title: Executive functioning independently predicts self-rated health and improvement in self-rated health over time among community-dwelling older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Self-rated health, as distinct from objective measures of health, is a clinically informative metric among older adults. The purpose of our study was to examine the cognitive and psychosocial factors associated with self-rated health.
  
  
  METHODS
  624 participants over the age of 60 were assessed at baseline, and of these, 510 were contacted for a follow-up two years later. Measures of executive function and self-rated health were assessed at baseline, and self-rated health was assessed at follow-up. We employed multiple linear regression analyses to investigate the relationship between executive functioning and self-rated health, while controlling for demographic, psychosocial and biological variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Controlling for other relevant variables, executive functioning independently and solely predicted self-rated health, both at a cross-sectional level, and also over time. Loneliness was also found to cross-sectionally predict self-rated health, although this relationship was not present at a longitudinal level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older adults' self-rated health may be related to their executive functioning and to their loneliness. Self-rated health appeared to improve over time, and the extent of this improvement was also related to executive functioning at baseline. Self-rated health may be a judgement made of one's functioning, especially executive functioning, which changes with age and therefore may be particularly salient in the reflections of older adults.
authors.affiliation: a TRIL Centre, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience , Trinity College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland.
authors.forename: Joanna Edel
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: McHugh
authors.affiliation: a TRIL Centre, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience , Trinity College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland.
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Lawlor
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D016014:Linear Models; D008132:Loneliness; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014145:Trail Making Test
keywords: executive functioning; functional status; longitudinal; older adults; self-rated health