Relationships between perceived aspects of home and symptoms in a cohort aged 67-70

The importance of the home environment increases with age. Perceived aspects of home influence life satisfaction, perceived health, independence in daily activities and well-being among very old people. However, research on health and perceived aspects of home among senior citizens in earlier phases of the aging process is lacking. Therefore, the main aim was to explore whether perceived aspects of home are related to number of and specific domains of symptoms in a cohort of people aged 67-70. Interview and observation data on aspects of home and health, collected with 371 individuals living in ordinary housing in urban as well as rural areas in southern Sweden, were used. Descriptive statistics, correlations, multiple linear and logistic regression models were employed. The results showed that the median number of symptoms was 6.0. Reporting fewer reported symptoms was associated with a higher meaning of home (p = 0.003) and lower external housing related control beliefs (p = 0.001) but not with usability in the home. High external control beliefs were significantly associated with symptoms from head (p = 0.014), gastrointestinal (p = 0.014) and tension symptoms (p ≤ 0.001). Low meaning of home was significantly associated with heart-lung symptoms (p = 0.007), and low usability was associated with depressive symptoms (p = 0.003). In conclusion, showing that perceived aspects of home are important for health in terms of physical and mental symptoms, this study contributes to the knowledge on the complex interplay of health and home in the third age.