A Meta-Analysis of the Correlates of Successful Aging in Older Adults

초록

Purpose of the study: As life expectancy is improving, the population of older individuals is increasing along with the amount of time spent as an older adult. Consequently, it shifts our focus from ‘how long’ to ‘how well’ or ‘how healthy’ to live as an older adult. Successful aging (SA) is an emerging concept recently, representing this shift, stressing the quality of aging. Nonetheless, SA is a concept that remains without a consensus definition. The purpose of the current study was to explore the components of SA by systematically reviewing factors correlated with SA. We also compared the relative strength of the components by using the meta-analytic method. Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively synthesize the correlates of SA from three online databases: PubMed, CINAHL, and SCOPUS. Total, 137 factors correlated with SA were extracted from 15 studies. Results: The correlates were categorized into four domains: 1) avoiding disease and disability, 2) having high cognitive/mental/physical function, 3) actively engaging in life, and 4) psychologically well adapted in later life. The domain ‘psychologically well adapted in later life’ showed the strongest association with SA (ES(r) = 0.482). Conclusion: This study has a strong implication that psychological and social aspects in older adults, which have been less frequently considered, are as important as, or perhaps more important than, physical and cognitive functional aspects of SA. We hope that the findings of this study will contribute to filling the theoretical needs for defining SA as well as identifying evidence for building interventions and programs to achieve SA in older adults. Key words: successful aging; healthy aging; disability; function; engaging; adaptation