Objectives: This longitudinal investigation addressed whether and how lifetime cumulative adversity and depressive symptoms moderated age-related decline in markers of physical, mental, and cognitive health.
Method: 1248 older adults (mean age = 62 at Wave 1) who completed the first two waves of the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel) reported on exposure to potentially traumatic life events, depressive symptoms, and three outcomes - disability, quality of life, and cognitive markers.
Results: Age was related to greater functional decline in outcome measures across the two waves (i.e., increase in disability and decrease in quality of life and cognitive functioning). This age-related decline became stronger as lifetime adversity increased. A three-way interaction showed that the greatest age-related functional decline in outcome measures was especially salient among those with high level of lifetime adversity and high level of depressive symptoms.
Conclusion: Lifetime cumulative adversity is associated with a more noticeable process of age-related dysfunction across various markers of health. Although the majority of older adults are resilient to lifetime adversity, prevention and intervention programs should be aimed at mitigating the pronounced senescence observed when adversity accumulated to a large degree, and especially when it is accompanied with high level of distress.
Keywords: SHARE-Israel; depressive symptoms; potentially traumatic life events.