The Relationship Between Different Survey Measures of Health in an Elderly Population

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Abstract
Health surveys directed to the oldest old are becoming more and more common. There are many ways to measure health status but they have not always been adequately tested on the oldest old. This study analyzes interrelations among various health measures obtained through interviews and assessments. The analysis is based on a Swedish sample of 421 noninstitutionalized persons aged 75 years and older. First, a list of symptoms and complaints was analyzed, which yielded five factors: pains in the limbs, mental problems, stomach problems, heart problems, and respiratory problems. Next, two measures of global health—one self-rated and one nurse-rated—were regressed on these five illness factors. The self-rating seems the more global of the measures in that it was affected by a larger range of illness factors. Some research implications of the results are discussed.