Contribution of residential relocation and lifestyle to the structure of health trajectories.

OBJECTIVE

Underlining ecological theories of aging, we assessed the impact of relocation, residential type, and individual lifestyle factors on the structure of health status overtime.

METHODS

From the data of Longitudinal Study on Aging II, we included older adults aged 70 and older (N = 5,294). To analyze individual longitudinal trajectories of health outcomes, Latent Growth Curve Modeling (LGCM) was employed.

RESULTS

LGCMs supported that older adults' residential relocation and health-related lifestyles were important in preserving better health outcomes. Multiple structural equations corroborated the causal chains in the multidimensionality of health structure.

DISCUSSION

These findings suggest a necessity to design policies for older adults to create a synergy between housing and health care and to translate meaningful health-related lifestyles into diverse long-term care settings.