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Predictors of Mortality in the Old‐Old in Israel: The Cross‐Sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study
Author(s) -
BenEzra Menachem,
Shmotkin Dov
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00741.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cross sectional study , demography , depression (economics) , marital status , longitudinal study , gerontology , predictive power , health and retirement study , population , environmental health , philosophy , epistemology , pathology , sociology , economics , macroeconomics
OBJECTIVES: To examine whether well‐known predictors of mortality change their predictive power over time, being reduced or even reversed in the old‐old. DESIGN: A multidimensional survey of the Cross‐Sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study conducted from 1989 to 1992 with follow‐up of mortality after 6, 8, 10, and 12 years since 1989. SETTING: Israel. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (N=1,369) were drawn from a national sample of the Jewish Israeli population aged 75 to 94. MEASUREMENTS: Data included sociodemographic factors and measures of health, physical condition, cognitive performance, and depression. RESULTS: The results showed that age, sex, disability, self‐rated health, and marital status predicted mortality and that their predictive power changed over 9 years. CONCLUSION: In the old‐old, predictors of mortality changed over time, and their predictive effect eventually diminished. The predictors found to be most significant (age, sex, disability, and self‐rated health) support the common cause theory.