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In just three months, more than 4,000 e-mail messages have been sent to Federal MPs through the CARP E-Voice system. Now you can use CARP E-Voice to contact your provincial representatives as well. Click here to try it!
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Stress Killing Seniors: Stats Can
Study shows psychological distress is "major factor" for determining life expectancy
by James Pasternak
Canadian women 65 years of age or older who claimed they suffered from psychological or financial stresses in the mid-1990s, were more likely to die over the next eight years than those who felt they did not have such problems, according to a Statistics Canada study called Predictors of Death in Seniors.
The analysis followed a group of about 2,400 seniors from 1994 to 2003. The study found that psychological distress was a “major” factor for determining life expectancy, when taking into consideration factors such as age, family and financial stress, level of education, major chronic diseases, smoking, weight and use of alcohol.
For men, the relationship between psychological distress and death was thought to be similar to that of women. However, in the case of men the strength of the association was partially offset by the onset of chronic diseases.
“Women report higher levels of stress than men do…I was intrigued by the differences between men and women. Psychological distress seems to have a bigger impact on women,” study author Kathryn Wilkins told CARP.
The study found that of those seniors reporting high levels of psychological distress in 1994/95, about 62 % of men and 44% of women had died eight years later. This compares with 37% of men and 25% of women at lower levels of stress.
The study also found that the life expectancy of single or widowed men was reduced when compared to females in similar situations. “Women seem to have an advantage when surviving alone than men,” says Wilkins.
The study found that with men the source of income was also a predictor of death. Those who relied on government pensions, income supplements or social assistance were more likely to have died than those who had other sources of income.
The study seems to confirm some of the work that CARP has done on society and seniors. In CARP’s groundbreaking study An Aging Population in Canada it was estimated that about 600,000 Canadians aged 65 and over live below the poverty line. Part of the suffering is due to the fact that many seniors are not receiving their Guaranteed Income Supplement. In 2002, Richard Shillington of Manotick, Ont.-based Tristat Resources estimated that there were about 300,000 seniors eligible for GIS who were not receiving it. In order to receive the GIS one must apply. The form is 14 pages long and Shillington describes it as “gobbledygook.”
CARP has been urging the government to create a simpler application process and to better communicate the eligibility rules with seniors.
The study also confirmed a correlation between life expectancy and levels of education. For both women and men, the likelihood of dying during the eight-year study period was higher among seniors who had not complete secondary education.
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