Intelligence and life expectancy in late adulthood: A meta-analysis

Macarena Sánchez-Izquierdo, Rocío Fernández-Ballesteros, Elizabeth Lucía Valeriano-Lorenzo and Juan Botella

Intelligence, 2023, vol. 98, issue C

Abstract: In an aging society, it is crucial to understand why some people live long and others do not. There has been a proliferation of studies in recent years that highlight the importance of psycho-behavioural factors in the ways of aging, one of those psychological components is intelligence. In this meta-analysis, the association between intelligence and life expectancy in late adulthood is analysed through the Hazard Ratio (HR). Our objectives are: (i) to update Calvin's meta-analysis, especially the estimate of the association between survival and intelligence; and (ii) to evaluate the role of some moderators, especially the age of the participants, to explore intelligence–mortality throughout adulthood and old age. The results show a positive relationship between intelligence and survival (HR•: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.81–0.76). This association is significantly moderated by the years of follow-up, the effect size being smaller the more years elapse between the intelligence assessment and the recording of the outcome. Intelligence is a protective factor to reach middle-high age, but from then on survival depends less and less on intelligence and more on other factors.

Keywords: Intelligence; Mortality; meta-analysis; Systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:intell:v:98:y:2023:i:c:s0160289623000193

DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2023.101738

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