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Objective To examine how different dimensions of social capital and health behaviour are associated. Design Cross-sectional data of the Health 2000 Health Examination Survey including a personal interview and self-administered questionnaires. Setting Representative sample (N=8028) of the Finnish adult population. Participants 6986 (87%) adults aged 30 years or over. Main Outcome Measures Non-smoking, non-excessive drinking, leisure-time physical activity, daily use of vegetables, adequate duration of sleep. Results Social capital was found to be associated with health behaviour. The dimension of social participation and networks was positively associated with every type of health behaviour. High levels of trust and reciprocity were related to non-smoking and adequate duration of sleep, and high levels of social support to adequate duration of sleep and daily use of vegetables. These associations persisted after controlling for age, gender, education and living arrangements. According to our findings, structural social capital seems to be associated with health behaviour more strongly than cognitive social capital. Conclusion Irrespective of their social status, people with higher levels of social capital—especially in social participation and networks—engage in healthier behaviour. When trying to reduce health inequalities, one strategy could be to promote social participation especially among people in danger of social exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.

Background: Previous register studies have shown that mortality rates and disability pension statistics favor Swedish-speakers when compared to their Finnish-speaking neighbors in the same bilingual region in Finland. The purpose of the present questionnaire survey was to determine whether the Swedish-speaking community has more social capital and if the social capital is associated with health at the individual level., Methods: The study population consisted of randomly selected samples of Finnish-speakers (N 1,000, response rate 66%) and Swedish-speakers (N 1,000, response rate 63%) representing all adults living in bilingual Ostrobothnian municipalities (75,000 Finnish-speakers and 78,000 Swedish-speakers). To inquire into social capital and health indicators, a bilingual questionnaire was composed to cover variables and indicators of sociodemography, health status, health behavior, and social capital (interpersonal trust and civic engagement). Data were analyzed with multiple logistic regression for two binary outcome variables: language group (Finnish vs Swedish) and self-rated health (good vs almost good/fair/poor/bad)., Results: When health-related variables (urban residence, migration, age, BMI, household income, smoking, singing in a choir, membership in any voluntary association, participation in community events, and long-term diseases) were controlled for, the Finnish-speakers were more often migrated (P = 0.0001) and mistrusting (P = 0.0001) and less active in community events (P = 0.0016) and in singing in a choir (P = 0.02) than the Swedish-speakers. After controlling for language and the above-mentioned health-related variables, the number of auxiliary (willing to help) friends (P = 0.001), mistrust (P = 0.037), and membership in any religious association (P = 0.0096) were significantly and independently associated with good self-rated health in the whole sample., Conclusions: The Swedish-speaking community seems to hold a fair quantity of social capital, which is associated with good health. Since the ecological and socioeconomic circumstances are equal for both language communities, a great deal of health inequality can be explained by differences in social capital., (Copyright 2001 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.)

To assess the association between the economic recession of the 1990s in Finland and sleep behaviour, a longitudinal study was conducted in an adult Finnish population cohort. Baseline data were obtained by means of reports on sleep behaviour, health-related behaviour, health status, and objective laboratory tests in 1983-1987. The second screening conducted in 1992-1995, i.e. during economic recession, repeated data collection by postal questionnaires. The prevalences of various sleep symptoms including insomnia, daytime tiredness, fatigue, parasomnias and the use of hypnotics remained similar in the same age cohorts during economic recession. Alcohol consumption and snoring increased among the middle-aged (30-49 years), though snoring shows the greatest individual stability among various sleep symptoms. Despite some baseline differences in the sleep/health behaviour frequencies, the changes were independent of gender and socioeconomic class. The prevalences over eight years of insomnia and snoring show fair chronicity, whereas daytime tiredness and fatigue seem to be less chronic. Middle-aged participants who were stably employed at the initial screening but became unemployed during economic recession were studied separately. Prospectively unemployed persons suffered more from insomnia and used more hypnotics than the continuously employed. We conclude that the sleep quality of the general Finnish population has not drastically deteriorated during severe economic recession except among unemployed blue-collar workers.