OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to determine if persistently low or declining feelings of usefulness to others in later life predict increased mortality hazard in older adults. METHOD: Data on change in perceptions of usefulness, health, behavioral and psychosocial covariates, and mortality originate from the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging, a prospective study of 1,189 older adults (aged 70 to 79). RESULTS: Older adults with persistently low feelings of usefulness or who experienced a decline to low feelings of usefulness during the first 3 years of the study experienced a greater hazard of mortality (sociodemographic adjusted hazard ratio = 1.75; 95% confidence interval = 1.22, 2.51) during a subsequent 9-year follow-up as compared to older adults with persistently high feelings of usefulness. DISCUSSION: Older adults with persistently low perceived usefulness or feelings of usefulness that decline to a low level may be a vulnerable group with increased risk for poor health outcomes in later life.
OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to determine if persistently low or declining feelings of usefulness to others in later life predict increased mortality hazard in older adults. METHOD: Data on change in perceptions of usefulness, health, behavioral and psychosocial covariates, and mortality originate from the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging, a prospective study of 1,189 older adults (aged 70 to 79). RESULTS: Older adults with persistently low feelings of usefulness or who experienced a decline to low feelings of usefulness during the first 3 years of the study experienced a greater hazard of mortality (sociodemographic adjusted hazard ratio = 1.75; 95% confidence interval = 1.22, 2.51) during a subsequent 9-year follow-up as compared to older adults with persistently high feelings of usefulness. DISCUSSION: Older adults with persistently low perceived usefulness or feelings of usefulness that decline to a low level may be a vulnerable group with increased risk for poor health outcomes in later life.
Authors: Tara L Gruenewald; Elizabeth K Tanner; Linda P Fried; Michelle C Carlson; Qian-Li Xue; Jeanine M Parisi; George W Rebok; Lisa M Yarnell; Teresa E Seeman Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2015-02-25 Impact factor: 4.077
Authors: Mona Moieni; Michael R Irwin; Teresa E Seeman; Theodore F Robles; Matthew D Lieberman; Elizabeth C Breen; Stephanie Okimoto; Clara Lengacher; Jesusa M G Arevalo; Richard Olmstead; Steven W Cole; Naomi I Eisenberger Journal: Brain Behav Immun Date: 2019-11-20 Impact factor: 19.227