Health-Engagement Control Strategies and 2-Year Changes in Older Adults' Physical Health
研究发现，日常身体症状（如胸痛、呼吸困难）会加速老年人慢性病和功能问题的恶化，但积极采取健康参与控制策略（如主动应对健康问题）能有效缓冲这种负面影响。
This study examined the associations between older adults' daily physical symptoms (e.g., chest pain or difficulty breathing) and 2-year changes in chronic health problems (e.g., cardiovascular disease or cancer) and in functional problems (e.g., difficulty dressing or moving around at home). We reasoned that these associations depend on a person's active control processes aimed at counteracting physical health problems (i.e., health-engagement control strategies, or HECS). In particular, we hypothesized that high levels of HECS buffer the adverse effect of daily physical symptoms on increases in chronic and functional health problems. We found that daily physical symptoms were associated with declines in chronic and functional health among older adults who were not engaged in addressing their health problems, but not among their counterparts who reported high levels of HECS. These findings suggest that active control strategies play an important role in the maintenance of older adults' physical health.