Why self-rated health predicts mortality less well at older ages: physical and mental health correlates of self-rated health

Hyeyoung Woo, Portland State University
Anna Zajacova, University of Wyoming

Research on population subgroup differences in the predictive power of self-rated health (SRH) on mortality has largely neglected age-related patterns. This is a critical omission given the systematic age-related changes in underlying health and the need to correctly measure the health of the aging U.S. population with simple measures like SRH. We address two issues. 1) Using the NHIS-Linked Mortality Files 1989-2004, we examine how age modifies the SRH-mortality links. Age-related changes may occur if older respondents weigh the health dimensions differently. 2) To test this possibility, we use 1999-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and examine how age modifies links between biomarker profiles, health conditions, limitations, health behaviors, and mental health. Preliminary results indicate that the predictive power of SRH declines significantly from middle to old age; we also find that SRH is more closely determined by mental health for older respondents, while physical health becomes less critical.