Low Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) is associated with deteriorated 10-year survival in men but not in women among the elderly

We studied Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) and its relation to 10-year survival in 75-year-olds from the general population. The PGWB global score (sum of six subscale scores) and the subscale scores were transformed to 0–100 scales. Ten-year survival in relation to PGWB global and subscale scores was studied in a cohort of 204 men and 213 women. Global PGWB score (median) was 83 in men and 79 in women (for difference p = 0.001). Significantly higher male scores were found for most PGWB subscales. Global PGWB score was significantly related to better 10-year survival in men (relative risk per ten points of score was 0.80; p = 0.001 and 0.85; p = 0.022 adjusting for chronic diseases and living alone) but not in women (relative risk 0.94; p = 0.478 unadjusted). Among 75-year-olds, PGWB score was significantly higher for men. A high PGWB score was significantly related to better survival in men but not in women.