Happy older people live longer

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Research on positive affect, like happiness, and health outcomes is growing.
• Evidence linking happiness to reduced mortality, especially in older Asian populations, is limited.
• This study investigates the association between happiness and all-cause mortality in older Singaporeans.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between happiness and all-cause mortality in individuals aged 60 and above.
• To determine if happiness, measured continuously and dichotomously, predicts mortality risk.
• To contribute to the understanding of happiness's impact on longevity in an Asian context.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 4,478 Singaporeans aged ≥60 years from a longitudinal survey (2009-2015).
• Happiness was measured at baseline using three items from the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (0-6 score).
• Multivariable Cox regression models analyzed the association between happiness (continuous and binary) and all-cause mortality until December 2015.

Main Results:

• Each unit increase in the happiness score was associated with a 9% lower likelihood of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.91 [0.87-0.95]).
• Happy individuals (score=6) had a 19% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to unhappy individuals (HR: 0.81 [0.68-0.97]).
• These associations remained significant after adjusting for covariates.

Conclusions:

• Happiness is significantly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality in older adults within an Asian population.
• The benefits of happiness on longevity were observed even with incremental increases in well-being.
• Promoting happiness through activities and programs may contribute to longer lifespans for older individuals.