The Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old – SWEOLD is run by researchers from Aging Research Center at Karolinska Institutet.
SWEOLD is an ongoing, nationally representative survey of the older population in Sweden. The first data collection was conducted in 1992, and has been repeated in 2002, 2004, 2011, 2014 and 2021. Older adults are asked questions about their actual living conditions in a number of areas relevant to older people, including health, health and social care, financial resources, housing, occupation, and everyday activities. The survey also includes basic tests on cognitive performance.
The study sample is based on the sample frame for the Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU), which was initiated in 1968. The SWEOLD sample consists of people who were previously included in LNU and people who were included in previous data collections in SWEOLD. Because the surveys are linked on an individual level, these data provide the opportunity to follow individuals for over 50 years.
The latest data collection also comprises three additional samples; one national sample of people aged 85+ to ensure that the data continues to be representative of the current older population, and two complementary samples in Dalarna and Stockholm.
Photographers: Victor Celis, Sofia Strååt, Sandra Humer, Josefin Linsdtröm
Results from the SWEOLD survey are important for creating an understanding of older people’s living conditions based on up-to-date facts. The repeated design allows for analyses of how these living conditions change over time, both in the general older population and in specific sub-groups. Participants’ responses to the interviews are used in research and in statistical reports, which serve, among other things, as a basis for the discussion with politicians and decision-makers about the welfare of older people.
SWEOLD is led by Associate Professor Carin Lennartsson, in her role as research director at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University, and Associate Professor Stefan Fors at the Aging Research Center (ARC), Karolinska Institutet/Stockholm University.
The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council (the NEAR infrastructure) and Formas. SWEOLD has ethical approval from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority.
For a more detailed description of the survey, please see:
Lennartsson, C., Agahi, N., Hols Salen, L., et al., (2014). DATA RESOURCE PROFILE: The Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD). International Journal of Epidemiology, 43, 731–738, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyu057