Leisure-time physical activity has consistently been associated with better mental health. However, evidence on active commuting and occupational physical activity is less conclusive. We examined cross-sectional associations of domain-specific physical activity with depressive symptoms and psychological distress among Finnish employed adults. We included 3439 adults (mean age 45.0 years; 51% female) from the FinHealth 2017 Study. Based on commuting, occupational and leisure-time physical activity behaviour, participants were categorised as passive or active commuters; sedentary, lightly active or moderately/highly active workers; and sedentary, recreationally active or exercisers/athletes, respectively. Daily active commuting volumes were also assessed. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios, with models adjusted for key covariates. High volumes of active commuting (≥ 30 min a day) were associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.18–2.13), whereas no associations were observed for lower active commuting volumes or when active commuting was analysed as a binary variable. Regarding occupational physical activity, lightly active workers were less likely to experience psychological distress (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.40–0.97) compared to sedentary workers, whereas no associations were observed for moderately or highly active workers. Regarding leisure-time physical activity, exercisers and athletes had lower odds of depressive symptoms (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.32–0.61) and psychological distress (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21–0.55) compared to sedentary individuals, as did recreationally active adults. Leisure-time and light occupational physical activity, but not active commuting, were associated with fewer mental health symptoms. Potential mental health benefits of physical activity may be domain- and volume-specific.

Anxiety symptoms may be affected by environmental factors. Changes in weather patterns have been linked to various mental health outcomes, but research focusing on wintertime and anxiety is still sparse. Thus, we investigate longitudinal associations between solar radiation, precipitation, and snow days during winter-time and self-reported anxiety symptoms in the following spring. We used data from 14,237 participants of the Swedish Longitudinal Survey of Health who responded to surveys in spring 2016 and 2018. Symptoms of anxiety was assessed using SCL-ANX4, a subscale of the Symptom Checklist-25. Data on the daily solar radiation and precipitation was averaged over November to January and linked to the health data and residence at municipal level for each participant. For snow days, sum of days with snow over the 3-month period was used. Within-individual design using conditional logistic regression was used. Models were adjusted for age, region, and the remaining meteorological variables. Although odds ratios for anxiety in association with 3-month average solar radiation (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.65–1.24) and precipitation (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.79–1.05) were on the protective side, these associations were not statistically significant. We neither observed associations between snow days and anxiety symptoms, nor any significant effect modification by age, sex, civil status, job strain, occupational position, region, type of questionnaire, alcohol use, or physical activity (p-values for interactions > 0.05). Our findings do not demonstrate associations between wintertime weather conditions and symptoms of anxiety and call for further research from different geographical areas and populations.

Shifting from car to walking, cycling, or public transport increases physical activity and decreases traffic-related emissions. However, many commutes with healthier transportation options are still undertaken by private cars, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of the factors associated with commuting modal shift. By linking individual-level survey data with grid-based data on the residential environment, we examined the relative importance of factors associated with reduced car commuting from 2020 to 2022 among 4464 Finnish public sector employees using dominance analysis. While the overall predictive power of the analysis was low, shorter average commute length, lower proportion of green areas, being a non-smoker, higher proportion of households without a car, shorter distance to the nearest grocery shop, less car ownership, higher total physical activity, and lower body mass index emerged as the most important factors. Results suggest that residential environment, health, and health behaviours only explain a small proportion of the total variance in a shift towards healthier commuting. Future studies should explore the role of individual psychosocial factors and workplace environment characteristics in explaining modal shifts in commuting within Nordic countries.

Private forest owners face conflicting pressures regarding management of their forests, including producing timber for the forest industry, preserving biodiversity, and enhancing carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. At the same time, climate change poses a threat to the viability of forests. It is poorly known how these pressures affect the mental well-being of forest owners. We used a Finnish forest owner survey (N = 1224) to examine whether distress due to public demands regarding forest management is associated with symptoms of anxiety. We also examined which factors are associated with worry about the climate change impacts on own forests. Distress due to public demands on forest management was not associated with symptoms of anxiety. Only stress due to the invasion of Russia into Ukraine was associated with symptoms of anxiety. Having multiple objectives as a forest owner, being female gender, and having higher education were associated with worry about the climate change impacts on own forests. In conclusion, distress due to public demands regarding forest management may not be associated with forest owners’ anxiety symptoms. Worry about the climate change impacts on own forests may be partly explained by higher awareness regarding the various possibilities that forests can offer.

