Increased Mortality Risk in Older Adults With Persistently Low or Declining Feelings of Usefulness to Others

OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to determine if persistently low or declining feelings of usefulness to others in later life predict increased mortality hazard in older adults. METHOD: Data on change in perceptions of usefulness, health, behavioral and psychosocial covariates, and mortality originate from the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging, a prospective study of 1,189 older adults (aged 70 to 79). RESULTS: Older adults with persistently low feelings of usefulness or who experienced a decline to low feelings of usefulness during the first 3 years of the study experienced a greater hazard of mortality (sociodemographic adjusted hazard ratio = 1.75; 95% confidence interval = 1.22, 2.51) during a subsequent 9-year follow-up as compared to older adults with persistently high feelings of usefulness. DISCUSSION: Older adults with persistently low perceived usefulness or feelings of usefulness that decline to a low level may be a vulnerable group with increased risk for poor health outcomes in later life.