Longer time horizons are associated with reduced risk of mortality and disability in older adults

Longer time horizons are associated with positive health behaviors, but the associations of time horizons with disability and mortality are less understood. This study aims to test the hypothesis that longer time horizons are associated with decreased disability and mortality in older adults.

Participants were 1052 older adults (mean age = 81 ± 7 years) without dementia. Proportional hazard models adjusted for age, sex, and education were used to examine the associations of time horizons with risk of mortality and disability.

During up to 11 years of follow up (mean = 5.7), 317 participants died. In fully adjusted models, longer time horizons were associated with reduced mortality risk (hazard rate [HR] = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.68-0.89). About 36.7% of participants developed disability in instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs) and 49.3% developed disability in basic ADLs during follow up. Longer time horizons were associated with a reduced risk of disability in basic ADLs (HR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.79-0.99) but not instrumental ADLs (HR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.80-1.03).

Longer time horizons are associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality and disability in basic ADLs among community-dwelling older adults, thus highlighting a potentially modifiable psychological risk factor for negative health outcomes in aging.