Social Relations and Mortality

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 649-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni C. Antonucci ◽  
Kira S. Birditt ◽  
Noah J. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Survival Analyses ◽  
Best Friend ◽  
Buffering Effects

Among older adults social relationships influence mortality, but it is less clear how. We examined associations between relationship quality with spouse, child, and best friend and mortality; and whether the associations varied in the presence of chronic illnesses. Survival analyses ( N = 514; 59 percent women aged ≥ 60) revealed sometimes counterintuitive main and buffering effects. Individuals who reported greater negative relationship quality with their children and friends lived longer. Buffering models suggest that relationships may exacerbate the effects of chronic illness on mortality and emphasize the importance of using a more nuanced approach when examining the effects of social relations on mortality.

scholarly journals Associations of chronic illnesses and socio-demographic factors with health-related quality of life of older adults in Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-172
Author(s):  
Joel Faronbi ◽  
Aishat Ajadi ◽  
Robbert Gobbens
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

Background: The increase in life expectancy has brought about a higher prevalence of chronic illnesses among older people.Objectives: To identify common chronic illnesses among older adults, to examine the influence of such conditions on their Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), and to determine factors predicting their HRQoL.Method: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted involving 377 individuals aged 60 years and above who were selected using multi-stage sampling techniques in Olorunda Local Government, Osun State, Nigeria. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire comprising socio-demographic characteristics, chronic illnesses, and the World Health Organization quality of life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) containing physical health, psychological, social relationships, and environmental domains.Results: About half (51.5%) of the respondents reported at least one chronic illness which has lasted for 1–5 years (43.3%). The prevalence of hypertension was 36.1%, diabetes 13.9% and arthritis 13.4%. Respondents with chronic illness had significantly lower HRQoL overall and in the physical health, social relationships and the environmental domains (all p<0.05) compared to those without a chronic illness. Factors that predicted HRQoL include age, marital status, level of education, the presence of chronic illness and prognosis of the condition.Conclusion: This study concluded that chronic illness is prevalent in Nigerian older people and significantly influence their HRQoL. Age, marital status, and level of education were associated with HRQoL in this group.Keywords: Chronic illness, Health-Related Quality of Life, Older adults, Socio-demographic factorsFunding: Postdoctoral fellowship from Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Afric

Close social relationships and loneliness: the role of subjective age

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naama Spitzer ◽  
Dikla Segel-Karpas ◽  
Yuval Palgi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Perceptions Of Aging ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

Abstract Loneliness is considered a major issue, often negatively influencing the quality of life of individuals of all ages, and of older adults, in particular. The aims of this study are: (1) to assess the association between close social relationships and loneliness; and (2) to examine the moderating role of subjective age in this association. Married or cohabiting community-dwelling Israelis in the second half of life (N = 360) were interviewed and reported on their close social relationships, their level of loneliness, and their subjective age. The number of close social relationships was found to have a negative relationship with loneliness. Moreover, subjective age was found to moderate the relationship between close social relationships and loneliness, such that the association was weaker for those with older subjective age. Those with older subjective age are often not able to benefit from close social relationships to alleviate loneliness as much as their younger-subjective-age counterparts. Efforts to address older adults’ loneliness should consider focusing on older adults’ perceptions of aging.

scholarly journals Social Relationships and Self-Perceptions of Aging

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 450-450
Author(s):  
Hanamori Skoblow ◽  
Christine Proulx
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Friend Support ◽  
Self Perceptions ◽  
Interpersonal Factors ◽  
Perceptions Of Aging ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Recent research has demonstrated that social relationships are positively associated with self-perceptions of aging (SPA; Santini et al., 2019), although to date, this evidence is cross-sectional. The current study builds on previous work and explores the longitudinal relation between social relationships and SPA, and whether these associations might be buffered by perceived mastery. Using repeated measures data from three waves (2008, 2012, and 2016) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we examined how relationship quality (i.e., support and strain) influenced self-perceptions of aging among adults aged 65+ (n = 1477). Greater support from friends in 2008 was significantly associated with better SPA in 2016, and this effect was amplified by high levels of mastery in 2012. That is, older adults with high mastery and high friend support reported more positive SPA than individuals with less mastery or friend support, controlling for gender, age, race, education, income, depressive symptoms, self-rated health, and baseline SPA. Relationship quality with spouse, children, and other family members were not significant predictors of SPA, nor did mastery moderate the association between these relationships and SPA. These results provide evidence for the importance of interpersonal factors such as friendship quality and individual factors in understanding older adults’ perceptions of the aging process.

