Curiosity and mortality in aging adults: A 5-year follow-up of the Western Collaborative Group Study.
Abstract
Research suggests that curiosity in older people is associated with maintaining the health of the aging central nervous system. We examined prospectively the relationship of curiosity in 1,118 community-dwelling older men to subsequent survival over a 5-year period. Curiosity was measured when the participants were a mean age of 70.6 years. Initial levels of trait and state curiosity were higher in survivors than in those who subsequently died. After adjustment for other risk factors, the state curiosity-mortality association remained significant in the Cox regression model. Ancillary analyses in 1,035 older women (M age at initial examination = 68.6 years) confirmed the pattern found in the men. State curiosity in these women was significantly associated with survival after adjustment for other risk factors. This is the first study to identify a predictive role for curiosity in the longevity of older adults.
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Reduced 5-year all-cause mortality risk has been documented for curiosity, a facet of Openness, in a mixed-gender older community sample.
“Reduced 5-year all-cause mortality risk has also been documented for curiosity, a facet of Openness, in a mixed-gender older community sample [74].”
From Personality and Longevity: Knowns, Unknowns, and Implications for Public Health and Personalized Medicine (2011) · cites this paper as [74]
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“Reduced 5-year all-cause mortality risk has also been documented for curiosity, a facet of Openness, in a mixed-gender older community sample [74].”
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- Authors
- Swan, G. E., & Carmelli, D.
- Affiliations
- SRI International (US)
- ORCID
- Swan, Gary E.
- Venue
- Psychology and Aging
- Published
- 1996
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 449-453
- ISSN
- 0882-7974 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1498
- OpenAlex
- W4252291132
- Cited by
- 100
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 3.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychology and Aging (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01ag009341-11)
- National Institute on Aging (AG 09341)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL39725)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychological and Educational Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- curiosity, mortality, older adults, cognitive aging, personality traits
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aging, Exploratory Behavior, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Mortality, Sex Factors
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