Related Experiment Videos
Predictors of mortality in the old-old in Israel: the Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study
Menachem Ben-Ezra1, Dov Shmotkin
1Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. menbe@post.tau.ac.il
Objectives:
To examine whether well-known predictors of mortality change their predictive power over time, being reduced or even reversed in the old-old.
Design:
A multidimensional survey of the Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study conducted from 1989 to 1992 with follow-up of mortality after 6, 8, 10, and 12 years since 1989.
Setting:
Israel.
Participants:
Participants (N=1,369) were drawn from a national sample of the Jewish Israeli population aged 75 to 94.
Measurements:
Data included sociodemographic factors and measures of health, physical condition, cognitive performance, and depression.
Results:
The results showed that age, sex, disability, self-rated health, and marital status predicted mortality and that their predictive power changed over 9 years.
Conclusion:
In the old-old, predictors of mortality changed over time, and their predictive effect eventually diminished. The predictors found to be most significant (age, sex, disability, and self-rated health) support the common cause theory.
Related Concept Videos
Longitudinal Research
Longitudinal Studies
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Cross-Sectional Research
The Effect of Aging on Tissues
Development of Human Microbiota