Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, Vol 50, Issue 2 M61-M69, Copyright © 1995 by The Gerontological Society of America
Health and functioning among the elderly of Marin County, California: a glimpse of the future
D Reed, WA Satariano, G Gildengorin, K McMahon, R Fleshman and E Schneider
Buck Center for Research in Aging, Novato, California.
BACKGROUND. The purpose of this study was to obtain information concerning
the health status of the theoretically advantaged elderly population of
Marin County, California, and to compare these data with those from other
populations with different levels of socioeconomic status. METHODS. An
age-stratified sample of 2,018 community-dwelling elderly residents of
Marin was selected, and these participants were interviewed between 1989
and 1991. Interview items included medical history of life-threatening
diseases and chronic conditions, reported and observed disabilities, and
life-style characteristics. RESULTS. While the residents of Marin had lower
mortality rates than the total U.S. population, there were few meaningful
differences in measures of health and function in comparison to other
elderly populations with substantially lower levels of socioeconomic
status. The main exceptions were better memory performance and lower
depressive symptomatology in Marin. Because of the many methodological
differences, these comparisons must be viewed with caution. CONCLUSION. The
general pattern of findings in this study indicates that while death has
been postponed in this socioeconomically advantaged population, the
prevalence of disease and disability has not. If true, this implies that
residents of an affluent community can spend a longer rather than shorter
period of their late life in a state of infirmity and in need of medical
care. This appears to be especially true for women.
