Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug;23(6):2581-2595.
doi: 10.1007/s10902-022-00511-8. Epub 2022 Mar 11.

Optimism and Longevity Among Japanese Older Adults

Sakurako S Okuzono  1   2 , Koichiro Shiba  3   4 , Harold H Lee  1   5 , Kokoro Shirai  6 , Hayami K Koga  1 , Naoki Kondo  7 , Takeo Fujiwara  2 , Katsunori Kondo  8   9 , Fran Grodstein  5   10 , Laura D Kubzansky  1   5 , Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald  1   5
Affiliations

Optimism and Longevity Among Japanese Older Adults

Sakurako S Okuzono et al. J Happiness Stud. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Optimism has been linked to better physical health across various outcomes, including greater longevity. However, most evidence is from Western populations, leaving it unclear whether these relationships may generalize to other cultural backgrounds. Using secondary data analysis, we evaluated the associations of optimism among older Japanese adults.

Methods: Data were from a nationwide cohort study of Japanese older adults aged ≥65 years (Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study; n = 10,472). In 2010, optimism and relevant covariates (i.e., sociodemographic factors, physical health conditions, depressive symptoms, and health behaviors) were self-reported. Optimism was measured using the Japanese version of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R). Lifespan was determined using mortality information from the public long-term care insurance database through 2017 (7-year follow-up). Accelerated failure time models examined optimism (quintiles or standardized continuous scores) in relation to percent differences in lifespan. Potential effect modification by gender, income, and education was also investigated.

Results: Overall, 733 individuals (7%) died during the follow-up period. Neither continuous nor categorical levels of optimism were associated with lifespan after progressive adjustment for covariates (e.g., in fully-adjusted models: percent differences in lifespan per 1-SD increase in continuous optimism scores= -1.2%, 95%CI: -3.4, 1.1 higher versus lower optimism quintiles= -4.1%, 95%CI: -11.2, 3.6). The association between optimism and lifespan was null across all sociodemographic strata as well.

Conclusion: Contrary to the existing evidence from Western populations, optimism was unrelated to longevity among Japanese older adults. The association between optimism, as evaluated by the LOT-R, and longevity may differ across cultural contexts.

Keywords: culture; ethnicity; mortality; optimism; psychological well-being; race.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST None declared.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of the Analytic Sample
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alimujiang A, Wiensch A, Boss J, Fleischer NL, Mondul AM, McLean K, Mukherjee B, & Pearce CL (2019). Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years. JAMA Network Open, 2(5), e194270. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baranski E, Sweeny K, Gardiner G, Members of the International Situations Project, & Funder, D. C. (2021). International optimism: Correlates and consequences of dispositional optimism across 61 countries. Journal of Personality, 89(2), 288–304. - PubMed
    1. Baruth M, Lee D-C, Sui X, Church TS, Marcus BH, Wilcox S, & Blair SN (2011). Emotional outlook on life predicts increases in physical activity among initially inactive men. Health Education & Behavior: The Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 38(2), 150–158. - PubMed
    1. Boehm JK, Chen Y, Koga H, Mathur MB, Vie LL, & Kubzansky LD (2018). Is Optimism Associated With Healthier Cardiovascular-Related Behavior? Meta-Analyses of 3 Health Behaviors. Circulation Research, 122(8), 1119–1134. - PubMed
    1. Boehm JK, Chen Y, Williams DR, Ryff C, & Kubzansky LD (2015). Unequally distributed psychological assets: are there social disparities in optimism, life satisfaction, and positive affect? PloS One, 10(2), e0118066. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources