Associations between Risk-Taking Propensity and Individual Lifestyle and Behavioral Characteristics—Analyses on Survey Data from 7232 Danes Aged 51–80 Years-of-Age

Background: From about age 50, the prevalence of diseases begins to increase along with other life-changing decisions, both in general and within the health domain. Understanding the associations between individual characteristics that influence behavior and domain-specific risk-taking propensity is important but remains scarcely studied among older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional survey on risk propensity based on a representative group of 7232 Danish citizens aged 51–80 years. Risk-taking propensity was the outcome, and questions were based on the German Socio-Economic Panel Studies (SOEP) and focused on the general and the health domains, respectively. Variables included sex, age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, BMI and questions related to individual characteristics. Analyses were based on chi-square and logistic regression. Results: Within the group of older adults, a significantly higher fraction of respondents reports a high risk-taking propensity when framed in the general risk domain (23%) than in the specific health risk domain (4%). In our sample of respondents above 50 years, modifiable lifestyle-related variables (smoking, alcohol intake, BMI) were the only significant determinants of risk-taking propensity within the health domain. Conclusion: Our findings challenge conclusions from previous studies on older adults’ priorities and behavior in the health domain when based on an unspecific risk framing, as older adults appear 5–6 times more reluctant to take risks if the setting is within the specific health risk domain compared to unspecific settings. Further, our study confirms the importance of including lifestyle-related variables in studies on risk-taking propensity of older individuals.