dilatation and affects the blood flow in the proximal AA.

Associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and cholesterol in depressed patients are unclear. Therefore, we compared 78 adult outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) with (n = 24) or without (n = 54) experiences of physical violence in childhood. Background data were collected with questionnaires, and total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured from fasting blood samples. Patients with a history of childhood physical violence had lower levels of TC than the control group. No differences were observed in HDL-C, LDL-C, or low-grade inflammation levels between the two groups. In multivariate models, decreased levels of TC were associated with childhood physical violence, and these associations remained significant after adjustments for age, gender, lifestyle, metabolic condition, socioeconomic situation, psychiatric status, suicidality, low-grade inflammation, the chronicity of depression, medications used and somatic diseases. At the 8-month follow-up, the results were essentially the same when the Trauma and Distress Scale (TADS) was used as the measure of ACEs. The specific mechanisms underlying cholesterol alterations associated with ACEs are a topic for future studies. Better understanding of these mechanisms might lead to possible new interventions in the prevention of adverse health effects resulting from ACEs.

Background: Existing research on the relationship between economic recessions and suicides has almost completely concentrated on the most recent global financial crisis (2008). We provide the most comprehensive explanation to date of how different types of economic/financial crises since 1970 have affected suicides in developed countries. Methods: Negative binomial regressions were used to estimate what the suicide rates would have been during and 1 year after each crisis began in 21 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries from 1970 to 2011 if the suicide rates had followed the pre-crisis trends. Results: We found that every economic/financial crisis since 1970, except the European Exchange Rate Mechanism crisis in 1992, led to excess suicides in developed countries. Among males, the excess suicide rate (per 100 000 persons) varied from 1.1 (95% CI 0.7 to 1.5) to 9.5 (7.6 to 11.2) and, among females, from 0 to 2.4 (1.9 to 2.9). For both sexes, suicides increased mostly due to stock market crashes and banking crises. In terms of actual numbers, the post-1969 economic/financial crises caused >60 000 excess suicides in the 21 developed countries. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 was the most damaging crisis when assessed based on excess suicides. Conclusions: Evidence indicates that, when considered in terms of effects on suicide mortality, the most recent global financial crisis is not particularly severe compared with previous global economic/financial crises. The distinct types of crises (ie, banking, currency and inflation crises, and stock market crashes) have different effects on suicide.

The extended multiple linear regression technique is used to determine changes in anthropogenic carbon in the intermediate layers of the Eurasian Basin based on occupations from four cruises between 1996 and 2015. The results show a significant increase in basin‐wide anthropogenic carbon storage in the Nansen Basin (0.44–0.73 ± 0.14 mol C·m−2·year−1 and the Amundsen Basin (0.63–1.04 ± 0.09 mol C·m−2·year−1). Over the last two decades, inferred changes in ocean acidification (0.020–0.055 pH units) and calcium carbonate desaturation (0.05–0.18 units) are pronounced and rapid. These results, together with results from carbonate‐dynamic box model simulations and 129I tracer distribution simulations, suggest that the accumulation of anthropogenic carbon in the intermediate layers of the Eurasian Basin are consistent with increasing concentrations of anthropogenic carbon in source waters of Atlantic origin entering the Arctic Ocean followed by interior transport. The dissimilar distributions of anthropogenic carbon in the interior Nansen and Amundsen Basins are likely due to differences in the lateral ventilation of the intermediate layers by the return flows and ramifications of the boundary current along the topographic boundaries in the Eurasian Basin.