Impact of resilience on health in older adults: a cross-sectional analysis from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS)

OBJECTIVES: Self-rated health (SRH) is a predictor of objective health measures, including mortality and morbidity. The link between resilience and SRH among the elderly is unclear. We aim to examine whether resilience aligns with SRH and, secondarily, whether resilience can override the negative health consequences of adverse childhood experiences (ACE). DESIGN AND SETTING: We use 2012, 2014 and 2016 data from the International Mobility in Aging Study, a longitudinal cohort study that collects survey and biophysical data from Albania, Brazil, Colombia and Canada. The main independent variables were resilience and ACE (social and economic). PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling 65–74 year olds (in 2012) were recruited through primary care registers. The sample size of the study was 1506. PRIMARY OUTCOME: The outcome measure was SRH. RESULTS: We found that sex, site, economic ACE, current income sufficiency, current depressive symptoms, current physical function and current resilience were associated with current SRH. In regression analyses, we showed that the association between ACE and SRH disappeared once factors such as sex, site, income, depression, physical health and resilience were considered. CONCLUSIONS: The association between resilience and health poses a compelling argument for building resilience throughout life.