How old do you feel? The role of age discrimination and biological aging in subjective age.

TitleHow old do you feel? The role of age discrimination and biological aging in subjective age.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsStephan, Y, Sutin, AR, Terracciano, A
JournalPLoS One
Volume10
Issue3
Paginatione0119293
Date Published2015
ISSN Number1932-6203
KeywordsAerobiosis, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena, Cellular Senescence, Discrimination, Psychological, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Muscle Strength, Perception
Abstract

Subjective age, or how young or old individuals experience themselves to be relative to their chronological age, is a crucial construct in gerontology. Subjective age is a significant predictor of important health outcomes, but little is known about the criteria by which individuals' subjectively evaluate their age. To identify psychosocial and biomedical factors linked to the subjective evaluation of age, this study examined whether perceived age discrimination and markers of biological aging are associated with subjective age. Participants were 4776 adults (Mage = 68) from the 2008 and 2010 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) who completed measures of subjective age, age discrimination, demographic variables, self-rated health and depression, and had physical health measures, including peak expiratory flow, grip strength, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Telomere length was available for a subset of participants in the 2008 wave (n = 2214). Regression analysis indicated that perceived age discrimination, lower peak expiratory flow, lower grip strength, and higher waist circumference were associated with an older subjective age, controlling for sociodemographic factors, self-rated health, and depression. In contrast, blood pressure and telomere length were not related to subjective age. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that how old a person feels depends in part on psychosocial and biomedical factors, including the experiences of ageism and perceptible indices of fitness and biological age.

Notes

Times Cited: 0 0

DOI10.1371/journal.pone.0119293
User Guide Notes

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25738579?dopt=Abstract

Endnote Keywords

subjective age/health outcomes/psychosocial factors/psychosocial factors/biomedical factors/Biological aging

Endnote ID

999999

Alternate JournalPLoS One
Citation Key8308
PubMed ID25738579
PubMed Central IDPMC4349738