Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine if anxiety is associated with mortality and if race moderates and depression mediates this relationship.
Method: Participants are 3,015 adults aged 70-79 years.
Results: Anxiety symptoms were significant predictors of all-cause, cardiovascular, and noncardiovascular mortality among blacks but not whites. Depression was not related to mortality.
Conclusions: Although the mechanisms that underlie the relationship between anxiety and mortality are unknown, routine assessment of anxiety symptoms in clinical practice, particularly in black older adults, seems prudent.