Self-rated health and social role as predictors for 6-year total mortality among a non-disabled older Japanese population

We examined whether social role and self-rated health in an older population were predictors for 6-year total mortality among a non-disabled community-dwelling older population in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, surveyed in 1992 and 1998. A total of 8090 men and women aged 65–99 years who reported no disability in performing activities of daily living (ADL) at the time of the survey in 1992 and provided information on their survival status at follow-up 6 years later were analyzed in this study. One dependent variable was survival status in 1998 and independent variables were various factors potentially associated with total mortality, which were obtained from a questionnaire survey at the baseline. During the 6-year interval, having poor self-rated health and poor social roles were identified as significant predictors for total mortality among both men and women. This study revealed that social role and self-rated health are independent predictors for 6-year total mortality for non-disabled Japanese aged 65 years or older.