Trajectories of Physical Function and Behavioral, Psychological, and Social Well-Being in a Cohort of Swedish Older Adults.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Successful aging has been described as a multifactorial and dynamic process. The aims of the study were to detect aging trajectories of physical function and behavioral, psychological, and social well-being; and to explore the correlations between functional versus well-being trajectories by age group.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Data were gathered from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen ( = 1,375). Subjects' physical function was assessed through walking speed and chair-stand tests, behavioral well-being through participation in mental and physical activities, psychological well-being through life satisfaction and positive affect, and social well-being through social connections and support. All exposures were standardized (-scores). Linear mixed models were used to estimate trajectories of physical function and well-being over a 12-year follow-up.

RESULTS

The steepest declines were seen for physical function (relative change [RC] in -scores across ages; RC = 3.01), followed by behavioral well-being (RC = 2.15), psychological well-being (RC = 2.01), and social well-being (RC = 0.76). Correlations between physical function and the different well-being domains were weak, especially for slopes. Stronger intercept correlations were observed among the oldest-compared to the youngest-old, especially with behavioral ( = 0.39 vs = 0.24) and psychological ( = 0.33 vs = 0.22) well-being.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Physical function declines the fastest throughout aging. The different well-being domains decline at a slower rate, which may be a possible sign of compensation against age-related functional decline, especially among the youngest-old, for whom discordances between physical function and the different well-being domains were more common.