Look on the bright side - being happy could reduce your risk of chronic diseases. That’s according to researchers who have found being happier could mean being healthier.
Heart disease, cancer, asthma and diabetes, are all chronic or non-communicable diseases which account for three-quarters of global mortality.
While there are genetic, environmental, and lifestyle choices that all influence a person's risk of disease, researchers have suggested how happy a person is also plays a role following a new study.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health broadly, including “mental and social flourishing”, suggesting that happiness might influence disease risk. But public health often focuses on quitting smoking, poor nutrition, and inactivity.
“Happiness is not just a personal feeling but also a measurable public health resource,” said first author Professor Iulia Iuga at the University of Alba Iulia, in Romania.
In the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, researchers used data from 123 countries between 2006 and 2021 from different health organisations, global development statistics, and public opinion polls to find out at what point happy means healthy on a “life ladder”.
“The life ladder can be imaged as a simple zero to ten happiness ruler, where zero means the worst possible life and ten means the best possible life,” explained Professor Iuga. “People imagine where they currently stand on that ladder.”
A score of 2.7 can be found towards the lower end of the ladder, and people or countries finding themselves there are generally considered unhappy or struggling.
“An adjective that fits this level could be ‘barely coping’,” said Professor Iuga. But, at this point, improvements in happiness begin to translate into measurable health benefits.
Once the threshold is surpassed and a country’s collective happiness rises above it, the study found that each 1 per cent increase in subjective wellbeing is linked to an estimated 0.43 per cent decrease in that country’s non-communicable disease mortality rate. This rate refers to the percentage of deaths due to non-communicable diseases among individuals aged between 30 and 70.
“Within the observed range, we found no evidence of adverse effects from ‘excessive’ happiness,” Professor Iuga added.
Below the 2.7-point threshold, small improvements in happiness (for example, from a score of 2 to 2.2) do not translate to measurable reduction in non-communicable disease deaths, researchers found.
But countries that exceeded this happiness level appeared to spend more per person on health, in comparison to the countries falling below it.
The average life ladder score across the examined countries during the study period was 5.45, with a minimum of 2.18 and a maximum of 7.97.
Researchers suggested several ways governments could boost their countries happiness score above 2.7, by expanding obesity prevention and tightening alcohol availability, improving the environment through stricter air-quality standards, and increasing their per capita health spending.
Although it is unknown why happier people have a lower disease risk, experts have suggested a sense of wellbeing may lower risk factors of heart disease such as high blood pressure and cholesterol.
People who experience symptoms of depression are more likely to go on to develop heart disease or suffer a stroke than those who report good mental health, according to the British Heart Foundation.
One study found a positive mindset after experiencing a stroke or heart disease diagnosis could significantly lower the risk of future health problems. A separate study on women found higher levels of hope were protective against angina, which is chest pain caused by heart disease.
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