Relationship quality and functional limitations among older adults with cardiovascular disease in the United States of America

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1694-1717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-Liang Yu ◽  
Zhenmei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
The United States ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Disablement Process

AbstractSubstantial research shows that cardiovascular disease is a major cause of disability in the United States of America (USA) and worldwide. Despite the well-documented significance of intimate partnerships for cardiovascular health and disease management, how relationship quality contributes to the functional health of older adults diagnosed with cardiovascular disease is much less understood than mental health and mortality risk. Informed by the disablement process model and the lifecourse perspective, this study examines the association between relationship quality and functional limitations among partnered older adults aged 50 years and older diagnosed with cardiovascular disease in the USA. Data are from the Health and Retirement Study, 2006–2012 (N = 1,355). Multi-level linear regression analyses show that baseline negative relationship quality is significantly associated with increased functional limitations over the two- and four-year follow-ups. Additionally, the link between negative relationship quality and functional limitations is stronger among older adults with lower household income over a two-year span, compared to their higher-income counterparts, suggesting that these older adults are doubly disadvantaged by higher relationship strains and limited economic resources. Our findings demonstrate the significance of relationship quality for the functional health of older adults with cardiovascular disease and shed light on the importance of marriage/partnerships as an important social context for a critical stage in the disablement process (i.e. functional limitations).

scholarly journals Chronic Illness, Subjective Wellbeing, and Health Services Availability: A Study of Older Adults in Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7718
Author(s):  
Siqin Wang ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
Jack Lam ◽  
Zhe Gao
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Local Health

Chronic illness is prevalent in older adults. While current scholarship has examined how various factors may be associated with the onset of chronic illnesses, fewer scholars have examined the role of health services availability. Drawing on a sample of older adults aged 50 and above from wave 16 of the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey and geo-coded information of general practitioners (GPs) from the Australian Medical Directory, 2016, we investigated whether living in areas with a greater number of GPs is related to reports of living with a chronic illness. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find an association between the availability of health services and reports of chronic illnesses, though factors such as better socioeconomic status and better subjective wellbeing are related to lower likelihoods of reporting a chronic illness. We concluded that, while easy access to local health services may be important for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses, it is less persuasive to attribute the availability of health services to the likelihood of older adults reporting chronic illnesses without knowing how much or how often they use the services.

scholarly journals Social relationships and survival in the older adult cohort

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariangela Uhlmann Soares ◽  
Luiz Augusto Facchini ◽  
Fúlvio Borges Nedel ◽  
Louriele Soares Wachs ◽  
Marciane Kessler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Kaplan Meier

Objective: to verify the influence of social relations on the survival of older adults living in southern Brazil. Method: a cohort study (2008 and 2016/17), conducted with 1,593 individuals aged 60 years old or over, in individual interviews. The outcomes of social relations and survival were verified by Multiple Correspondence Analysis, which guided the proposal of an explanatory matrix for social relations, the analysis of survival by Kaplan-Meier, and the multivariate analysis by Cox regression to verify the association between the independent variables. Results: follow-up was carried out with 82.5% (n=1,314), with 46.1% being followed up in 2016/17 (n=735) and 579 deaths (36.4%). The older adults who went out of their homes daily had a 39% reduction in mortality, and going to parties kept the protective effect of 17% for survival. The lower risk of death for women is modified when the older adults live in households with two or more people, in this case women have an 89% higher risk of death than men. Conclusion: strengthened social relationships play a mediating role in survival. The findings made it possible to verify the importance of going out of the house as a marker of protection for survival.

Seeing the Whole Person: Feasibility of Using the Omaha System to Describe Strengths of Older Adults With Chronic Illness

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen A. Monsen ◽  
Diane E. Holland ◽  
Ping W. Fung-Houger ◽  
Catherine E. Vanderboom
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Whole Person ◽  
Omaha System ◽  
Standardized Terminology

A promising strategy for enhancing care and self-management of chronic illness is an integrative, whole-person approach that recognizes and values well-being. Assessment tools are needed that will enable health care professionals to perceive patients as whole persons, with strengths as well as problems. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using a standardized terminology (theOmaha System) to describe strengths of older adults with chronic illness. The Omaha System assessment currently consists of identifying signs/symptoms for 42 health concepts. Researchers mapped self-reported strengths phrases to Omaha System concepts using existing narratives of 32 older adults with 12–15 comorbid conditions. Results demonstrated the feasibility of describing strengths of patients with chronic illness. Exploratory analysis showed that there were 0–9 strengths per patient, with unique strengths profiles for 30 of 32 patients. Given that older adults with multiple chronic illnesses also have strengths that can be classified and quantified using the Omaha System, there is potential to use the Omaha System as a whole-person assessment tool that enables perception of both problems and strengths. Further research is needed to enhance the Omaha System to formally represent strengths-based as well as a problem-focused perspectives.

Longitudinal Stress-Buffering Effects of Social Integration for Late-Life Functional Health

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Toyama ◽  
Heather R. Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Longitudinal Stress ◽  
Stress Buffering ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Buffering Effects

Stress can negatively affect multiple aspects of health, including functional health, among older adults, who are likely to face unique, age-related stressful experiences. Previous research has addressed the protective effects of social relations (i.e., social ties, social participation, and social integration) for physical and mental health outcomes, yet few studies have examined functional health. This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal stress-buffering effects of social integration on late-life functional health. Using three-wave data from 399 older adults (aged older than 60 years), two-level hierarchical linear modeling analysis was conducted and the results indicated that in addition to its main effect on functional (activity of daily living) limitations, social integration moderated the negative effect of stress on the longitudinal trajectory of functional limitations. The findings suggest important directions of future research to identify the mechanisms of such buffering effects over time and develop effective interventions to enhance late-life functional health while promoting social integration.

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