On the Evaluation of ‘Self-perceived Age’ for Europeans and Americans

Abstract

The aims of the study are to estimate ‘Self-perceived age’ by reference to life tables and to evaluate its validity in comparison with actual mortality patterns. We use data from the 6th Wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (RAND SHARE), the 12th Wave of Health and Retirement Study (RAND HRS) and life tables from the Human Mortality Database (HMD). For the statistical analysis we employ regression models. Our results indicate that health status and frequency of physical activities imply similar patterns of ‘Self-perceived age’ and actual mortality patterns. Individuals with better health tend to have younger ‘Self-perceived age’ and lower actual mortality. However, the impact of memory and cognitive function differentiates between Europeans and Americans. ‘Self-perceived age’ is expressed in years, is linked to a population life table and it could be used to detect early changes in future life expectancy.