Does Self-Rated Health Foretell Loss of Dual Functionality?

Bibliographic Data

ID24235370
AuthorsKenneth F Ferraro (0000-0003-3692-5235, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA), Mallory J Bell (0000-0002-9227-162X, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA), Shawn Bauldry (0000-0002-6679-3125, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA)
Year2026
Publication date2026-10-19
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Health and Social Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1465 • E-ISSN: 2150-6000
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00221465261492706
LanguageEN
References cited66

Although there is a rich literature examining whether self-rated health predicts a variety of single measures of health, it is unknown whether it also predicts a global measure of health defined by a combination of physical and cognitive functions: dual functionality. We used data from the Health and Retirement Study from 2004 to 2020 (N = 12,439) to prospectively study the relationship between three specifications of self-rated health and loss of dual functionality using Weibull accelerated failure-time models. Among respondents with dual functionality at baseline, each higher level of self-rated health was significant in fully adjusted models to later loss of dual functionality. Specifying self-rated health as a time-varying covariate, however, revealed a more pronounced relationship with dual functionality than with baseline self-rated health. Self-rated health is a valuable upstream predictor of dual functionality, but using baseline self-rated health only will likely underestimate its influence on health outcomes.

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