Key to well-being in old age

NEW EUROPEAN research suggests that psychosocial factors such as anxiety and depression may have an even larger impact on well-being in later life than physical health.

Carried out by researchers from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the team looked at data from 3,602 participants with an average age of 73.

There was a high level of self-reported well-being in the majority (79%) of the respondents, with the average scores of well-being also above the threshold set by the World Health Organisation.

However, some of the findings were less positive, with the team finding that in the ‘low’ group, there was a particularly high number of women, about 24%, compared to 18% for men.

When looking at the factors that affected the levels of well-being, the team found that it was mainly psychosocial factors – in particular, depression and anxiety disorders – which had the strongest effect.

Low income and sleep disorders also had a negative effect, and, among women, living alone also significantly increased the probability of a low level of well-being.

However, perhaps surprisingly, poor physical health, for example, low physical activity, appeared to have little effect.

“Ageing itself is not inevitably associated with a decline in mood and quality of life,” said Prof Karl-Heinz Ladwig, commenting on the results.

“It is rather the case that psychosocial factors such as depression or anxiety impair subjective well-being.

“The findings of the current study clearly demonstrate that appropriate services and interventions can play a major role for older people, especially for older women living on their own.

“And this is all the more important, given that we know that high levels of subjective well-being are linked to a lower mortality risk.” – AFP-Relaxnews