Studiens syfte är att ur ett livsloppsperspektiv belysa vilka bemästringsstrategier finlandssvenskar i åldern 100-103 år har använt från barndomen till ålderdomen. Fokus läggs främst på bemästring av svårigheter, men studien tar även fasta på hur man som 100-åring ser på livet idag och på framtiden. För studien intervjuades tre kvinnor och två män i Finland. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att tolka intervjumaterialet. Studiens resultat visar att de intervjuade som barn i Finland i början av 1900-talet fick bemästra genom att acceptera och vara i ödets händer. I vuxenlivet tog de däremot kontroll över sina liv och vägde ofta fördelar mot nackdelar. Idag som 100-åringar vill de behålla kontrollen trots behov av hjälp, men ser också tillbaka på och accepterar livet som helhet. Vissa strategier syns även över längre perioder i livet. Behovet av socialt stöd är en viktig aspekt, men även individens inställning till livet har stor roll. Resultatet visar hur viktigt det är att låta till och med 100-åringar behålla sin självbestämmanderätt för att själva kunna bemästra svårigheter. / The aim of this study is to show which coping strategies fennoswedish centenarians aged 100-103 have used throughout life. The study is conducted from a life course perspective, with focus on coping strategies in times of difficulties, but the study also sheds light on how centenarians experience life today and what they think of the future. Three women and two men were interviewed for the study in Finland. A qualitative content analysis was done to interpret the data. The result shows that the interviewed centenarians, as childen in the early 20th century Finland, had to cope by accepting and by leaving one’s fate in someone else’s hands. In adult life, however, the interviewees took control of their lives and often weighed the pros and cons to cope with difficulties. Today the centenarians want to maintain control even though they are in need of help, but also look back on and accept life as a whole. Some coping strategies are also present over longer periods in life, for example the need for social support, as well as the individual attitude. The result shows the importantance of allowing centenarians to maintain their autonomy in order to cope with difficulties.

Background. Omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may have different effects on cognitive health due to their anti- or pro-inflammatory properties. Methods. We aimed to prospectively examine the relationships between n-3 and n-6 PUFA contents in serum phospholipids with incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD). We included 1264 non-demented participants aged 84 ± 3 years from the German Study on Ageing, Cognition, and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe) multicenter-cohort study. We investigated whether fatty acid concentrations in serum phospholipids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), linoleic acid (LA), dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), and arachidonic acid (AA), were associated with risk of incident all-cause dementia and AD. Results. During the follow-up window of seven years, 233 participants developed dementia. Higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a lower incidence of AD (hazard ratio (HR) 0.76 (95% CI 0.63; 0.93)). We also observed that higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a decreased risk for all-cause dementia (HR 0.76 (95% CI 0.61; 0.94)) and AD (HR 0.66 (95% CI 0.51; 0.85)) among apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) non-carriers but not among APOE ε4 carriers. No other fatty acids were significantly associated with AD or dementia. Conclusions. Higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a lower risk of incident AD. This further supports a beneficial role of n-3 PUFAs for cognitive health in old age.