Physiological Dysregulation Predicted Poorer Health and Lower Survival in a Survey of the Older Population

Noreen Goldman, Cassio Turra, Dana Glei, Yu-Hsuan Lin and Maxine Weinstein
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Noreen Goldman: Princeton University
Dana Glei: University of California, Berkeley
Yu-Hsuan Lin: Bureau of Health Promotion, Taichung, Taiwan
Maxine Weinstein: Georgetown University

No 287, Working Papers from Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Office of Population Research.

Abstract: We investigate whether a multi-system measure of physiological dysregulation based on 16 biological measures is associated with deterioration in physical and mental health over a three-year period. We use data from a national survey of persons 54 and older in Taiwan that collected standard clinical markers related to cardiovascular and metabolic function and preclinical measures pertaining to the immune, neuroendocrine and sympathetic nervous systems. The dysregulation score counts the number of biomarkers for which values are in the lowest or highest decile. Statistical models examine whether dysregulation predicts four health outcomes (survival, physical functioning, cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms), in the presence of extensive controls for baseline health. The estimates reveal significant associations between dysregulation and health for each outcome, although there is variability across outcomes. The associations are often attenuated in the presence of health controls, underscoring the importance of longitudinal analysis. This study has extended previous research on the health consequences of physiological dysregulation by considering a broader range of outcomes and biomarkers in a non-Western population-based sample. Our analysis suggests that such dysregulation provides early warning signs of a broad range of co-morbidities.

Keywords: physiological dysregulation; allostatic load; biological markers; mortality; health; Taiwan. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006-03
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