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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Subjective health and illness, coping and life satisfaction in an 80-year-old Swedish population-implications for
Ingela Steij Stålbrand1, Torbjörn Svensson, Sölve Elmståhl
1Department of Psychology and The Vardal Institute. Ingela.Steij_Stalbrand@psychology.lu.se
Background:
Multimorbidity and illness will become more common due to increased life expectancy.
Purpose:
This study describes various combinations of diseases and symptoms and explores implications for mortality in a sample of 80-year-olds followed up to 95 years of age. Furthermore, reported subjective health, coping, and life satisfaction is explored.
Method:
212 persons, born in 1908, were classified into four groups based on their number of diseases and reported symptoms according to a health examination at the age of 80. These groups were compared regarding standardized measurements of subjective health, depression, coping, life satisfaction, and mortality.
Results:
The mortality risks, the hazard ratios, were of the same magnitude, 1.8-2.2, whether the persons experienced several symptoms, had several diseases, or a combination of several symptoms and several diseases when compared to the healthy group of respondents.
Conclusion:
The experience of subjective signs of illness carries the same mortality risks as diseases.
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