Abstract
Abstract There is increasing support for the concept that persons who live into extreme old age are biologically elite. In this study, self-health assessments and eight objective health indices were studied in 286 elderly living in the community. Self-health was measured on a 5-point scale ranging from very poor to excellent. Objective health measures included impairment and disability rating; number of physician visits, days in bed, and days hospitalized for the prior six months; diagnoses; medications; and operations. The sample was divided by good (70%) and poor (30%) self-health assessments and by old (age 65–74, 66%) and very old (75 and over, 34%). The objective health measures were compared between these groups in a multivariate analysis of variance. Number of medications was less and surgical operations more for the very old than old. All but two of the eight objective measures of health (surgery and days in bed) differentiated significantly between self-assessed health groups. It therefore seems that age, by itself, is a poor indicator of health among the elderly; however, how the elderly view their own health may be an extremely useful clinical guide as to their overall health status.
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