Background  Regular active commuting – that is, walking or cycling to work – can improve cardiometabolic health and physical fitness among employed adults. This study aimed to examine whether regular active commuting is also associated with perceived cognitive function (memory function, learning ability, and concentration) and work ability. To explore potential differences across physical activity domains, these relationships were additionally assessed for leisure-time physical activity.

Methods  This study was based on cross-sectional data from the nationally representative FinHealth 2017 Study. Employed participants were categorised based on their commuting and leisure-time physical activity behaviour as either active or passive commuters and as sedentary, recreationally active, or exercisers and athletes, respectively. Covariate-adjusted quasi-Poisson regression was used to estimate relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). For active commuting, dose-response analyses were also performed.

Results  Among Finnish employed adults (N = 3525; mean age 45 years; 51% female), active commuting was not associated with perceived memory function, concentration, or work ability. However, active commuters had a 17% lower risk of suboptimal perceived learning ability compared to passive commuters (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.70–0.99). In dose-response analyses, the association was observed only for lower volumes of active commuting (< 15 min a day; RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.50–0.89). Regarding leisure-time physical activity, exercisers and athletes had a 52% lower risk of suboptimal memory function (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.38–0.60), a 54% lower risk of suboptimal learning ability (RR 0.46, 95% CI 0.36–0.60), a 49% lower risk of suboptimal concentration (RR 0.51, 95% CI 0.39–0.67), and a 65% lower risk of suboptimal work ability (RR 0.35, 95% CI 0.26–0.47) compared to sedentary adults. Similar associations were observed for recreationally active adults.

Conclusions  Active commuting was associated with better perceived learning ability, suggesting that its benefits may extend to brain health. Leisure-time physical activity may have even greater potential for enhancing cognitive function and work ability among employed adults.

We examined how climate worry, societal and individual efficacy-based climate hope (as a meaning-focused coping strategy), and pro-environmental behavior (PEB; as a problem-focused coping strategy) are related to mental health, namely, depressive and anxiety symptoms. We also studied whether efficacy-based climate hope or PEB (as a problem-focused coping strategy) moderate the association between climate worry and mental health problems. Furthermore, we examined whether PEB, when combined with efficacy-based climate hope, served as a protective factor for mental health. We investigated these associations among Finnish adults (N = 5701) from the ten largest cities in Finland. High levels of climate worry were associated with greater likelihood of experiencing more severe depressive (odds ratio (OR) 1.39, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.13–1.69) and anxiety (OR 1.91, 95 % CI 1.52–2.40) symptoms than low levels of climate worry. Low levels of societal efficacy-based hope were associated with greater likelihood of experiencing more severe depressive (OR 1.26, 95 % CI 1.04–1.69) and anxiety (OR 1.26, 95 % CI 1.02–1.58) symptoms than high levels of societal efficacy-based climate hope. Neither efficacy-based climate hope nor PEB moderated the association between climate worry and mental health. However, individual efficacy-based climate hope moderated the association between PEB and both mental health outcomes. Among those who showed more engagement in PEB, lower levels of individual efficacy-based hope were associated with greater odds of experiencing depressive and anxiety symptoms, in comparison to those who showed more PEB and had higher levels of hope. Although climate worry was related to mental health symptoms in our study, we suggest that the focus of psychological adaptation to climate crisis should not be on eliminating worry, but on finding a way to channel it. Based on our findings, it is possible that a coping strategy integrating behavioral engagement with climate hope may support planetary health by mitigating mental health impacts of climate crisis while simultaneously strengthening commitment to climate change mitigation.

Background  Numerous studies on work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic link it to reduced physical activity, increased alcohol use, and weight gain, mainly under stringent pandemic restrictions. We investigated whether changes in work-from-home levels from pre to late pandemic are associated with health behaviours during the late pandemic, controlling for family and work factors.

Methods  Using 8195 participants from the 2022 wave of the Swedish Longitudinal Survey of Health, we used logistic regression to analyze the associations between changes in the amount of remote work from pre-pandemic to late pandemic, and physical inactivity, problem drinking, and obesity. Models were first adjusted for age and sex; then for civil status, having children under the age of 12 years at home, and occupation; and finally for job stress, work-family conflict, and family-work conflict.

