SELF-RATED HEALTH AND MORTALITY IN THE HIGH-FUNCTIONING ELDERLY - A CLOSER LOOK AT HEALTHY-INDIVIDUALS - MACARTHUR FIELD-STUDY OF SUCCESSFUL AGING

Background. This study tested the predictive value of self-rated healt h on 3-year mortality, with attention focused on healthy, high-functio ning elders. Methods. Data from the MacArthur Field Study of Successfu l Aging were utilized. Subjects were 70-79-year-old (at baseline) resi dents of the communities of East Boston, MA, New Haven, CT, and a five -county area in and around Durham County, NC (N = 1192) which comprise three-sites of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE). In-home interviews were conducted in 1988 and 1991. Logistic regression was performed to create odds ratios adjusted for age, sex, race, marital status, education, alcohol consumption, c igarette smoking, chronic diseases, past hospitalizations, and cogniti ve function. The sample was then divided into healthy and less healthy cohorts based on number of chronic diseases, and the analyses were re peated. Results. The adjusted odds ratios for self-rated health (poor/ bad ratings compared to excellent ratings) in relation to mortality we re 19.56 in the general sample, 93.51 in the healthy cohort, and 2.75 in the less healthy cohort. Conclusion. Self-rated health is predictiv e of mortality in controlled analyses, with the greatest impact seen i n healthy individuals. Health care professionals should be sensitive t o the significance of poor self-rated health in apparently healthy pat ients.