Earlier joint trajectories of cigarette smoking and low perceived self-control as predictors of later poor health for women in their mid-60s

Introduction: The current study was designed to assess the prospective relationship between the earlier joint trajectories of cigarette smoking and low perceived self-control (X̄ age = 40-48) and later health problems (X̄ age = 65.2) within a community sample of understudied females. Methods: The participants were given self-administered questionnaires. Results: The results of the growth mixture model suggested 5 joint trajectories of cigarette smoking and perceived self-control, which consisted of 1 at-risk group (chronic smoking and low perceived self-control), 1 low-risk group (infrequent or nonsmoking and high perceived self-control), and 3 intermediate groups (i.e., high on one factor and low on the other). The results from logistic regression analyses supported a model by which (a) women in the at-risk group, in comparison with the low-risk group, were more likely to report 5 or more diseases (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 4.81; p < .001) and poor or very poor general health (AOR = 5.98; p < .001); (b) women in the at-risk group as compared with women in the intermediate groups were also more likely to report 5 or more diseases (AOR = 2.36; p < .05) and poor or very poor general health (AOR = 2.86; p < .01); and (c) women in the intermediate group were more likely to report 5 or more diseases (AOR = 2.04; p < .05) and poor or very poor general health (AOR = 2.09; p < .05) than women in the low-risk group. Conclusions: The findings highlight the significance of targeting dispositional factors (e.g., perceived self-control) in conjunction with smoking in designing programs for promoting the health of women in midlife.