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Increased Mortality Risk in Older Adults With Persistently Low or Declining Feelings of Usefulness to Others

University of California, Los Angeles

Arun S. Karlamangla, MD, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles

Gail A. Greendale, MD

University of California, Los Angeles

Burton H. Singer, PhD

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

Teresa E. Seeman

University of California, Los Angeles

Objective: This study seeks to determine if persistently low or declining feelings of usefulness to others in later life predict increased mortality hazard in older adults. Method: Data on change in perceptions of usefulness, health, behavioral and psychosocial covariates, and mortality originate from the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging, a prospective study of 1,189 older adults (aged 70 to 79). Results: Older adults with persistently low feelings of usefulness or who experienced a decline to low feelings of usefulness during the first 3 years of the study experienced a greater hazard of mortality (sociodemographic adjusted hazard ratio = 1.75; 95% confidence interval = 1.22, 2.51) during a subsequent 9-year follow-up as compared to older adults with persistently high feelings of usefulness. Discussion: Older adults with persistently low perceived usefulness or feelings of usefulness that decline to a low level may be a vulnerable group with increased risk for poor health outcomes in later life.

Key Words: older adults • perceived usefulness • perceptions of aging • mortality

This version was published on April 1, 2009

Journal of Aging and Health, Vol. 21, No. 2, 398-425 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0898264308329023


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