title: Does life satisfaction predict five-year mortality in community-living older adults?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medicine , University of Manitoba , Winnipeg , Canada.
authors.forename: Philip D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: St John
authors.forename: Corey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Menec
mesh_terms: 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 / Q000453:epidemiology; D009026:Mortality; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept
keywords: Terrible–Delightful Scale; life satisfaction; mortality; subjective well-being