Recurrent symptoms: well-being and management

Although most older adults report one or more symptoms of a chronic health problem, little attention has been paid to the report of these symptoms over time and whether different symptom patterns affect well-being and symptom management in community-dwelling elders. Therefore, this study examined whether community-dwelling older adults in Ohio, U.S.A. who experience consistently recurring (a) arthritis or (b) cardiopulmonary symptoms report more depression and worse self-assessed health and show more symptom management than those who report inconsistent symptoms and if there are differences in well-being and symptom management over time. This secondary analysis used longitudinal data collected from a random sample of 387 older adults who reported their health complaints in four interviews over 27 months time. Subjects were included in this analysis if they reported either arthritis (n = 321) or cardiopulmonary (n = 232) symptoms at one or more times during 27 months, and then were classified as having either consistent (occurring at all four time points) or intermittent/inconsistent (occurring at three or fewer time points) symptoms. Data analysis included t-tests, chi-square tests, and Repeated Measures ANOVA. Results indicate that those with consistent symptoms reported greater depression and worse self-assessed health than those with less consistent symptoms. Specifically, those with consistent cardiopulmonary symptoms became more depressed over time. Those with consistent cardiopulmonary complaints were more likely than those with an inconsistent pattern to use an illness label to describe their symptoms. Those with consistent arthritis symptoms tended to use more self-care at all time points, to label their symptoms as an illness, and were more likely to consult a physician as their symptoms persisted. The implications of symptom recurrence on well-being, symptom management and the concept chronicity are discussed.