Do you be-lung with the young?

How old you feel may matter just as much as how old you are. While feeling younger has been linked to better health and well-being, most research has relied on self-reported health data. The Developmental and Educational Psychology Group (Denis Gerstorf) took a more objective approach by examining the relationship between subjective age and pulmonary function — a key biomarker tied to mortality risk. Using data from nearly 10,000 adults in the German Aging Survey over a 9-year period, they found that people who felt younger tended to have better lung function, and vice versa. These findings suggest a dynamic link between how old we feel and our physical health, with implications for healthy aging and daily well-being. Definitely have a look at their International Journal of Behavioral Development Article!

Abstract

Although feeling younger has been found to be related with various health benefits, associations are complex, and most prior studies have used self-reported health indicators rather than objective, performance-based health measures and biomarkers. We investigated between-person and within-person associations of subjective age with pulmonary function (peak expiratory flow), a biomarker associated with mortality risk. Data from the German Aging Survey were used, with a sample of 9,782 middle-aged and older adults assessed up to four times over 9 years. Longitudinal multilevel regression models controlling for socio-demographic and health-related measures revealed predictive effects at the between-person level and at the within-person level, and in both directions. At the between-person level, study participants who felt overall younger showed better pulmonary functioning, and those with overall better pulmonary function felt younger. At the within-person level, on measurement occasions when participants felt younger, they exhibited better pulmonary function, and on measurement occasions when participants’ pulmonary function was better, they felt younger. Our findings thus suggest that there are meaningful between-person and within-person associations between pulmonary function and subjective age. Even subtle changes in biomarkers such as pulmonary function may affect how old people feel, which has consequences for their behaviors, health, and well-being.