title: The association of daily physical symptoms with future health.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Daily physical symptoms play a critical role in health and illness experiences. Despite their daily prevalence, the ability of these symptoms to predict future health status is debated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The current study examined whether physical symptom reports predict future health outcomes independent of trait measures of emotion.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (N = 1189) who completed both Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Surveys I and II as well as the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) reported their daily physical symptoms at baseline and number of reported chronic conditions and functional disability nearly 10 years later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Physical symptoms at baseline significantly predicted the occurrence of chronic conditions and functional impairment at long-term follow-up, even after adjusting for self-reported affect, self-reported health, and previous health status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that daily physical symptoms are unique indicators of future health status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 4201 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Irvine, CA 92697-7085, United States. Electronic address: kleger@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Kate A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Leger
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 4201 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Irvine, CA 92697-7085, United States. Electronic address: scharles@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Susan T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.affiliation: Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, Division of General Medicine, Medical School, Department of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States. Electronic address: ayanian@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: John Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Ayanian
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Human Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, 403 BBH Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: dalmeidapsu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Almeida
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D014481:United States
keywords: Affect; Future health; Physical symptoms; Self-rated health