Association of psychological resilience with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults: a cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundPsychological resilience has been associated with increased longevity in the oldest old; however, its significance in the broader older adult population has not been thoroughly explored. There is a lack of understanding regarding its relationship with cause-specific mortality in older adults. This study aims to address these gaps by investigating the association between psychological resilience and both overall mortality and cause-specific mortality in individuals aged 65 and older.MethodsWe enrolled 4,935 participants aged 65 and older in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, with baseline assessments conducted in 2014 and follow-up surveys in 2018. To evaluate the associations between psychological resilience and mortality, we used Cox proportional hazards models. Additionally, we employed restricted cubic spline plots to illustrate the dose-response relationships between these variables.ResultsDuring a mean (Standard Deviation) follow-up of 3.2 years (1.2), 1726 participants died. Higher psychological resilience was independently associated with lower all-cause mortality risk (Hazard ratio [HR] 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.67–0.82) and cause-specific mortality from cardiovascular disease (HR 0.74, 95% CI: 0.59–0.93), respiratory diseases (HR 0.63, 95% CI:0.45–0.87), and other causes (HR 0.69, 95% CI: 0.60–0.78), excluding cancer-related mortality. Similar effects were evident when examining the psychological resilience score. The dose-response analysis further indicated a gradual decrease in mortality risk corresponding to higher psychological resilience scores. Interaction analyses revealed that psychological resilience has a more pronounced effect on mortality from other causes among economically independent older adults (P-interaction = 0.02).ConclusionsEnhanced psychological resilience is independently associated with reduced all-cause and some cause-specific mortality in older adults. These findings underscore the importance of addressing psychological factors in the promotion of healthy aging and longevity.