Assessing the Success of Successful Aging
Authors: Thomas A. Glass
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2003)

Editorials2 September 2003Assessing the Success of Successful AgingThomas A. Glass, PhDThomas A. Glass, PhDFrom Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health; Baltimore, MD 21205.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-139-5_Part_1-200309020-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The final stage of life ends, for each of us, with death. Put differently, in the end, our bodies are certain to fail. This, like taxes, is among the very few certainties of life. Despite this certainty, we increasingly (and exclusively) apply the yardstick of success to life's final chapter. No one speaks of successful infancy or the harder to imagine successful adolescence. There is something unexpected, almost oxymoronic, about the notion of successful aging. Perhaps it is this very contradictory quality that attracts us, for it allows us to envision an old age that is positive, productive, and hopeful.... References1. Glass TA. Successful aging.. In: Tallis RC, Fillit HM, eds. Brocklehurst's Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. 6th ed. London: Harcourt Health Sciences; 2003:173-81. Google Scholar2. Inui TS. The need for an integrated biopsychosocial approach to research on successful aging. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139 Part 2 391-4. LinkGoogle Scholar3. Patrick DL, Curtis JR, Engelberg RA, Nielsen E, McCown E. Measuring and improving the quality of dying and death. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139 Part 2 410-5. LinkGoogle Scholar4. Sarkisian CA, Hays RD, Mangione CM. Do older adults expect to age successfully? The association between expectations regarding aging and beliefs regarding healthcare seeking among older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002;50:1837-43. [PMID: 12410903] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Rowe JW, Kahn RL. Human aging: usual and successful. Science. 1987;237:143-9. [PMID: 3299702] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Syme SL. Psychosocial interventions to improve successful aging. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139 Part 2 400-2. LinkGoogle Scholar7. Mattson MP. Genediet interactions in brain aging and neurodegenerative disorders. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139 Part 2 441-4. LinkGoogle Scholar8. Landefeld CS. Improving health care for older persons. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139 Part 2 421-4. LinkGoogle Scholar9. Phelan EA, Larson EB. Successful agingwhere next? [Editorial]. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002;50:1306-8. [PMID: 12133032] MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Thomas A. Glass, PhDAffiliations: From Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health; Baltimore, MD 21205.Disclosures: None disclosed.Corresponding Author: Thomas A. Glass, PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205; e-mail, [email protected]edu. 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