Adherence to Clusters of Health Behaviors and Successful Aging

Objectives: Analyses examine the extent to which adherence to recommendations regarding health behaviors cluster among older adults, whether people who adhere to multiple health behaviors are more likely to age successfully than those who adhere to fewer health behaviors, and whether some health behavior clusters are more closely associated with successful aging than others. Method: Cross-sectional data were collected using structured telephone interviews from 5,688 persons aged 50 to 74 living in New Jersey. Results: Prevalence odds ratio analyses indicated that differential cluster patterns exist. Logistic regression revealed that as the number of adherent behaviors increased so did the likelihood of aging successfully and that adherence to some health behavior clusters was more closely associated with successful aging than adherence to others. Discussion: Although adherence to more health behaviors was associated with a greater likelihood of successful aging, it is possible to age successfully by adhering to specific clusters of health behaviors.