Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:15:37.388Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Trajectories of ageing well among older Australians: a 16-year longitudinal study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2017

COLETTE J. BROWNING ,
JOANNE C. ENTICOTT ,
SHANE A. THOMAS  and
HAL KENDIG
COLETTE J. BROWNING*
Affiliation:
RDNS Institute, St Kilda, Australia. School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
JOANNE C. ENTICOTT
Affiliation:
RDNS Institute, St Kilda, Australia. Synergy, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
SHANE A. THOMAS
Affiliation:
School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. International Institute for Primary Health Care Research, Shenzhen, China.
HAL KENDIG
Affiliation:
ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
*
Address for correspondence: Colette J. Browning, RDNS Institute, 31 Alma Road, St Kilda, VIC 3182, Australia E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this study we used individual differences concepts and analyses to examine whether older people achieve different ageing-well states universally or whether there are identifiable key groups that achieve them to different extents. The data used in the modelling were from a prospective 16-year longitudinal study of 1,000 older Australians. We examined predictors of trajectories for ageing well using self-rated health, psychological wellbeing and independence in daily living as joint indicators of ageing well in people aged over 65 years at baseline. We used group-trajectory modelling and multivariate regression to identify characteristics predicting ‘ageing well’. The results showed three distinct and sizeable ageing trajectory groups: (a) ‘stable-good ageing well’ (classified as ageing well in all longitudinal study waves; which was achieved by 30.2% of women and 28.0% of men); (b) ‘initially ageing well then deteriorating’ (50.5% women and 47.6% men); and (c) ‘stable-poor’ (not ageing well in any wave; 19.3% women and 24.4% men). Significant gender differences were found in membership in different ageing-well states. In the stable-poor groups there were 103/533 females which was significantly lower than 114/467 men (z-statistic = −2.6, p = 0.005); women had a ‘zero’ probability of progressing to a better ageing-well classification in later years, whilst males had a one-in-five probability of actually improving. Robust final state outcome predictors at baseline were lower age and fewer medical conditions for both genders; restful sleep and Australian-born for women; and good nutrition, decreased strain, non-smoker and good social support for men. These results support that ageing-well trajectories are influenced by modifiable factors. Findings will assist better targeting of health-promoting activities for older people.

