Life satisfaction and blood pressure: A coordinated analysis of 16 cohorts

Research suggests that high life satisfaction is related to better health outcomes, but its relationship with blood pressure, a key indicator of cardiovascular health, remains inconclusive. We conducted a comprehensive cross-sectional investigation of the association between life satisfaction and blood pressure.

We analyzed data from 16 cohorts, each including life satisfaction assessments and blood pressure measurements. We meta-analyzed associations between life satisfaction and (a) continuous levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and (b) presence of high blood pressure, inferred based on measured blood pressure of ≥140/90 mmHg and self-reported medication use. We also conducted parallel analyses, predicting hypertension status operationalized based solely on self-reported diagnosis and medication use, as in previous research. Finally, we examined the role of depressive symptoms in these relationships.

Meta-analytic results revealed no consistent association between life satisfaction and either measured blood pressure levels or the presence of high blood pressure. These associations did not differ by the type of life satisfaction measure used or by the economic conditions of the studied countries. However, when considering self-reported hypertension, higher life satisfaction was related to a lower hypertension risk, consistent with previous findings. More depressive symptoms were related to both lower measured blood pressure and a higher risk of self-reported hypertension.

These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between self-reported and objectively measured health outcomes when understanding and investigating the relationship between psychological and physical well-being. We discuss caveats in relying on single-day blood pressure assessments or recalled diagnoses to infer hypertension status. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).