Associations of Psychological, Functional, and Biological Factors with Age Changes in the Self-Perceived Health of Old Persons
Abstract
This research investigates the associations of psychological and biological factors with the self-perceived health of old persons. Participants were 411 residents of 11 retirement homes in Zagreb, Croatia: 104 men, 307 women, aged 56–96 years (average 79) at baseline, mobile, and not diagnosed with dementia. The variables measured, at baseline and at 2-year follow-up, were sociodemographics, self-perceived health, functional ability, cognitive function, depression, and social participation. Biochemical variables were measured from vein blood sample at baseline. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses explained 33%–38% of self-perceived health variance. Functional ability, depressive symptoms, and age were significant predictors of self-perceived health in all analyses. Two biological cardiovascular risk factors variables – glucose and urea – were significantly associated with self-perceived health.
References
. (2010). What your cholesterol levels mean. Retrieved from www.americanheart.org/
(2011). Why does self-rated health predict mortality? An update on current knowledge and a research agenda for psychologists. Psychology and Health, 26, 1407–1413.
(2011). Changes over time from baseline poor self-rated health: For whom does poor self-rated health not predict mortality? Psychology and Health, 26, 1446–1462.
(2007). A developmental approach to psychosocial risk factors and successful aging. In C. M. Aldwin C. L. Park A. SpiroEds., Handbook of health psychology and aging (pp. 30–53). New York: Guilford.
(2003). Depression in late life: Review and commentary. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 58A, 249–265.
(1991). Measuring health: A review of quality of life measurement scales. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
(1995). Measuring disease. Buckingham: Open University Press.
(1993). Psychological stress and coping in old age. In L. Goldberger S. BreznitzEds., Handbook of stress, theoretical and clinical aspects (pp. 403–10). New York: Free Press.
(1995(. Personality and mortality after myocardial infarction. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 582–591.
(2003). Iskustvo starenja [
The experience of aging ]. Jastrebarsko: Naklada Slap.(1997). The role of psychological factors in the aging process: Stress and health as predictors of aging. Croatian Medical Journal, 38, 222–227.
(2005). Relationship of different measures of self-reported health in a follow-up study of older persons. Studia Psychologica, 47, 145–156.
(1998). Self-report evaluation of health behavior, stress vulnerability, and medical outcome of heart transplant recipients. Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 563–569.
(2002). Self-rated health and its relation to all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in southern Germany. Results from the MONICA Augsburg Cohort Study 1984–1995. Annals of Epidemiology, 12, 338–345.
(1993). Age differences in self-assessments of health: Age changes, cohort differences, or survivorship? Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 48, S289–S300.
(1991). Health perceptions and survival: Do global evaluations of health status really predict mortality? Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 46, S55–S65.
(1995). Self-ratings of health: Do they also predict change in functional ability? Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 50B, S344–S353.
(1995). Functional assessment and its place in healthcare. New England Journal of Medicine, 332, 598–599.
(2004). Gender and the natural history of self-rated health: A 59-year longitudinal study. Health Psychology, 23, 651–655.
(2006). Ten dimensions of health and their relationships with overall self-reported health and survival in a predominantly religiously active elderly population: The Cache County memory study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 54, 199–209.
(1996). CAPE – Clifton postupci za procjenu starijih osoba [
Clifton assessment procedures for the elderly ]. Jastrebarsko: Naklada Slap.(1993). Self-assessments of health and mortality among older persons. Research on Aging, 15, 92–116.
(1994). An investigation of nonresponse to self-assessments of health by older people. Journal of Aging and Health, 6, 469–88.
(1995). Person variables and health: Personality predispositions and acute psychological states as shared determinants for disease. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 255–268.
(1995). Depressive symptomatology and hypertension-associated morbidity and mortality in older adults. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 427–435.
(2004). Optimism, health-related hardiness and well-being among older Australian women. Journal of Health Psychology, 9, 741–752.
(1992). Contributions of longitudinal research to a cognitive theory of adjustment to aging. European Journal of Personality, 6, 157–175.
(2003). Introduction to the special section on health and cognitive function. Health Psychology, 22, 555–558.
(1999). Depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in nondemented elderly women: A prospective study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 425–430.