Keywords

lifestyle factorsself-rated healthfunctional independencepsychological wellbeingprospective design
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 38 , Issue 8 , August 2018 , pp. 1581 - 1602
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013. QuickStats: A Simple At-a-glance Summary of Census Statistics for Your Selected Area – 2011. Available online at http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/quickstats?opendocument&navpos=22 [Accessed 1 January 2016].Google Scholar
Beard, J. R. and Bloom, D. E. 2015. Towards a comprehensive public health response to population ageing. Lancet, 385, 9968, 658–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowling, A. and Iliffe, S. 2006. Which model of successful ageing should be used? Baseline findings from a British longitudinal survey of ageing. Age and Ageing, 35, 6, 607–14.Google Scholar
Browning, C. J. and Kendig, H. 2010. Cohort profile: the Melbourne Longitudinal Studies on Healthy Ageing Program. International Journal of Epidemiology, 39, 5, E1–7.Google Scholar
Browning, C. J. and Thomas, S. A. 2007. Review of successful ageing and related concepts. Report for the Victorian Department of Human Services, Victorian Government, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Cho, J., Martin, P. and Poon, L. W. 2015. Successful aging and subjective well-being among oldest-old adults. The Gerontologist, 55, 1, 132–43.Google Scholar
Cosco, T. D., Prina, A. M., Perales, J., Stephan, B. C. and Brayne, C. 2013. Lay perspectives of successful ageing: a systematic review and meta-ethnography. BMJ Open, 3, 6, e002710.Google Scholar
Cubit, K. A. and Meyer, C. 2011. Aging in Australia. The Gerontologist, 51, 5, 583–9.Google Scholar
Danial, Z., Motamedi, M. H. K., Mirhashemi, S., Kazemi, A. and Mirhashemi, A. H. 2014. Ageing in Iran. Lancet, 384, 9958, 1927.Google Scholar
Depp, C. A., Glatt, S. J. and Jeste, D. V. 2007. Recent advances in research on successful or healthy aging. Current Psychiatry Reports, 9, 1, 7–13.Google Scholar
Depp, C. A. and Jeste, D. V. 2006. Definitions and predictors of successful aging: a comprehensive review of larger quantitative studies. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 1, 6–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glass, T. A. 2003. Assessing the success of successful aging. Annals of Internal Medicine, 139, 5 pt 1, 382–83.Google Scholar
Hsu, H. C. and Jones, B. L. 2012. Multiple trajectories of successful aging of older and younger cohorts. The Gerontologist, 52, 6, 843–56.Google Scholar
Jagger, C., Gillies, C., Cambois, E., Van Oyen, H., Nusselder, W. J. and Robine, J. and EHLEIS Team. 2009. Trends in disability-free life expectancy at age 65 in the European Union 1995–2001: A comparison of 13 EU countries. European Health Expectancy Monitoring Unit (Technical report 2009_5. 1). EHEMU, France.Google Scholar
Johnson, J. K. M., Sarkisian, N. and Williamson, J. B. 2014. Using a micro-level model to generate a macro-level model of productive successful aging. The Gerontologist, 55, 1, 107–19.Google Scholar
Jones, B. L. and Nagin, D. S. 2013. A note on a Stata plugin for estimating group-based trajectory models. Sociological Methods & Research, 42, 4, 608–13.Google Scholar
Jones, B. L., Nagin, D. S. and Roeder, K. 2001. A SAS procedure based on mixture models for estimating developmental trajectories. Sociological Methods & Research, 29, 3, 374–93.Google Scholar
Jopp, D. S., Wozniak, D., Damarin, A. K., De Feo, M., Jung, S. and Jeswani, S. 2014. How could lay perspectives on successful aging complement scientific theory? Findings from a U.S. and a German life-span sample. The Gerontologist, 55, 1, 91–106.Google Scholar
Kahana, E., Kelley-Moore, J. and Kahana, B. 2012. Proactive aging: a longitudinal study of stress, resources, agency, and well-being in late life. Aging & Mental Health, 16, 4, 438–51.Google Scholar
Katz, S. and Calasanti, T. 2014. Critical perspectives on successful aging: does it ‘appeal more than it illuminates’? The Gerontologist, 55, 1, 26–33.Google Scholar
Kendig, H. 1996. Understanding health promotion for older people: sociological contibutions. In Chappell, V. M., Kendig, H. and Walker, A. (eds), The Sociology of Ageing. International Sociological Association, Melbourne, 360–75.Google Scholar
Kendig, H., Browning, C., Thomas, S. and Wells, Y. 2014. Health, lifestyle, and gender influences on aging well: an Australian longitudinal analysis to guide health promotion. Frontiers in Public Health, 2, 70, 1–9.Google Scholar
Kendig, H., Helme, R., Flicker, L., Teshuva, K., Osborne, D. and Browning, C. J. 1996. The Health Status of Older People Project: Data Report. Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Lawton, M. P., Kleban, M. H., Rajagopal, D. and Dean, J. 1992. Dimensions of affective experience in 3 age-groups. Psychology and Aging, 7, 2, 171–84.Google Scholar
Manton, K. G., Vertrees, J. C. and Clark, R. F. 1993. A multivariate-analysis of disability and health, and its change over time in the national channeling demonstration data. The Gerontologist, 33, 5, 610–18.Google Scholar
Martin, P., Kelly, N., Kahana, B., Kahana, E. B. J. W., Willcox, D. C. and Poon, L. W. 2014. Defining successful aging: a tangible or elusive concept? The Gerontologist, 55, 1, 14–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martinson, M. and Berridge, C. 2014. Successful aging and its discontents: a systematic review of the social gerontology literature. The Gerontologist, 55, 1, 58–69.Google Scholar
Meng, X. F. and D'Arcy, C. 2015. Comorbidity between lifetime eating problems and mood and anxiety disorders: results from the Canadian community health survey of mental health and well-being. European Eating Disorders Review, 23, 2, 156–62.Google Scholar
Miilunpalo, S., Vuori, I., Oja, P., Pasanen, M. and Urponen, H. 1997. Self-rated health status as a health measure: the predictive value of self-reported health status on the use of physician services and on mortality in the working-age population. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 50, 5, 517–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nagin, D. S. 2005. Group-based Modeling of Development. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Peel, N. M., McClure, R. J. and Bartlett, H. P. 2005. Behavioral determinants of healthy aging. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28, 3, 298–304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pruchno, R. A., Wilson-Genderson, M., Rose, M. and Cartwright, F. 2010. Successful aging: early influences and contemporary characteristics. The Gerontologist, 50, 6, 821–33.Google Scholar
Rowe, J. W. and Kahn, R. L. 1987. Human aging – usual and successful. Science, 237, 4811, 143–9.Google Scholar
Sargent-Cox, K. A., Butterworth, P. and Anstey, K. J. 2014. Role of physical activity in the relationship between mastery and functional health. The Gerontologist, 55, 1, 120–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tonelli, M. and Riella, M. 2014. Chronic kidney disease and the ageing population. Lancet, 383, 9925, 1278–9.Google Scholar
Ustun, B. T. and Jakob, R. 2005. Calling a spade a spade: meaningful definitions of health conditions. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 83, 11, 802.Google Scholar
Wang, X. Q. and Chen, P. J. 2014. Population ageing challenges health care in China. Lancet, 383, 9920, 870.Google Scholar