Biomedical subjects

P J Maxson

Publications and source records attributed to P J Maxson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Characteristics of long-surviving men: results from a nine-year longitudinal study.

Although the life expectancy of men is commonly less than that of women, previous analyses of a longitudinal data set revealed a sub-sample of older men whose survival curves over twenty years are similar to those of the women in the sample. The main purpose of this research is to identify factors which differentiate this group of "successful" males from the other males in the sample. Data from the two groups of males (and two groups of females) were examined using analysis of variance, chi 2 analysis, and survival analysis. Data include measures in a variety of biomedical, functional, behavioral, and psychological areas collected during in-home and hospital examinations. Results show that "successful" males have significantly higher scores in both cognitive abilities and health, initially and at longitudinal follow-ups. The combination of overall high scores in the multiple domains evidently gives this group of men an advantage over the others. The results emphasize the importance of recognizing the sub-groups in the aging population with different developmental patterns, and tailoring both research and services to the uniqueness of these groups.

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PubMed1996

Multidimensional patterns of aging in 70-year-olds: survival differences.

This article examines the predictive ability for survival of five multidimensional patterns of aging found in 335 70-year-olds from the geriatric and gerontological studies in Gothenburg, Sweden (H-70). The multidimensional patterns were identified by cluster analysis of the domains of cognitive performance, physical health, functional capacity, subjective well-being, and social contacts. Survival differences are found among the patterns and between genders within the patterns. Patterns with higher domain scores at age 70 have higher median survival rates over 20 years. Conversely, patterns with lower domain scores at age 70 have earlier mortality. However, one group, with the lowest cognitive score, has a survival pattern similar to the group with low scores in every domain, substantiating the finding that poor cognitive performance is an important single predictor of mortality. Females exhibit at least a 4-year survival advantage over males in all but one group, in which the males resemble the females in their survival.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Multidimensional patterns of aging: a cluster-analytic approach.

A person-oriented approach, cluster analysis, was used to define patterns of aging in 335 subjects from the Gothenburg study of 70-year-olds (H-70). Five distinct patterns, based on the domains of well-being, physical health, functional capacity, cognitive abilities, and social contacts, were found, and members of the five groups were followed longitudinally over 9 years. Overall, the majority of the subjects were in relatively high performing groups at age 70. Two of the groups had very low levels on all of the domains. Group membership at age 70 was predictive of later performance, suggesting that there is utility in typologies of aging individuals and/or trajectories of aging. This study supports a multidimensional approach to the study of variability in aging. Refining the description of agers, and of aging, can contribute both to basic understanding of aging processes and to practical matters of meeting the long-term needs of elderly people.

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