TIREDNESS IN DAILY ACTIVITIES AT AGE-70 AS A PREDICTOR OF MORTALITY DURING THE NEXT 10 YEARS

This study examined whether self-reported tiredness in mobility and ac tivities of daily living is predictive of mortality, when controlled f or global sell-rated health, smoking, and socio-demographic factors. T he investigation is part of the 1984 longitudinal study of the residen ts of Glostrup, Denmark, born in 1914, and included 734 men and women who were interviewed about mobility, activities of daily living, self- rated health, smoking, and socio-demographic factors, when they were 7 0 years old. Ten years later, in November 1994, information about deat hs was obtained from the Central National Register. When controlled fo r the other variables tiredness in mobility was an independent predict or of mortality during the next 10 years among both women and men. The finding persisted when the analysis was performed on a restricted sam ple of non-disabled 70-year-old people. The results in the present stu dy indicate that we have identified a subgroup of independent elderly people who are at risk of dying earlier than others. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.