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Background: This study tests associations between psychosocial stress at work measured by the effort-reward imbalance model in a dynamic perspective, and multiple indicators of poor mental health, in a prospective design.

ObjectivesThis article aims at describing, in a Belgian town, the frequency of the fear of falling and of subsequent activity restriction among non-institutionalised people aged 65 years and over, and at identifying persons affected by these two issues.MethodsCross-sectional survey conducted in Fontaine l'Evêque (Belgium) in 2006, using a self-administered questionnaire.ResultsThe participants could fill in the questionnaire on their own or with the help of a third party if needed. The latter were not taken into account in this article. Analyses covered 419 questionnaires. Fear of falling and activity restriction were reported by, respectively, 59.1% and 33.2% of participants. They were more frequent among fallers but also affected non-fallers. In logistic regression analyses: gender, the fact of living alone and the number of falls were significantly associated with fear of falling; gender, age and the number of falls were significantly associated with activity restriction.ConclusionsOur study, despite various limitations, shows the importance of fear of falling and of subsequent activity restriction among older people, among fallers as well as among non-fallers. It also provides information, though limited, concerning persons affected by these two issues in Belgium, and in other contexts as well. Given the ageing of our populations, it is important to take these problems into account when caring for older people.

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Our analysis shows that childhood obesity and physical activity increase the occurrence of injuries. However, we did not observe an association between obesity and severe injuries. Obesity as a risk factor for the occurrence of injuries has to be confirmed by other studies, and the understanding of the mechanism for the observed association needs more investigation.

Learning Objectives• Summarize the concept of work-family conflict and its previously reported associations with adverse outcomes.• Define work-home interference (WHI) and home-work interference (HWI) and discuss the importance of assessing these two inherent directions of the work-family role conflict.• Review and interpret the new findings on the relationship of WHI and HWI with sickness absence. Med. 2009;51:879 -886)

This study provides evidence that the psychosocial working environment influences long-term sick leave due to depression. Efforts to improve skill discretion and decision authority at work could help prevent depression.