Abstract
Left-handedness has been associated with decreased longevity, although this finding is controversial and not universal. The authors prospectively studied 39,691 women aged 55-69 years from the Iowa Women's Health Study through 5 years of mortality follow-up. No increase in mortality risk was found for left-handed women as compared with right-handed women (age-adjusted hazard ratio 1.10, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 0.86-1.39) or for ambidextrous women (age-adjusted hazard ratio 1.05, 95% Cl 0.73-1.49). Adjustment for body mass index, body fat distribution, smoking, and education did not alter these findings. Further analysis by cause-specific mortality (breast cancer, all other cancer, and circulatory disease) showed no relation to handedness. There was no difference in the mean age at death of left-handed, right-handed, and ambidextrous women. These findings do not support an association between left-handedness and increased mortality risk. Am J Epidemiol 1994;140:368-74.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 368-374 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | American journal of epidemiology |
Volume | 140 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 15 1994 |
Keywords
- Aging
- Cohort studies
- Laterality
- Mortality