Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Submit your manuscript now - click here

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!
Journal of Aging and Health
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pedersen, N. L.
Right arrow Articles by Mcclearn, G. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pedersen, N. L.
Right arrow Articles by Mcclearn, G. E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

The Importance of Genetic and Environmental Effects for Self-Reported Health Symptoms

A 30-Year Follow-Up Considering Survival and Selection Effects

Nancy L. Pedersen, PhD

The Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and University of Southern California

Birgitta Steffensson, BA

The Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Stig Berg, PhD

Boo Johansson, PhD

University College of Health Sciences, Sweden

Gerald E. Mcclearn, PhD

Pennsylvania State University

Objectives:This study delineated the nature of individual differences in self-reported health status across a 30-year period. Potential survival and selection effects on mean levels, variances, and genetic and environmental sources of variance were evaluated. Methods:Self-reported health status in 1963 was evaluated in 5,229 pairs of twins from the Swedish Twin Registry and in a subsample of 351 pairs surviving to the age of 80 years in 1993. Structural equation modeling evaluated genetic and environmental contributions to total variance and change in variance. Results:For men but not women, the genetic and environmental influences on health symptoms differed between survivors and nonsurvivors. Total variance increased, reflecting an increase in environmental variance, across the 30 years for both genders. Genetic variance decreased longitudinally for men. Discussion:The increase in variation from the mid-50s to the mid-80s appears to be due to an accumulation in environmental variation. There are gender differences that deserve further exploration.

Journal of Aging and Health, Vol. 11, No. 4, 475-493 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/089826439901100401
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social ScienceHome page
P. Svedberg, M. Gatz, P. Lichtenstein, S. Sandin, and N. L. Pedersen
Self-Rated Health in a Longitudinal Perspective: A 9-Year Follow-Up Twin Study
J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., November 1, 2005; 60(6): S331 - S340.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social ScienceHome page
C. H. Gold, B. Malmberg, G. E. McClearn, N. L. Pedersen, and S. Berg
Gender and Health: A Study of Older Unlike-Sex Twins
J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., May 1, 2002; 57(3): S168 - 176.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social ScienceHome page
P. Svedberg, P. Lichtenstein, and N. L. Pedersen
Age and Sex Differences in Genetic and Environmental Factors for Self-Rated Health: A Twin Study
J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., May 1, 2001; 56(3): S171 - S178.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]