Middle-Aged Americans Report More Pain, Less Mobility

Americans in their early-to-mid 50s report poorer health, more pain and more trouble doing everyday physical tasks than their older peers reported at the same age in years past, according to recent research.

The study was conducted by the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research and supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health. Results were presented in a NIA (www.nia.nih.gov) press release.

Using a summary health index developed for their analysis, the researchers compared the overall, self-reported health of people in three age groups: those now ages 66 to 71; those ages 60 to 65; and those ages 54 to 59.

The data came from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationwide, NIA-sponsored survey of more than 20,000 Americans over age 50 that began in 1992.

Results include:

• The two younger groups were less likely than the oldest group to have said their health was “excellent or very good” at 51 to 56 years of age.

• The youngest group reported having more pain, chronic health conditions, and drinking and psychiatric problems than people who were the same age 12 years earlier.

• Compared with the oldest group, the youngest group was more likely to have reported difficulty in walking, climbing steps, getting up from a chair, kneeling or crouching, and doing other normal daily physical tasks.