Open AccessThe Contributions of Hypertension Diagnosis and Blood Pressure Control to Subjective Life Expectancy in a Representative Sample of Older U.S. Adults
Author(s) -
Meghan Zacher,
Jiwen Wang,
Susan E. Short
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the journals of gerontology. series b, psychological sciences and social sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1758-5368
pISSN - 1079-5014
DOI - 10.1093/geronb/gbab022
Subject(s) - life expectancy , blood pressure , medicine , gerontology , disease , expectancy theory , risk factor , demography , psychology , population , environmental health , social psychology , sociology
High blood pressure (BP) or hypertension, a major risk factor for death and disease, is pervasive among older adults. While reducing BP to targeted levels can prevent adverse outcomes, rates of successful BP control remain suboptimal, and it is unclear whether older adults recognize its proven benefits. The current study sheds light on older adults' beliefs about the consequences of hypertension and benefits of BP control by examining how their self-reports of hypertension diagnosis and BP control, as well as measured BP, contribute to subjective life expectancy (SLE), their perceived probability of surviving to a target age.