The Role of Subjective Age in Predicting Post-Hospitalization Outcomes of Older Adults

Introduction: Studies of community-dwelling older adults find subjective age affects health and functional outcomes. This study explored whether younger subjective age serves as a protective factor against hospital-associated physical, cognitive, and emotional decline, well-known consequences of hospitalization among the elderly. Methods: This study is a secondary data analysis of a subsample (N = 262; age: 77.5 ± 6.6 years) from the Hospitalization Process Effects on Mobility Outcomes and Recovery (HoPE-MOR) study. Psychological and physical subjective age, measured as participants’ reports on the degree to which they felt older or younger than their chronological age, was assessed at the time of hospital admission. Independence in activities of daily living, life-space mobility, cognitive function, and depressive symptoms were assessed at hospital admission and 1 month post-discharge. Results: The odds of decline in cognitive status, functional status, and community mobility and the exacerbation of depressive symptoms were significantly lower in those reporting younger vs. older psychological subjective age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.46–0.98; OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.36–0.98; OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.44–0.93; OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.43–0.96, respectively). Findings were significant after controlling for demographic, functional, cognitive, emotional, chronic, and acute health predictors. Physical subjective age was not significantly related to post-hospitalization outcomes. Conclusion: Psychological subjective age can identify older adults at risk for poor hospitalization outcomes and should be considered for preventive interventions.