Life satisfaction as a protective factor against frailty among Japanese adults aged 60 and older: A cohort study

Subjective well-being is linked to healthy aging as it decreases disease-related risk factors. Frailty is associated with biological factors such as inflammatory markers. However, the relationship between life satisfaction, a type of subjective well-being, and the onset of frailty is not sufficiently clear. This study investigated the relationship between life satisfaction and the onset of frailty among Japanese adults aged 60 years and older.

A prospective cohort study was conducted.

The sample comprised 1760 individuals aged ≥60 years living in Japan.

A baseline assessment was followed by a further assessment 2.5 years later. The main outcome, frailty, was defined as a score of 7 or more on the Kihon checklist. The independent variable was score on a life satisfaction scale. A logistic regression model was used to examine the relationship between the onset of frailty and quartiles on the life satisfaction scale, and odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals were calculated.

A total of 216 participants (12.2 %) developed frailty during the follow-up. Score on the life satisfaction scale at baseline for all participants was 39.7 ± 5.0. The odds ratio (95 % confidence intervals) for life satisfaction scale quartiles for the onset of frailty was 0.50 (0.33-0.75) for the Q2 group, 0.45 (0.28-0.72) for the Q3 group, and 0.43 (0.26-0.67) for the Q4 group, compared with the Q1 (lowest life satisfaction score) group.

The results suggest that high life satisfaction is a protective factor against frailty. Increasing the life satisfaction of Japanese adults aged 60 years and older may contribute to the prevention of frailty.