Subjective well‐being as a predictor of all‐cause mortality among middle‐aged and elderly people living in an urban Japanese community: A seven‐year prospective cohort study

Background: Research has reported a close relationship between subjective well‐being and maintenance of physical and psychological health in later life. We explored an intergender difference in subjective well‐being, correlates of subjective well‐being, and a subjective well‐being–mortality association among middle‐aged and elderly people, using a prospective population‐based study. Methods: The participants were 1034 men and 1413 women aged 52–77 years at the baseline, living in an urban Japanese community. The baseline data on age, number of years of education, hospitalization, chronic conditions, living alone and subjective well‐being (measured by the 17‐item Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale) collected in 1993. Results: Analysis of covariance controlling for potential confounders, revealed no intergender 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, chronic conditions and living alone in both genders were significantly, independently and negatively related to subjective well‐being. In the Cox’s multivariate hazard model adjusted for the confounders, there was a significant and independent association between a low level of subjective well‐being and the risk for all‐cause mortality in men (1‐standard‐deviation decrement; risk ratio [RR] = 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07–1.46) and women (RR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.15–1.83). Conclusion: Subjective well‐being is a reliable predictor for all‐cause mortality among middle‐aged and elderly people in both genders.