Capturing Subjective Age, Subjective Life Expectancy, and Their Links With Older Adults' Health: The Dutch Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam

Overview

Journal J Aging Health

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialty Geriatrics

Date 2021 Mar 31

PMID 33787379

Citations 2

Authors

Dorly J H Deeg

Erik J Timmermans

Almar A L Kok

Affiliations

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Abstract

This study compares the associations of two subjective lifetime perspectives, subjective age (SA) and subjective life expectancy (SLE), with physical performance, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms. 64 91-year-old participants were selected from three waves of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (2008/09, 2011/12, 2015/16; = 1822 participants, = 3500 observations) that included graphical and numerical measures of SA and SLE. We used generalized estimating equations to examine their associations with health. Associations of SA/SLE with health were weaker for physical performance than for self-rated health and depressive symptoms. The associations of SA and SLE with physical performance were of similar magnitude but with self-rated health depended on the type of measure. Depressive symptoms, instead, showed a stronger association with SA than with SLE. Graphical measures showed weaker associations than numerical measures. The way in which subjective lifetime perspectives and health are conceptualized and measured influences the strength of their associations.

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