Secular trends in functional abilities, health and psychological well-being among community-dwelling 75- to 95-year-old cohorts over three decades in Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

Background: Life expectancy has increased markedly in the past decades. Thus, it is of great importance to understand how people are ageing and if the trajectories of health and disability are changing over time. This study aimed to examine trends in functional abilities and health in independent cohorts of people aged 75–95 over three decades. Methods: This Helsinki Ageing Study consists of repeated cross-sectional postal surveys examining independent cohorts of old people (75, 80, 85 and 90+ years old). This study combined data from four waves (1989, 1999, 2009 and 2019). Results: In the most recent wave, there was an increase in the portion of participants who were able to walk outdoors easily (75-year-olds p=0.03, 80-year-olds p=0.002, 85-year-olds p<0.001; p for linearity for the study year effect, all adjusted for sex). Fewer people in the youngest age group (75-year-olds) needed daily help from another person in 2019 compared to the earlier waves ( p=0.02 for linearity for the study year). Over the past three decades, the proportions of self-reported good mobility have risen 8.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.3–15.1) in 75-year-olds, 11.7% (95% CI 3.9–19.6) in 80-year-olds and 20.1% (95% CI 10.7–29.4) in 85-year-olds, after adjusting for sex. Furthermore, in 2019, more people rated their health as good and scored better in psychological well-being than in the previous waves among 75-, 80- and 85-year-olds. However, no improvements were found among 90+-year-olds in any of these variables. Conclusions: People between 75 and 85 years old are presently feeling and functioning better than their predecessors. This may be an important objective for both economics and health policy.

Symptom burden in community-dwelling older people: temporal trends in the Helsinki Aging Study

“…Like time trends in health and functioning [ 3 – 6 ], symptom burden shows a decreasing trend in our study cohorts over the last 3 decades. Similarly, the Charlson comorbidity index has decreased in the cohorts from 1999 to 2019.…”

“…Recent cohort studies looking at temporal trends in health and functioning in the older population mostly support Fries’ hypothesis. They have shown a decrease in disabilities [ 3 , 4 ] as well as improvements in cognitive functioning [ 4 ], psychological wellbeing (PWB) [ 5 ], and self-rated health [ 6 ] in later born cohorts. Contrasting evidence has also emerged that shows increased disease prevalence and loss of mobility function in the older population in recent years [ 7 ].…”

Cohort Differences in Depressive Symptoms and Life Satisfaction in 75- and 80-Year-Olds: A Comparison of Two Cohorts 28 Years Apart

“…Life expectancy has increased in the last decades and older people today have better physical and cognitive functioning than older people a couple of decades ago (e.g., Beller et al, 2022 ; Christensen et al, 2013 ; Koivunen et al, 2021 ; Munukka et al, 2021 ; Strand et al, 2019 ; Öhman et al, 2022 ). In Finland, the increase in life expectancy has been exceptionally large during the 20 th century compared to other OECD countries ( Kangas, 2010 ).…”

“…Research results on cohort differences in mental well-being have been inconsistent due to, for example, differences in the assessed dimension of mental well-being, participants’ age, and the time between cohorts. Positive secular changes have been found for positive affect among U.S. adults ( Sutin et al, 2013 ), German older adults ( Gerstorf et al, 2015 ), and German adults in retirement transition ( Henning et al, 2022 ), and general mental well-being in Finnish older adults ( Öhman et al, 2022 ). However, no cohort differences have been found for life satisfaction ( Henning et al, 2022 ; Jivraj et al, 2014 ) and depressed affect ( Sutin et al, 2013 ).…”

A Study on Emotions to Improve the Quality of Life of South Korean Senior Patients Residing in Convalescent Hospitals

“…Moreover, Kwak [ 19 ] found that elements that significantly affect the elderly’s quality of life are health, money, work, children, spouse, and family life, in order of precedence. In addition, exercise, physical activity, and health play essential roles in maintaining seniors’ quality of life [ 15 , 20 , 21 ].…”