Association between depression, retirement status and self-rated health status among older adults aged 65 and over in the United States
Literature Review
The number of older adults is increasing worldwide as longevity is increasing. The population of the world aged 60 years and older is projected to be 2 billion by 2050, increasing from 900 million in 2015 (WHO, 2015). With the graying of baby boomers, the number of older adults in the United States is escalating rapidly as well. The population aged 65 and over is projected to be 83.7 million by 2050, almost double from its estimated population of 43.1 million in 2012 (Ortman & Velkof, 2014). Due to this rapid increase in the number of older adults maintaining …show more content…
Data Source
This study used the data of 2012 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). HRS is a longitudinal panel study that surveys a representative sample of approximately 20,000 Americans over the age of 50, every two years. The HRS study collects information from the general public about a wide variety of subjects such as income, occupation and employment histories, marital histories and family compositions, assets, pension plans, health insurance, disability, physical health and functioning, cognitive functioning, and health care expenditures, living arrangements and other aspects of life. The people surveyed in HRS during each 2-year cycle of interviews, represent the diversity of the nation in terms of economic conditions, racial and ethnic backgrounds. The HRS is managed jointly through an agreement between the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan (Growing Older in America). …show more content…
used complex sampling design that involved clustering and stratification) ( Health and Retirement Study, Sample Evolution. 1992:1998). This present study utilized 2012 wave of HRS study and had a sample of 37,317 respondents of which 16334 individuals (43.77 %) were male and 20983 (56.23%) were female. The average age of the respondents was 67 years.
Modes of data collection
Health and Retirement Study used the in-person interview technique and telephone interview technique as a mode of data collection.
Measures used:
In this study, the main outcome variable will be self rated health status and the two main predictor variables will be depression and retirement status. Also, demographic variables such as age, race, gender education and marital status will be used as controls. Below is the description of how each of the variables were constructed in the Health and Retirement Study and how it will be recoded for the purposes of present