Citation

Yashin AI, Arbeev KG, Kulminski A, Akushevich I, Akushevich L, Ukraintseva SV. Mech. Ageing Dev. 2008; 129(4): 191-200.

Affiliation

Center for Population Health and Aging, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0408, USA. aiy@duke.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.mad.2007.12.005

PMID

18242665

PMCID

PMC2289773

Abstract

An important feature of aging-related deterioration in human health is the decline in organisms' resistance to stresses, which contributes to an increase in morbidity and mortality risks. In human longitudinal studies of aging, such a decline is not measured directly, so indirect methods of statistical modeling have to be used for evaluating this characteristic. Since medical interventions reflect severity of occurring health disorders, data from Medicare service use files can be used for such modeling. In this paper, we use the National Long Term Care Survey (NLTCS) data merged with the Medicare service use files to investigate dynamics of stress resistance in the U.S. elderly. We constructed individual indices of cumulative deficits and medical costs and investigated their separate and joint effects on dynamics of mortality risks using the quadratic hazard model (QHM). We found that males show a faster decline in stress resistance with age than females.

Language: en