title: Morale in the oldest old: the Umeå 85+ study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to describe morale among the oldest old, and to investigate which social, functional and medical factors are associated with morale in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  a cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  a population-based study in the municipality of Umeå, a city in Northern Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  half of the 85-year-old population, and the total population of 90-year-olds and > or = 95-year-olds (95-103) were asked to participate (n = 319) and 238 were interviewed.
  
  
  METHODS
  structured interviews and assessments during home visits, interviews with relatives and caregivers and review of medical charts. The 17-item Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) was used to measure morale. Participants were assessed with the Barthel Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Index, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and a symptom questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to find independent factors to explain the variation in the PGCMS score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  eighty-four per cent (n = 199) of those interviewed answered the PGCMS. Three-quarters had middle range or high morale. GDS score, type of housing, previous stroke, loneliness and number of symptoms, adjusted for age group and sex, explained 49.3% of the variance of total PGCMS score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  a large proportion of the oldest old had high morale. The most important factors for high morale were the absence of depressive symptoms, living in ordinary housing, having previously had a stroke and yet still living in ordinary housing, not feeling lonely and low number of symptoms. The PGCMS seems applicable in the evaluation of morale among the oldest old.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Geriatric Medicine and Physiotherapy, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. petra.heideken.wagert@germed.umu.se
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: von Heideken Wågert
authors.forename: Birgitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rönnmark
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rosendahl
authors.forename: Lillemor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lundin-Olsson
authors.forename: Janna M C
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gustavsson
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nygren
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lundman
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Norberg
authors.forename: Yngve
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gustafson
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009013:Morale; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology