The research emphasises the importance of fostering mental resilience, a dynamic and multifaceted trait influenced by factors such as gender, hormones, and genetic regulation of stress responses. According to the study, this ability varies through different life stages and becomes particularly significant in later years. Good coping skills in older adults can mitigate the adverse effects of chronic illnesses and disabilities. While physical resilience contributes to slower ageing and reduced death risk, the study explores whether mental resilience offers similar benefits.
To delve deeper, the researchers analysed data from the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which began in 1992 and surveys American adults aged 50 and above biennially, gathering data on their economic, health, marital, and family statuses. Specifically, they focused on data collected during 2006–08, when mental resilience was assessed for the first time, involving 10,569 participants with complete data, predominantly women, with an average age of 66.
Mental resilience was measured using a validated scale that includes perseverance, calmness, a sense of purpose, self-reliance, and the understanding that some challenges must be faced alone. Over an average follow-up period of 12 years, during which 3,489 participants died, a clear correlation emerged: higher mental resilience scores were consistently linked to a lower risk of death, with this relationship being more pronounced among women.
Participants’ resilience scores were divided into quartiles, and survival probabilities over ten years were calculated for each group. Those in the highest quartile showed a 53% lower risk of dying in the next decade compared to those in the lowest quartile. Even after adjusting for variables such as marital status, gender, race, and BMI, the association remained significant, although reduced when accounting for health conditions like diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as unhealthy lifestyles.
Ultimately, compared to the lowest quartile, the risk of death was 20% lower in the second quartile, 27% lower in the third, and 38% lower in the fourth, after adjusting for other influential factors. While the observational study cannot definitively establish causality, it acknowledges the possible roles of genetics, hormones, and early-life adversity, which were not considered in the analysis. Moreover, it relied on baseline data and did not account for changes that might have occurred during the monitoring period.
The researchers suggest that various factors, including the meaning of life, positive emotions, self-rated health, and satisfaction with social support, may influence psychological resilience. Enhancing positive emotions could strengthen psychological resilience’s protective effects and lessen the negative impacts of accumulated adversity on mental health in older adults.
The study underscores the potential benefits of interventions that promote psychological resilience in reducing mortality risks among older adults. This emphasises the broader implications of resilience for individual well-being and public health strategies aimed at extending life expectancy and improving the quality of life in the ageing population.
More information: Aijie Zhang et al, Association between psychological resilience and all-cause mortality in the Health and Retirement Study, BMJ Mental Health. DOI: 10.1136/bmjment-2024-301064
Journal information: BMJ Mental Health Provided by BMJ Group
