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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The impact of social vulnerability on the survival of the fittest older adults | | Author(s) | Melissa K Andrew, Arnold Mitnitski, Susan A Kirkland, Kenneth Rockwood |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 41, no 2, March 2012 |
| Pages | pp 161-165 |
| Source | http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/ http://www.bgs.org.uk/ |
| Keywords | Over 70s ; Social contacts ; Keeping fit ; Ill health ; At risk ; Death ; Canada. |
| Annotation | The present study, part of the Canadian Study on Health and Ageing, aimed to evaluate mortality risk in relation to social vulnerability among the fittest older adults in a representative community-dwelling sample of adults aged 70+ years. A frailty index was used to grade relative levels of fitness/frailty, using 31 self-reported health deficits. The analysis was limited to the fittest people (those reporting 0-1 health deficit). Social vulnerability was trichotomised from a social vulnerability scale, which consisted of 40 self-reported social deficits. Results indicated that 584 individuals had a 0-1 health deficit. Among them, absolute mortality risk rose with increasing social vulnerability. In those with the lowest level of social vulnerability, five-year mortality was 10.8%, compared with 32.5% for those with the highest social vulnerability. The authors conclude that a 22% absolute mortality difference in the fittest older adults is of considerable clinical and public health importance. Routine assessment of social vulnerability by clinicians could have value in predicting the risk of adverse health outcomes in older adults. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-120508003 A |
| Classmark | BBK: TOA: CE: CH: CA3: CW: 7S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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