Mental disorder at seventy in relation to social factors and attitudes during life

Associations between social factors or attitudes during their life-span and mental disorders at 70 were studied in 166 men and 226 women belonging to the population study "70-year-olds in Gothenburg". Poverty during childhood, arduous job during mature age, and low frequency of social visiting were associated with mental disorder in men, and poverty during childhood and indications of current isolation, with mental disorder in women. Living alone was associated with mental disorder only if combined with factors, such as lack of daily contact with others, or low frequency of social visiting. Combinations of stress and strain during the life-span were associated with feelings of fatigue, while there was no association between losses and mental disorder. Dissatisfaction during the life-span, in women especially with regard to their childhood, was associated with mental disorder.