Work

Understanding the Complex Etiology of Subjective Health: the Igems Consortium

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Deceptive in its simplicity, assessment of subjective health has generated hundreds of papers as researchers attempt to uncover the components that contribute to judgments about personal health. The fact that subjective health predicts mortality and a variety of other health outcomes above and beyond objective health supports the importance of subjective health and generates questions about mechanisms and etiologies. Recent analyses suggest that these mechanisms can vary by age, gender, and even the questions used to assess subjective health. Using data available from the Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) Consortium, the primary aim of the current symposium is to deepen our understanding of the etiology of subjective health by presenting several different methods for investigating the relevant issues. The first paper focuses on individuals to examine the relationship between subjective health, multi-morbidity, activities of daily living, and social networks. The next two papers employ the methods of twin analysis to examine genetic and environmental influences on subjective health. The second paper examines the extent to which shared genetic or environmental factors explain the relationship between subjective health and physical health. The third paper examines sex differences in longitudinal trends in genetic and environmental influences on subjective health. The fourth paper moves beyond genetic variance to focus on individual genes. Using available genotyping data to calculate polygenic risk scores, the analysis assessed the degree to which variability in physical health and subjective health could be explained by variability in genes underlying subjective wellbeing.

Source: Innovation in Aging

DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.3546

Authors: D.G. Finkel, C.E. Franz, M.K. Jylha

Institutions: Indiana University Southeast, University of California San Diego, University of Tampere

Language: English

Topic: Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,977