Abstract Background Numerous studies have suggested that lifestyle-related factors are associated with mortality, however limited evidence is available for the Chinese elder population. Methods The data of this study was obtained from the Chinese Longitudinal Health Survey (CLHLS) during 2008 − 2018, lifestyle-related factors including body mass index (BMI), smoking, drinking, consumption of vegetables and fruits, physical activity and sleep duration were included as dependent variables in the analysis. A lifestyle risk score was created using six unhealthy behaviors: smoking, drinking, unhealthy weight, physical inactivity, not eat vegetables or fruits and short or prolonged sleep. The Kaplan–Meier curves were used to illustrate the cumulative effect of lifestyle factors on mortality and cox regression models were conducted to estimate the combined effects of lifestyle-related factors on total mortality. Results The results illustrated that low BMI, smoking, no fruit eating, and no physical inactivity were risk factors for total mortality. KM curves showed significant cumulative effect of unhealthy lifestyle factors on mortality. Compared with participants without any unhealthy factors, the hazard ratio (HR) for participants with six unhealthy factors was 1.335 (1.015,1.757) for all-cause mortality. Conclusions This study demonstrated poor adherence to a healthy lifestyle may increase all-cause mortality and specific combinations of lifestyle related factors have different effects on mortality among Chinese elderly population.
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