Introduction: Older people should have opportunities to be active participants in society because aspects such as lifestyle, physical and social environment and physical and mental status have influence on active ageing. The purpose of this study was to explore the interests pursued by 85-year-old people living in ordinary housing in relation to gender, cognition, depression and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Method: A sample of 240 participants completed a postal questionnaire, including the EuroQoL HRQoL measurement. Additional instruments used during a subsequent home visit were the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Mini Mental State Examination and Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: Women experienced poorer health than men, lived alone to a greater extent and used more mobility devices. Compared with men, women had a larger number of interests within household management, but there were no gender differences in the leisure area. A lower number of interests in active recreation was associated with lower cognitive function, poorer HRQoL and a higher risk of depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The main finding is that engaging in active recreation interests is associated with better cognition, less depression and higher HRQoL in these 85-year-old people and is, therefore, a concern of occupational therapists.

An area of concern for occupational therapy is to increase preventive interventions among relatively healthy elderly individuals. The purpose was to explore occupational performance problems among 85-year-old women and men in relation to demographic data, mental health, and health-related quality of life. Participants completed a postal questionnaire including the EuroQoL health-related quality of life measurement. Instruments used during a home visit were the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, the Mini Mental State Examination, and the Geriatric Depression scale. The sample comprised 380 individuals. Women experienced poorer health and more occupational performance problems than men. Women experienced more occupational performance problems in community management, household management, and quiet leisure compared to men. Impaired cognitive function, lower selfrated health, and higher risk of depression correlated with a larger number of occupational performance problems. Intervention planning should be based on individual perceptions of meaningful occupations and environmental considerations. Occupational performance in 853