According to a new study published in JAMA Network Open, having certain specific health issues, such as depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease, among middle-aged women was tied to clinically important deterioration in health later in life.

The most predictive parameters of poor health at 65 years of age were cardiovascular disease, clinically significant depressive symptoms, and current smoking. Other parameters associated with poorer health status 10 years later included osteoarthritis, lower education level, and higher body mass index (BMI).

In this study, investigators included 1,091 women identified from the Study of Womens Health Across the Nation (SWAN), whose participants were recruited from six U.S. sites at or immediately before transitioning to menopause and were followed for 10 years from age 55 to 65 years. Over a period of 10 years, 206 (18.9%) women had clinically important declines of at least 8 points in baseline characteristics at around 55 years of age. The parameters significantly associated with these declines included a higher BMI, osteoarthritis, lower educational level, current smoking, clinically significant depressive symptoms, cardiovascular disease, and better (or higher) physical health and function score on physical component summary score (PCS)… (Medscape)