Feb 26, 2016 |
By Dan Cook
If you feel
old, you should seriously consider trying to feel young before you end up in
the hospital.
A new study
seems to confirm every cliché about “age being just a number,” finding that
those who report feeling old are much more likely to be hospitalized
than those of the same (biological) age who report feeling younger.
A group of
researchers at Florida State University analyzed data from three studies that
spanned from 1995 to 2013. Those in the study had ages that ranged from 24 to
102.
Those who said
they felt older than their actual age were 10 percent to 25 percent more likely
to be hospitalized in the next two to 10 years.
“Feeling older
is associated with poorer physical and mental health, but also with
physiological impairments that may result in illness and health service use
over time,” said Dr. Angela Sutin, one of the study co-authors in a press
release from the American Psychological Association.
Fellow
co-author, Dr. Antonio Terracciano, added that “individuals with an older
subjective age are more likely to be sedentary and to experience faster cognitive decline, all
of which may precipitate a hospital stay.”
Depression also
correlated strongly with an older “subjective age,” as the study referred to
it.
What the study
did not show was that feeling old precedes sickness. Those who feel old might
feel that way because they are already dealing with ailments characteristic of
old age.
But the
researchers suggest that asking people how old they feel could be a valuable
tool in identifying those most vulnerable to sickness and hospitalization in
the near-term.
“People who
feel older may benefit from standard health treatments — for example through
physical activity and exercise programs — which may reduce their risk of depression and chronic
disease, and ultimately their hospitalization risk,” said Dr. Yannick Stephan,
the study’s lead author.
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