title: Aging, mobility impairments and subjective wellbeing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Wellbeing is often described as U-shaped over the life course, suggesting an apparent paradox that wellbeing remains high at older ages despite increases in impairments.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We explore associations among age, lower body impairments-one of the most common late-life impairments-and three measures of wellbeing: life satisfaction, emotional wellbeing and somatic wellbeing. We hypothesize that age effects are positive, become stronger once lower body impairments are controlled, and are concentrated among those who have maintained their mobility. Net of confounding factors, we hypothesize that lower body impairments are associated with worse wellbeing and these effects diminish with advancing age.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyze the 2013 Disability and Use of Time supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 1607 adults ages 60 and older). We estimate nested regression models that include age, severity of lower body impairments and confounding demographic, psychological, and socioeconomic factors and activities; test age-impairment interactions; and estimate age- and impairment-stratified models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Positive age effects were observed after controlling for lower body impairments for life satisfaction (β = 0.90; p < 0.05), although statistical significance weakened (p = 0.07) in fully adjusted models. For emotional wellbeing, adjusted age effects were negative (β = -0.05; p < 0.05) and were concentrated among those with limitations (β = -0.14; p < 0.01). For all three outcomes, severity of impairments reduced wellbeing in adjusted models. These effects were strongest for somatic wellbeing, especially for 65-74 year olds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study challenges the notion that wellbeing is U-shaped throughout the life course and underscores the critical role of mobility across wellbeing domains in later life.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States. Electronic address: vfreedma@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Vicki A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Freedman
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: Jennifer C. Cornman Consulting, Granville, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cornman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI, United States.
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Lucas
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Aging; Mobility; Wellbeing