Resilience score linked to lower mortality in adults
An observational study of 11,854 US adults followed for a median of 13.8 years linked higher scores to 29 percent lower all-cause mortality.
Independent replication
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers analyzed observational data from 11,854 US adults aged 30 to 79 years who had no atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at baseline. They developed an inflammatory resilience index combining three measures: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation; serum albumin, a protein reflecting nutritional status; and appendicular lean mass index, a measure of muscle mass in the limbs. Higher scores reflected greater physiologic resilience.
In cross-sectional analyses of 10,875 participants, each standard-deviation increase in the score was associated with 21 percent lower odds of fair or poor self-reported health and 31 percent lower odds of walking difficulty. Over a median follow-up of 13.8 years with 806 all-cause deaths and 221 cardiovascular deaths, each standard-deviation increase was associated with 29 percent lower all-cause mortality and 35 percent lower cardiovascular mortality.
Why it matters
Chronic inflammation, poor nutrition, and muscle loss often accumulate with age and erode physical resilience. Tracking these factors together may provide a composite marker of physiologic reserve to help identify adults at higher risk of functional decline.
Caveats
The functional outcomes relied on cross-sectional, self-reported survey responses, and the observational design cannot establish cause and effect. In addition, the findings may not apply to adults outside the ages of 30 to 79 or those with existing cardiovascular disease.
- Modeling and theory
- Inflammation
- Cardiovascular disease
- Inflammatory Resilience Index
- C-reactive protein
- Humans
The paper
Endeavor Health; Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital Research Institute
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026, Open access
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
