The Joyful Path: How Happiness Contributes to a Longer, Healthier Life
In the quest for longevity, a recent study has shed light on the profound impact of happiness on our lifespan. The research, led by Cai Feng Song and his team, found that happier individuals tend to live longer, and this correlation is not just a coincidence. The study, which involved over 6000 participants aged 55 and above, revealed that happiness significantly reduces the risk of mortality.
The research team used a Likert scale to measure happiness, where 1 represented 'very sad' and 5 'very happy'. They found that for each integer score increase, the risk of mortality decreased. However, this relationship was not as straightforward as it seemed. When the team factored in socio-demographic, lifestyle, physical health, and psychological health factors, the impact of happiness on longevity became less pronounced. In particular, psychological health and functioning played a significant role in attenuating the happiness-longevity link.
The findings suggest that the association between happiness and longer life could be largely explained by these factors. In other words, happier people tend to live longer because they are generally healthier, both physically and psychologically. They are more likely to maintain a healthy lifestyle, have good social support, and possess a positive psychological outlook, all of which contribute to their overall well-being and, consequently, their longevity.
Article Information
Happy people live longer because they are healthy people
Published in BMC Geriatrics. Cai Feng Song et al.
Abstract
Objectives: Higher levels of happiness are associated with longer life expectancy. Our study assessed the extent to which various factors explain the protective effect of happiness on all-cause mortality risk, and whether the association differs between older men and women.
Methods: Using data from the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Studies (N = 6073) of community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 55 years, we analyzed the association of baseline Likert score of happiness (1 = very sad to 5 = very happy) and mortality from mean 11.7 years of follow up. Cox regression models were used to assess the extent to which confounding risk factors attenuated the hazard ratio of association in the whole sample and sex-stratified analyses.
Results: Happiness was significantly associated with lower mortality (p < .001) adjusted for age, sex and ethnicity: HR = 0.85 per integer score and HR = 0.57 for fairly-or-very happy versus fairly-or-very sad. The HR estimate (0.90 per integer score) was modestly attenuated (33.3%) in models that included socio-demographic and support, lifestyle or physical health and functioning factor, but remained statistically significant. The HR estimate (0.94 per integer score) was substantially attenuated (60%) and was insignificant in the model that included psychological health and functioning. Including all co-varying factors in the model resulted in statistically insignificant HR estimate (1.04 per integer score). Similar results were obtained for HR estimates for fairly-to-very happy versus fairly-to- very sad).
Discussion: Much of the association between happiness and increased life expectancy could be explained by socio-demographic, lifestyle, health and functioning factors, and especially psychological health and functioning factors.
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