The transition from adolescence to young adulthood is marked by many changes. Mental well-being plays an important role in how individuals deal with these changes and how they develop their lifestyle. The goal of this study was to examine gender differences in the long-term development of self-esteem and other mental well-being variables from the age of 15 to the age of 23.
A baseline measurement was performed in a nationwide sample of 385 Icelandic adolescents aged 15, and a follow-up measurement was conducted eight years later, when participants had reached the age of 23. Standardized questionnaires were used to measure self-reports of self-esteem, life satisfaction, body image, anxiety, depression and somatic complaints.
Women improved their self-esteem significantly more than men from the age of 15 to 23 (p=0.004). Women were more satisfied with their life than men at the age of 23 (p=0.009). Men had a better body image, less anxiety, less depression and fewer somatic complaints than women, independent of age. Across gender, anxiety declined and somatic complaints became fewer (p
Physical activity in adult life may reduce prostate cancer risk. Data are scarce on the role of activity during early adulthood, as well as combined recreational and occupational physical activity on prostate cancer risk and mortality. We undertook a prospective study of 8221 Icelandic men (born 1907 to 1935) in the population-based Reykjavik Study. At enrollment, between 1967 and 1987, the men provided information on regular recreational physical activity since the age of 20 years as well as current occupational activity. Through linkage to nationwide cancer and mortality registers, the men were followed for prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality through 2009. We used Cox models to calculate the relative risk of prostate cancer by level of physical activity. During a mean follow-up of 24.8 years, 1052 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, of whom 349 had advanced disease (stage 3+ or prostate cancer death). Neither recreational nor occupational physical activity was, independently or combined, associated with overall or localized prostate cancer. Compared to physically inactive men, we observed a nonsignificant lower risk of advanced prostate cancer (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.42 to 1.07) among men reporting both recreational and occupational physical activity (p-value for interaction = 0.03). Awaiting confirmation in larger studies with detailed assessment of physical activity, our data suggest that extensive physical activity beginning in early adulthood may reduce the risk of advanced prostate cancer.
