[Subjective well-being and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and elderly people living in an urban Japanese community].

AIM: We examined the relationship between subjective well-being and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and elderly people, using a population-based prospective approach (Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology-Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Study on Aging).

METHODS

The participants were 1,034 men and 1,413 women aged 52 to 77 years, living in an urban Japanese community. The baseline data on age, gender, number of years of education, hospitalization, lifestyle-related illness, subjective health status, living alone and subjective well-being (measured by Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale) were collected in 1993.

RESULTS

Mean subjective well-being scores for men and women were 12.3 +/- 3.2 and 11.9 +/- 3.5, respectively. Analysis of covariance controlling for age, the number of years of education, hospitalization, lifestyle-related illness and living alone, revealed no inter-gender difference in subjective well-being. Multiple regression analysis to explore factors related to subjective well-being showed that age in men, and the number of years of education in both genders were significantly, independently and positively associated with subjective well-being, and that hospitalization, lifestyle-related illness and living alone in both genders were significantly, independently and negatively related to subjective well-being. From 1993 to 2000, there were 183 deaths and 258 dropouts. In Cox's multivariate hazard model adjusted for age, the number of years of education, hospitalization, lifestyle-related illness and living alone, there was a significant and independent association between a low level of subjective well-being and the risk for all-cause mortality in both genders.

CONCLUSION

Satisfaction with life is an important factor affecting longevity among middle-aged and elderly people.