The impact of subjective well-being on mortality: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies in the general population

Objective: The aims of the study were to assess whether subjective well-being is a protective factor for mortality in the general population and to analyze the differential impact of evaluative, experienced, and eudaimonic well-being. Methods: Systematic review of articles in the PsycINFO, Web of Sc...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martín María, Natalia, Miret García, Marta, Caballero Díaz, Francisco Félix, Rico-Uribe, Laura Alejandra, Steptoe, Andrew, Chatterji, Somnath, Ayuso Mateos, José Luis
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/709850
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/709850
https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000444
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:eudaimonic well-being
evaluative well-being
experienced well-being
longitudinal study
meta-analysis
mortality
subjective well-being
Medicina
Descripción
Sumario:Objective: The aims of the study were to assess whether subjective well-being is a protective factor for mortality in the general population and to analyze the differential impact of evaluative, experienced, and eudaimonic well-being. Methods: Systematic review of articles in the PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed databases. Data on the studies' characteristics, quality, and the effects of variables were extracted. A meta-analysis was conducted on the studies included in the systematic review. Results: A total of 62 articles that investigated mortality in general populations, involving 1,259,949 participants, were found, and added to those considered in a previously published review (n = 14). The meta-analysis showed that subjective well-being was a protective factor for mortality (pooled hazard ratio = 0.920; 95% confidence interval = 0.905–0.934). Although the impact of subjective well-being on survival was significant in both men and women, it was slightly more protective in men. The three aspects of subjective well-being were significant protective factors for mortality. The high level of heterogeneity and the evidences of publication bias may reduce the generalizability of these findings. Conclusions: Our results suggest that subjective well-being is associated with a decreased risk of mortality. Longitudinal studies examining changing levels of well-being and their relationship to longevity would be required to establish a cause–effect relationship. Establishing such a causal relationship would strengthen the case for policy interventions to improve the population subjective well-being to produce longevity gains combined with optimizing quality of life