Ageing Russian-speaking migrants in Finland split into two unequal subgroups

Older migrants are often studied as if they were a single, uniform population, but a new study of Russian-speaking migrants in Finland suggests that this assumption hides important inequalities in how people age. Using data from the Care, Health and Ageing of the Russian-Speaking Minority in Finland (CHARM) study, researchers identified distinct sociodemographic and migration-related subgroups among midlife and older migrants, and then examined how those subgroups differed in functional mobility and depressive symptoms.

The team applied latent class and latent profile analyses, using three-step approaches to compare subgroup differences and associations. The analyses were run separately for participants aged under 65 years (n = 653) and for those aged 65 years or older (n = 492). In both age groups, the same two-part pattern emerged. One subgroup, described as established, was characterised by earlier migration, better proficiency in the local language, and no receipt of income support. The other, described as vulnerable, was characterised by later migration, poorer local language proficiency, and receipt of income support.

The composition of the subgroups also differed by gender. Male participants were more likely than others to belong to the vulnerable subgroups in both age groups, a pattern the authors report in the European Journal of Ageing.

When the researchers compared health outcomes across the subgroups, the results differed by age and by outcome. Among participants aged 65 years or older, those in the vulnerable subgroup had poorer functional mobility than those in the established subgroup. Depressive symptoms, by contrast, did not differ between the subgroups in either age group. In other words, the clearest subgroup inequality in this sample appeared in physical functioning among the older participants rather than in reported mood.

The study also examined how functional mobility and depressive symptoms relate to each other. Across the sample, poorer functional mobility was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Notably, the estimated associations were larger in the vulnerable subgroups, and this pattern was particularly pronounced among participants under 65 years of age. This suggests that the link between physical capability and mental health may be stronger for migrants who migrated later, speak the local language less well, and rely on income support.

The authors frame these findings in terms of sustainable ageing, which depends on equitable opportunities to maintain physical, mental, and social well-being. Their results indicate that inequalities across the dimensions of sustainable ageing reflect interconnected physical, mental, and integration-related pathways, rather than operating independently. Migration timing, language proficiency, and economic resources appear to cluster together, defining groups of migrants whose ageing experiences differ in measurable ways.

The study’s contribution lies in showing heterogeneity within an ageing migrant population that is frequently treated as homogeneous. By distinguishing an established subgroup from a vulnerable subgroup on the basis of migration timing, language proficiency, and income support, the analysis points to where inequalities in functional mobility concentrate among older Russian-speaking migrants in Finland, and to the age groups in which the association between mobility and depressive symptoms is strongest.

Subject of Research: Subgroup inequalities in functional mobility and depressive symptoms among midlife and older Russian-speaking migrants in Finland

Article Title: Inequalities in sustainable ageing: functional mobility and depressive symptoms across migration subgroups among Russian-speaking migrants in Finland

Article References: Nosraty, L., Beattie, M., Kouvonen, A., & Wrede, S. (2026). Inequalities in sustainable ageing: functional mobility and depressive symptoms across migration subgroups among Russian-speaking migrants in Finland. European Journal of Ageing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-026-00953-6

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s10433-026-00953-6

Keywords: ageing, migrants, Russian-speaking minority, Finland, functional mobility, depressive symptoms, latent class analysis, health inequalities, language proficiency, income support, CHARM study, sustainable ageing