Comparison of characteristics between participants in the successful and normal aging groups
| Characteristic | Successful aging* n = 953 | Normal aging† n = 3598 |
|---|---|---|
| At baseline | ||
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 49.7 ± 4.9 | 51.3 ± 5.3 |
| Married or living with someone, no. (%) | 774 (81.2) | 2798 (77.8) |
| University degree or higher, no. (%) | 301 (31.6) | 872 (24.2) |
| Female sex, no. (%) | 247 (25.9) | 1087 (30.2) |
| At follow-up | ||
| Coronary artery disease, no. (%) | 0 (0) | 581 (16.1) |
| Stroke‡, no. (%) | 0 (0) | 178 (5.3) |
| Cancer‡, no. (%) | 0 (0) | 614 (17.1) |
| Diabetes mellitus‡, no. (%) | 0 (0) | 618 (17.1) |
| ≥ 1 limitation in ADL/IADL, no. (%) | 0 (0) | 581 (16.2) |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg, mean ± SD | 120.2 ± 10.9 | 128.9 ± 17.6 |
| Forced expiratory volume, L/m2, mean ± SD | 1.1 ± 0.2 | 0.9 ± 0.2 |
| Walking speed, m/s, mean ± SD | 1.3 ± 0.2 | 1.1 ± 0.3 |
| Cognitive function, z score, mean ± SD | 0.5 ± 0.7 | –0.2 ± 1.0 |
| Mental health score, mean ± SD | 56.3 ± 4.2 | 52.9 ± 9.2 |
Note: ADL = activities of daily living, IADL = instrumental activities of daily living, SD = standard deviation.
↵* For criteria defining successful aging, see Methods.
↵† Participants who were alive at the end of follow-up, but who were not classified as successful agers.
↵‡ Calculated using available data. For stroke, data were missing for 239 participants; for cancer, data were missing for 6 participants; for diabetes, data were missing for 5 participants.