Successful Aging as a Predictor of Long-Term Care Among Oldest Old: The Vitality 90+ Study

The aim of the study was to investigate whether successful aging (SA) predicts entering long-term care (LTC) among nonagenarians.

Data originated from the linkage of the Vitality 90+ Study surveys with register data from Finnish Population Register and Care Registers. Altogether 1,966 community-dwelling individuals were followed for 2 years and 1,354 individuals for 5 years. Four models of SA were constructed by varying combinations of physical, psychological, and social components. Competing risk regression analysis was used.

The incidence rate for entering LTC was lower for successful agers. Three models of SA presented a significantly decreased risk for entering LTC in the whole group and in women. The impact of SA was attenuated when living alone, needing help, and the year of participation were adjusted for, but was still significant for Model 3.

Nonagenarians who meet the multidimensional criteria of SA are less likely to enter LTC than those aging less successfully.