Improved health among 70-year olds: comparison of health indicators in three different birth cohorts

• Published in: Aging clinical and experimental research 2002-10, Vol.14 (5), p.361-370
• Main Authors: Wilhelmson, Katarina, Allebeck, Peter, Steen, Bertil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aging - psychology; Cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Educational Status; Female; Health Status Indicators; Housing for the Elderly; Humans; Institutionalization; Male; Marital Status; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Smoking - epidemiology; Social Support
• ISSN: 1594-0667; 1720-8319
• DOI: 10.1007/BF03324463

Whether or not there has been a "compression of morbidity" in older ages has been vividly debated during the last decades. Previous studies have found indications of both improved and deteriorated health among elderly persons. Few studies have analyzed how changes in health indicators are influenced by social background factors. The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in morbidity--measured as self-assessed health, number of symptoms, number of diseases and physical function--in three different cohorts of 70-year olds, with special regard to the impact of social factors. We used data from random samples of 70-year-old people born in 1901/02 (cohort 1), 1906/07 (cohort 2), and 1911/12 (cohort 3). In the three cohorts there were 973, 1036 and 619 participants, respectively. They had a medical examination and were interviewed regarding social background, social network, self-assessed health, need of care, and number of diseases. There were fewer 70-year olds not feeling healthy in the two younger cohorts (OR = 0.68; CI = 0.56-0.83, and OR = 0.67; CI = 0.53-0.84 respectively) and fewer with many symptoms. There were also indications of better physical functioning in the younger cohorts. Women seemed to have gained more than men, while the institutionalized persons had a deterioration. There are indications of good years being added, but not for the institutionalized persons.