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An examination of the effects of intra and inter-individual changes in wellbeing and mental health on self-rated health in a population study of middle and older-aged adults

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology volume 49, pages 1849–1858 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

Self-rated health is frequently used as an indicator of health and quality of life in epidemiological studies. While the association between self-rated health and negative mental health is well established, associations with indictors of positive wellbeing are less clear. Data from the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project were used to compare the effects of vitality and mental health on self-rated health.

Methods

Participants (n = 40,712) provided information on vitality, mental health and self-rated health, were aged 45–95 years at baseline, and were followed between 1 and 10 years (M = 5.6; SD = 2.9).

Results

In comparison with mental health, multi-level modelling indicated between- and within-person change in vitality was more strongly associated with self-rated health. Bivariate dual change score modelling of the cross-lagged associations between vitality and self-rated health indicated vitality to be a stronger predictor of change in self-rated health. Self-rated health was unrelated to change in vitality.

Conclusion

Vitality accounted for most of the mental health effect on self-rated health and was identified as a significant predictor of change in self-rated health over a 10-year period. Promoting wellbeing and psychological functioning may have significant protective effects on negative health outcomes throughout the adult lifespan and into late life.

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Acknowledgments

The data on which this research is based were drawn from several Australian longitudinal studies including the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA), the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health (ALSWH), the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab), the Blue Mountain Eye Study (BMES), the Canberra Longitudinal Study of Ageing (CLS), the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia study (HILDA), the Melbourne Longitudinal Studies on Healthy Ageing (MELSHA), the Personality And Total Health Through Life Study (PATH), and the Sydney Older Persons Study (SOPS). These studies were pooled and harmonized for the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project. DYNOPTA was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC grant # 410215). All studies would like to thank the participants for volunteering their time to be involved in the respective studies. Details of all studies contributing data to DYNOPTA, including individual study leaders and funding sources, are available on the DYNOPTA website (http://dynopta.anu.edu.au). The findings and views reported in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of the original studies or their respective funding agencies. Burns and Sargent-Cox are supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (project #: CE110001029). Anstey is supported by an NHMRC Research Fellowship (No. 366756).

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing, The Australian National University, Building 63, Eggleston Road, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Richard A. Burns, Kerry Sargent-Cox & Kaarin J. Anstey

  2. Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Paul Mitchell

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Paul Mitchell

Authors
  1. Richard A. Burns
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  2. Kerry Sargent-Cox
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  3. Paul Mitchell
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  4. Kaarin J. Anstey
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Correspondence to Richard A. Burns.

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Burns, R.A., Sargent-Cox, K., Mitchell, P. et al. An examination of the effects of intra and inter-individual changes in wellbeing and mental health on self-rated health in a population study of middle and older-aged adults. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 49, 1849–1858 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0864-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0864-6

Keywords

  • Vitality
  • Mental health
  • Self-rated health
  • Wellbeing