Successful Aging and Mortality Risk: The Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006-2014).

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to examine the association of successful aging with mortality and further find gender differences in the effect of components of successful aging on mortality risks.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3848 adults aged 65 and older from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006-2014) data.

MEASURES: Successful aging was defined as success in the following 7 components: absence of major disease, no depression, no freedom from disability, high cognitive and physical function, active social engagement, and satisfaction with life. All-cause mortality was measured by death certificate and family interview.

RESULTS: In both genders, the mortality rate was higher in the older adults who did not achieve successful aging than in their counterparts (men: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-2.43; and women: HR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.21-4.63). All components of no successful aging were associated with an increased risk of mortality except for no satisfaction with life in females. Mortality rates were predominant in major disease (HR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.54-2.25) and depressive symptoms (HR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.26-2.10) in males, and disability (HR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.68-2.57) and low physical functioning (HR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.79-2.98) were predominant in females.

CONCLUSION/IMPLICATION: We found that older Koreans who did not achieve successful aging had a higher risk of all-cause mortality than successful agers. There were gender differences in mortality risks across all components of successful aging.