New research showing that older adults can regain optimal health receives extensive media coverage
Categories: Alumni + Friends, Esme Fuller-Thomson, Faculty, Mabel Ho
Older age is not all about decline, it can also be a time when people can get healthier and stronger according to research by Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work researchers Mabel Ho and Esme Fuller-Thomson.
Their study, published in the open-access journal PLOS One, found that nearly one-quarter of adults age 60 or older who when surveyed said their well-being was poor, reported optimal well-being three years later.
Factors linked to increases in wellbeing among the study participants included an active and healthy lifestyle, not smoking, becoming physically active, tackling sleeping problems, and preventing and managing chronic diseases. Fostering psychological, emotional and social wellness was also key.
“It’s never too late,” Ho (MSW 2002, PhD 2024), a sessional lecture at FIFSW told the Washington Post. “We noticed that some people actually improve over time. So that’s how we came to this very encouraging finding we call ‘reclaiming wellness.’”
Ho and Fuller-Thomson analyzed data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, examining the characteristics of 8,332 older adults who did not meet the criteria for optimal well-being at baseline. They assessed them again three years later, when they were at least 60 years old.
“This is a clear call to invest in prevention, financial stability, and accessible wellness supports — because these aren’t just smart policies, they can potentially improve the trajectory of aging for older adults who are struggling,” says senior author Esme Fuller-Thomson, Director of the Institute for Life Course & Aging and Professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
Ho and Fuller-Thomson’s study has received immense media interest, with 67 news stories published so far. In addition to the coverage in the Washington Post, their findings have been reported in Science News Today, Miami Herald, HealthDay, The Sacramento Bee, and more. View a list of publications gathered by PLOS.