Health locus of control and mortality: a population-based prospective cohort study

Objectives: The objective of the study was to estimate associations between health locus of control (HLC) and mortality. Study design & methods: The public health survey in Scania 2008 was linked to the Swedish cause of death register. In this study of 10,757 men and 12,322 women aged 18-80 years, 421 men and 235 women died during the 5.3-year follow-up. Survival analyses were conducted. Results: Respondents with only some or no internal HLC had significantly higher hazard rate ratios (HRRs) compared with respondents with high HLC. For women, the HRRs of those with low HLC did not significantly differ from the reference group after final adjustments for health-related behaviours. Conclusions: HLC is a predictor of mortality, and this association is to an important extent mediated by health-related behaviours. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health.