%0 Journal Article
%T The Relationship between Physical Health and Psychological Well-Being among Oldest-Old Adults
%A Jinmyoung Cho
%A Peter Martin
%A Jennifer Margrett
%A Maurice MacDonald
%A Leonard W. Poon
%J Journal of Aging Research
%D 2011
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.4061/2011/605041
%X The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between physical health and psychological well-being among oldest-old adults. Structural equation modeling was performed to examine health influences on psychological well-being among 306 octogenarians and centenarians from the Georgia Centenarian Study. Latent variables were created to reflect subjective health, as measured by self-ratings of health and objective health, as measured by physical health impairment (i.e., health problems, past and present diseases, hospitalization) and biomarkers (i.e., hemoglobin and albumin). Psychological well-being was measured by positive and negative affect. There were significant direct effects of subjective health on affect and significant indirect effects of objective health through subjective health on positive affect and negative affect. Subjective health took the role of a mediator between objective health and psychological well-being. These results highlight the status and perceptions of health as a critical indicator for well-being in extreme old age. 1. Introduction With the unprecedented increase in the number of oldest-old adults, several studies have paid attention to centenarians and their lives exploring factors related to their longevity, such as health, genetic influences, general lifestyle, physical activity, nutrition, and social relationships [1]. Even though many researchers indicate that centenarians have several chronic diseases [2], and health is a significant indicator for psychological well-being among oldest-old adults, only a few studies have focused on health and its impact on psychological well-being in extreme old age. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the association between health and psychological well-being among oldest-old adults. Usually, physical health is the most commonly used index to assess the well-being of individuals. As people grow older, they might perceive that their physical health (e.g., the prevalence rates of chronic conditions) is not as good as it has been in the past. The importance of health among oldest-old adults, especially the prevalence rates of chronic conditions, was shown in a study of Danish centenarians [2]. They found that there were few healthy centenarians and that most Danish centenarians had several common diseases and chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease (72%), osteoarthritis (54%), hypertension (52%), dementia (51%), and ischemic heart disease (28%). Andersen-Ranberg et al. [2] concluded that it is a challenge to be free from potentially common diseases until the age
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2011/605041/