Self-reported mental health-related quality of life and mortality in men and women in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk): a prospective population study.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the relationship between self-reported mental functional health and mortality.


METHODS
Participants included 17,777 men and women aged 40 to 79 years at baseline who lived in Norfolk, UK, and had no known cardiovascular disease or cancer, and completed the anglicized Short Form 36-item questionnaire (UK SF-36) during 1996 to 2000 in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer-Norfolk prospective population study. We examined the relationship between mental functional health derived from the mental component summary scores of the SF-36 and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other causes during an average 6.5-year follow-up.


RESULTS
There were 1065 deaths during a total of 115,550 person-years of follow-up. Impaired mental health-related quality of life was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality in men and women. A decrease of 1 SD (10 points) in SF-36 mental component summary scores was associated with a 14% increase in all-cause mortality (hazards ratio = 1.14; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.07, 1.21) after controlling for age, gender, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol, alcohol consumption, diabetes, smoking, social class, and physical functional health.


CONCLUSIONS
Poor self-reported mental functional health is related to increased risk of all-cause mortality in men and women. Interpretation of this association requires further investigation.
Myint
Phyo K
PK
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. Pkyawmyint@aol.com
Luben
Robert N
RN
Surtees
Paul G
PG
Wainwright
Nicholas W J
NW
Welch
Ailsa A
AA
Bingham
Sheila A
SA
Wareham
Nicholas J
NJ
Smith
Richard D
RD
Harvey
Ian M
IM
Khaw
Kay-Tee
KT
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life