title: Do levels of perceived stress increase with increasing age after age 65? A population-based study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  psychological and health-related stressors often occur in advanced ages, but little is known about perceived stress in adults aged 65 and over. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that levels of perceived stress increase with increasing age and to detect factors that may account for the association.
  
  
  METHODS
  a dementia-free cohort of 1,656 adults aged 66-97 years living at home or in institutions, participating in the Swedish National Aging and Care study, Kungsholmen (SNAC-K) was assessed for levels of perceived stress using the 10-item perceived stress scale (PSS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  prevalence of high stress according to the top tertile of the population (PSS score 20+) was 7.8% in adults aged 81+ years, 7.5% in adults aged 72-78 and 6.2% in adults aged 66 years (P = 0.020). More women than men reported high stress, 8.3 versus 5.4% (P = 0.001). Levels of stress increased with increasing age (P = 0.001) in the linear regression model. This association remained after adjustment for demographic and psychosocial factors, but no longer was present after adjusting for health-related factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  health-related stress is highly prevalent in older adults and seems to play an important role in the association between levels of perceived stress and age in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm 11330, Sweden.
authors.forename: Almira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Osmanovic-Thunström
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Medicine of Aging, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Firenze 50139, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mossello
authors.affiliation: Stress Research Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm 11419, Sweden.
authors.forename: Torbjörn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Åkerstedt
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm 11330, Sweden Stockholm Gerontology Research Centre, Stockholm 11330, Sweden.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fratiglioni
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm 11330, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hui-Xin
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010465:Perception; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: older adults and stress; older people; perceived stress scale; stress and health