title: Association of the selected dimensions of eudaimonic well-being with healthy survival to 85 years of age in older women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aspects of eudaimonic well-being, such as personal growth (PG) and purpose in life (PL), have been highlighted as important to older adults' health. We investigated the relationship of PG and PL with patterns of survival to the age of 85 years and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample included 8,880 women from the Women's Health Initiative cohort who reached 85 years of age by December 1, 2013, and for whom data on the PG and PL constructs were available. Women were classified into mutually exclusive outcomes: Healthy, Prevalent, Incident, Disabled, and Deceased. PG and PL were each assessed using a modified seven-item measure derived from the Psychological Well-Being scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women were most commonly classified as Healthy (38.2%, n = 3,395), followed by Incident (24.4%, n = 2,163), Disabled (19.0%, n = 1,685), Prevalent (14.3%, 1,273), and Deceased (4.1%, n = 364). Women with low PL and PG levels were more likely to have prevalent mobility disability and disease or incident death before the age of 85 years. Specifically, those who reported low levels of PG and PL had a 2.1- and 3.6-fold higher risk, respectively, of death.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings indicate that even among the oldest old, experience of purposeful life engagement and continuing PG may contribute to better health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Science and Social Welfare,University of Haifa,Haifa,Israel.
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zaslavsky
authors.affiliation: Public Health Sciences,Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,Seattle,Washington,USA.
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rillamas-Sun
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing,University of Washington,Seattle,Washington,USA.
authors.forename: Nancy Fugate
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.affiliation: Public Health Sciences,Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,Seattle,Washington,USA.
authors.forename: Barbara B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Cochrane
authors.affiliation: Stanford Prevention Research Center,School of Medicine,Stanford University,Palo Alto,California,USA.
authors.forename: Marcia L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stefanick
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine,University of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,USA.
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tindle
authors.affiliation: Public Health Sciences,Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,Seattle,Washington,USA.
authors.forename: Lesley F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Tinker
authors.affiliation: Public Health Sciences,Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,Seattle,Washington,USA.
authors.forename: Andrea Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: LaCroix
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000523:psychology; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011581:Psychological Tests; D016019:Survival Analysis; D026712:Value of Life