The Relationship of Self-Rated Function and Self-Rated Health to Concurrent Functional Ability, Functional Decline, and Mortality: Findings from the Nun Study

We investigated the relationship of self-rated function (i.e., the ability to take care of oneself) and self-rated health to concurrent functional ability, functional decline, and mortality in participants in the Nun Study, a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer's disease. A total of 629 o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences Psychological sciences and social sciences, 1996-09, Vol.51B (5), p.S234-S241
Main Authors: Greiner, Philip A., Snowdon, David A., Greiner, Lydia H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ability
Activities of Daily Living
Age Factors
Aged
Aging
Alzheimer's disease
Clergy
Cognition
Female
Gerontology
Health
Health Status
Humans
Mortality
Self image
Self-Assessment
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Summary:We investigated the relationship of self-rated function (i.e., the ability to take care of oneself) and self-rated health to concurrent functional ability, functional decline, and mortality in participants in the Nun Study, a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer's disease. A total of 629 of the 678 study participants self-rated their function and health and completed an initial functional assessment in 1991–93. Survivors completed a second assessment in 1993–94. Overall, self-rated function had a stronger relationship to functional ability at the first assessment and to functional decline between the first and second assessments than did self-rated health. Self-rated function also had a stronger relationship to mortality than did self-rated health. Self-rated function may be a better marker of global function than is self-rated health and may be a useful addition to clinical assessment and scientific investigation of the relationships among function, health, and disease.
ISSN:1079-5014
1758-5368
DOI:10.1093/geronb/51B.5.S234