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. 2019 Dec 30;22(4):199-204.
doi: 10.5770/cgj.22.391. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Self-Rated Health Predicts Mortality in Very Old Men-the Manitoba Follow-Up Study

Christian R Hanson  1 , Philip D St John  1   2 , Robert B Tate  2   3
Affiliations

Self-Rated Health Predicts Mortality in Very Old Men-the Manitoba Follow-Up Study

Christian R Hanson et al. Can Geriatr J. .

Abstract

Background: Self-rated health (SRH) predicts death, but there are few studies over long-time horizons that are able to explore the effect age may have on the relationship between SRH and mortality.

Objectives: 1. To determine how SRH evolves over 20 years; and 2. To determine if SRH predicts death in very old men.

Methods: We analyzed a prospective cohort study of men who were fit for air crew training in the Second World War. In 1996, a regular questionnaire was administered to the 1,779 surviving participants. SRH was elicited with a 5-point Likert Scale with the categories: excellent, very good, good, fair and poor/bad. We examined the age-specific distribution of SRH in these categories from the age of 75 to 95 years, to the end of the follow-up period in 2018. We constructed age-specific Cox proportional hazard models with an outcome of time to death.

Results: SRH declined with age. The gradient in risk of death persisted across all ages; those with poor/fair/bad SRH had consistently higher mortality rates. However, the discrimination between good and excellent was less in those aged 85+.

Conclusions: SRH declines with advancing age, but continues to predict death in older men.

Keywords: cohort study; mortality; self-rated health; subjective health.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURES The authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Categories of SRH over the course of the study
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The Kaplan-Meier plot for survival in categories of self-rated health at the age of 75: 1 is excellent, 2 is very good, 3 is good, and 45 is fair/poor/bad
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The Kaplan-Meier plot for survival in categories of self-rated health at the age of 80: 1 is excellent, 2 is very good, 3 is good, and 45 is fair/poor/bad
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
The Kaplan-Meier plot for survival in categories of self-rated health at the age of 85: 1 is excellent, 2 is very good, 3 is good, and 45 is fair/poor/bad
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
The Kaplan-Meier plot for survival in categories of self-rated health at the age of 90: 1 is excellent, 2 is very good, 3 is good, and 45 is fair/poor/bad
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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