Does life satisfaction predict five-year mortality in community-living older adults?
OBJECTIVES
Depression and depressive symptoms predict death, but it is less clear if more general measures of life satisfaction (LS) predict death. Our objectives were to determine: (1) if LS predicts mortality over a five-year period in community-living older adults; and (2) which aspects of LS predict death.


METHOD
1751 adults over the age of 65 who were living in the community were sampled from a representative population sampling frame in 1991/1992 and followed five years later. Age, gender, and education were self-reported. An index of multimorbidity and the Older American Resource Survey measured health and functional status, and the Terrible-Delightful Scale assessed overall LS as well as satisfaction with: health, finances, family, friends, housing, recreation, self-esteem, religion, and transportation. Cox proportional hazards models examined the influence of LS on time to death.


RESULTS
417 participants died during the five-year study period. Overall LS and all aspects of LS except finances, religion, and self-esteem predicted death in unadjusted analyses. In fully adjusted analyses, LS with health, housing, and recreation predicted death. Other aspects of LS did not predict death after accounting for functional status and multimorbidity.


CONCLUSION
LS predicted death, but certain aspects of LS are more strongly associated with death. The effect of LS is complex and may be mediated or confounded by health and functional status. It is important to consider different domains of LS when considering the impact of this important emotional indicator on mortality among older adults.
['St John|Philip D|PD|', 'Mackenzie|Corey|C|', 'Menec|Verena|V|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006304:Health Status D006305:Health Status Indicators D006801:Humans D007398:Interpersonal Relations D008297:Male D008350:Manitoba D009026:Mortality D010549:Personal Satisfaction D016016:Proportional Hazards Models D011788:Quality of Life D012649:Self Concept
life satisfaction mortality Terrible–Delightful Scale subjective well-being