Results  Individuals who decreased work from home had 17% higher odds of being physically inactive (fully adjusted model OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.00–1.37) compared to those who did not change their amount of work from home. Changes in work from home were not statistically significantly associated with problem drinking or obesity. However, there was a tendency for those who decreased work from home to have higher odds of obesity (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.94–1.24), although the association did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions  These findings suggest, although the associations were weak, that work from home could offer opportunities for individuals to be more conscious of their health and to engage in healthier behaviours.

This register-linked follow-up study examined whether psychological distress and demanding working conditions are jointly associated with short and long sickness absence (SA) periods among young and midlife Finnish public sector employees. We linked the Helsinki Health Study survey (response rate 51.5%, 80% women, ages 19–39 years in 2017) on psychological distress, physically and mentally strenuous work, and hours per day spent in physical work with the employer’s SA register (n = 3609, mean follow-up of 2.1 years). We calculated rate ratios (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for short (1–7 days) and long (8+ days) SA periods using negative binomial regression models. Additionally, we calculated the synergistic interaction between psychological distress and working conditions. Most (88%) participants had at least one short and 31% at least one long SA period. Participants with psychological distress and exposure to demanding working conditions had the highest RRs for long SA periods (physically strenuous work: RR: 2.27, CI: 1.87–2.77; mentally strenuous work: RR: 2.02, CI: 1.66–2.46; ≥3 h per day spent in physical work: RR: 2.41, CI: 1.94–2.99). The interactions for long SA were negative for physically demanding working conditions, but additive for mentally strenuous work. The associations were weaker for short SA periods. Adjusting for other covariates only slightly attenuated these associations. Psychological distress and demanding working conditions were jointly associated with short and long SA periods. Both individual- and workplace-related risk factors for SA need to be considered when planning preventive actions.

Background: Long-term traffic noise exposure contributes to the burden of cardiovascular diseases, with more recent evidence also showing associations with mental disorders. However, the quality of available research evidence remains low. We conducted a register study to investigate the association between traffic noise exposure and the risk of incident depression and anxiety.

Methods: A total of 120,975 individuals born in Finland in 1987–1998 and residing in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in 2007 were identified in the register database and followed until 2016. The analysis included 114,353 eligible individuals (mean age at the baseline 14.3 years; 50.7 % female; mean follow-up 8.7 years). Annual average road and railway traffic noise was modeled at residential addresses. Incident cases of depression and anxiety were identified from the healthcare register. Cox proportional hazard models were applied, adjusting for individual and area-level covariates.

Results: Each 10 dB increase in road traffic noise at the most exposed façade (Lden_max) was associated with a higher risk of depression (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.05, 95 % CI: 1.02–1.09) and anxiety (HR: 1.04, 95 % CI: 1.01–1.07). However, the associations with anxiety were more pronounced in males and those without parental mental disorders. Noise at the least exposed façade (Lden_min) had a J-shaped association with anxiety, with increased hazards after 53–55 dB. Combined road and railway traffic noise (Lden_max) and nighttime road traffic noise (Ln_max) yielded similar results.

Conclusion: Exposure to continuously measured residential traffic noise above 53 dB was associated with higher risks of depression and anxiety among adolescents and young adults.

Background: In Northern latitudes, winter is the darkest time of the year, and depressive episodes during winter are prevalent. Although changing weather patterns due to climate change are projected to result in warmer and wetter and, thus, even darker winters, research on the impact of winter-time natural light and precipitation on mental health is scarce. We examined associations of exposure to solar radiation and precipitation with psychotropic medication and antidepressant purchases in winter months.

Methods: Of the 251,268 eligible participants from the Finnish public sector study, aged ≥18 years, 72% were women. Associations for municipality-level 4-week average solar radiation and precipitation with register-based medication purchases from 1999 to 2016 were analyzed using random effects method with Poisson regression. A 6-month washout period with no purchases was applied to each purchase. Confounding by region and year, and effect modifications by sex, age, and socioeconomic status were examined.

Results: No association was observed for an increase in 4-week average of solar radiation by standard deviation (585 kJ/m²) with any psychotropic medications (incidence rate ratio: 0.99; 95% confidence interval: 0.98, 1.00) or antidepressants (1.00; 0.99, 1.01). No difference in any psychotropic medication or antidepressant purchases in participants exposed to high solar radiation (≥2000 kJ/m²) compared with those with the lowest exposure (<500 kJ/m²) was observed. No associations were observed for precipitation.

Conclusion: No evidence linking higher solar radiation exposure to reduced psychotropic medication purchases, nor higher precipitation exposure to increased medication purchases in winter was observed. Further research is needed to validate and expand upon these findings.