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Look on the bright side – it is possible to be happy reduce your risk of chronic DiseaseThis is according to researchers who have found happier It could mean being healthy.
heart diseaseCancer, asthma and diabetes are all chronic or non-communicable diseases that account for three-quarters of global mortality.
While there are genetic, environmental, and lifestyle choices that all affect person at risk of diseaseIt also plays a role in how happy a person is, researchers suggest after a new study.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health broadly, including “mental and social flourishing”, suggesting that happiness May affect disease risk. But public health often focuses on quitting smoking, poor nutrition and inactivity.
“Happiness is not just an individual emotion, 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 pioneer in medicine, Researchers used data from 123 countries between 2006 and 2021 from various health organisations, global development statistics and opinion surveys to find out at what point on the “life ladder” happy means being healthy.
Professor Iuga explained, “The life ladder can be depicted as a simple zero to ten happiness ruler, where zero means the worst possible life and ten means the best possible life.” “People imagine where they currently stand on that ladder.”
A score of 2.7 can be found at the bottom end of the ladder, and people or countries that find themselves there are generally considered unhappy or struggling.
“An adjective that fits this level might be ‘difficult to cope’,” Professor Iuga said. But, at this point, improvements in happiness begin to translate into measurable health benefits.
Once the threshold is crossed and a country’s collective happiness rises above it, the study found that every 1 percent increase in subjective well-being is associated with an estimated 0.43 percent reduction in that country’s non-communicable disease mortality rate. This rate reflects the percentage of deaths due to non-communicable diseases among persons aged 30 to 70 years.
“Within the observed limits, we found no evidence of adverse effects from ‘excessive’ happiness,” Professor Iuga said.
The researchers found that below the 2.7-point threshold, small improvements in happiness (for example, from a score of 2 to 2.2) do not lead to measurable reductions in non-communicable disease deaths.
But countries that crossed this level of happiness were seen spending more per capita on health than countries that fell below it.
The average Life Ladder score in the examined countries during the study period was 5.45, with a minimum of 2.18 and a maximum of 7.97.
Researchers have suggested several ways that governments can raise their country’s happiness score above 2.7, including expanding obesity prevention and restricting alcohol availability, improving the environment through strict air-quality standards, and increasing their per capita health spending.
Although it is unknown why happy people have a lower risk of disease, experts have suggested that a sense of well-being may reduce heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol.
According to the British Heart Foundation, people who experience symptoms of depression are more likely to develop heart disease or suffer a stroke than those who report good mental health.
a study got a positive mindset Diagnosis after experiencing a stroke or heart disease can significantly reduce the risk of future health problems. A separate study in women found that high levels of hope were protective against angina, which is chest pain caused by heart disease.