Health, function and survival of a cohort of very old Canadians: results from the second wave of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging.

Seniors 85 years of age and older (85+) make up the fastest-growing segment of the Canadian population. There is a need for longitudinal data on the health status of this group. We used data collected as part of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging to examine how health status changed over five years in a large (n = 1799) cohort of Canadians 85+. By the time of the follow-up assessment, 60.1% had died and 33.9% of those who had been residing in the community when the cohort was initially formed had been institutionalized. Most (79.2%) of the community survivors felt that their health had stayed the same or improved, even though over two thirds (67.9%) reported a decline in their functional abilities. Potential predictors of both good and adverse outcomes were explored. While disease prevention, health promotion and environmental modifications may decrease the personal and societal impacts of these age-associated findings, health care planning for the very old should take these data into account.