What this means
Researchers searched three databases and sorted 76 studies about successful aging. Support from others and good health showed up as key factors in all nine studies that defined them.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- 76 studies from a review of 3,203 articles
- Kind of research
- A summary of earlier studies
The science
- Original title
- Investigating the Determinants of Successful Aging: A Systematic Review.
- Authors
- Haghshenas E, Vatankhah S, Pourasghari H
- Journal
- Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Published
- Oct 29, 2026
- Study type
- Review
- PMID
- 42953525 ↗
Abstract
Background
One proposed solution to address the challenges of aging is to promote the concept of successful aging and to coordinate various interdisciplinary institutions to lay the groundwork for its realization. The main purpose of this article is to look at research done on the factors that help people age successfully in various countries.
What they did
This study was conducted through searches in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The inclusion criteria were studies related to successful aging, published in English, and consisting of original research articles. Relevant articles were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. A survey of the included articles was conducted according to a predefined classification.
What they found
Among 3,203 studies, 76 articles met our inclusion criteria. Analysis showed that 67 (88%) of these articles applied determinants to achieve successful aging, while 9 (12%) employed determinants for successful aging in their studies. Although many studies used foundational models of successful aging and analyzed data from previous work with these models, they were not excluded and were included in the final analysis. This review aimed to examine the determinants of successful aging identified in the selected articles and to highlight research gaps. The results revealed a decline in research interest in this field. Most studies focused on examining previously used determinants, while some provided new determinants of successful aging within their studied populations. Successful aging encompasses various dimensions that vary according to the culture and attitudes of different societies, warranting further attention. Among the articles that defined indicators of successful aging, access to a support system and health status were consistently identified as key indicators in all nine studies. This highlights the crucial role of both health and social support in achieving successful aging across different countries and cultural contexts.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Haghshenas E, Vatankhah S, Pourasghari H Investigating the Determinants of Successful Aging: A Systematic Review. Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 2026. doi:10.47176/mjiri.40.95. PMID: 42953525. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42953525/