The paradox of aging: the older we get, the better we feel
Traditionally, old age is considered a period of progressive deterioration of physical, cognitive and psychological functions and is considered by many experts as the most serious problem for the health care of European and American countries, whose population has been rapidly aging in recent years.
However, such a pessimistic opinion contradicts the results of a comprehensive study conducted by scientists at the University of California at San Diego, working under the guidance of Professor Dilip V. Jeste.
In total, 1006 people aged 50-99 years took part in the study (the average age of the participants was slightly more than 77 years), who first answered questions from a 25-minute telephone interview, after which they filled out a detailed questionnaire sent by mail. In addition to assessing the severity of chronic diseases, the study considered more subjective criteria, such as the degree of involvement in social life and self-assessment of overall health.
Participants were asked to rate on a 10-point scale the degree of "success" of their own aging in their understanding of this concept. It turned out that people with poor physical condition and good ability to restore mental balance assessed the success of their aging in the same way as physically healthy people with unstable mental state. Similarly, the level of self-esteem of people with poor physical functions and the absence or minimal manifestations of depression was comparable to the level of self-esteem of healthy people with moderate or severe depression.
Based on the collected data, the researchers concluded that the ability to restore mental balance and a tendency to depression has a significant impact on the self-assessment of the success of aging. At the same time, the severity of the influence of psychological health is comparable to the severity of the influence of a person's physical condition.
After adjusting the results for age, an association was found between a higher assessment of the success of aging and a higher level of education, better cognitive function, a higher assessment of physical and mental health, a lower tendency to depression, as well as more pronounced optimism and the ability to quickly restore mental balance.
According to Jeste, based on the results of the analysis of the collected data, it is obvious that even against the background of deterioration of physical or cognitive functions, the sense of general well-being improves with age. This counterintuitive pattern persisted even after correcting the results taking into account variables such as income and education, as well as marital status.
The authors believe that the results obtained are a message for clinicians, the meaning of which is that such an optimistic approach can help in the fight against so-called social "ageism" (prejudice against old age).
Article by Dilip V. Jeste et al. Association Between Older Age and More Successful Aging: Critical Role of Resilience and Depression is published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of California, San Diego:
Paradox of Aging: The Older We Get, the Better We Feel?18.12.2012