Do successful agers live longer? The Vitality 90+ study

J Aging Health. 2015 Feb;27(1):35-53. doi: 10.1177/0898264314535804. Epub 2014 Jun 6.

Abstract

Objective: To discover whether successful aging, understood as a multidimensional concept, predicts further survival in very old people.

Method: The population sample consisted of 1,370 persons aged 90 or over in the Vitality 90+ study. Four alternative models of successful aging were constructed, each of them consisting of physical, psychological, and social dimensions. Mortality was followed up after 4 and 7 years.

Results: Three out of four models significantly predicted survival at both follow-ups for the whole group. Separately, "success" in the physical, psychological, and social components was also associated with higher survival. The associations were stronger in women than in men.

Discussion: Successful aging, measured using physical, psychological, and social dimensions, predicts the length of future life in nonagenarians.

Keywords: health; longevity; nonagenarians; survival; well-being.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aging / physiology*
  • Aging / psychology*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Finland / epidemiology
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Forecasting / methods
  • Geriatric Assessment*
  • Humans
  • Longevity / physiology*
  • Male
  • Models, Biological
  • Mortality / trends*
  • Sex Distribution
  • Survival Analysis