Happiness, Unhappiness, and Risk for Death

To ascertain whether unhappiness and happiness are causally linked to mortality, investigators in the U.K. measured assessed health (self-reported and indicated by medical history) and self-reported happiness or unhappiness in >800,000 women (median age at baseline, 59).

During a 10-year mean follow-up, 4% of women died. Those who reported poor health were more likely to be unhappy. Risk for death during follow-up was elevated in women with poor health and in those who reported unhappiness. However, after adjustment for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors and health at baseline, unhappiness was not associated with increased risk for death. Because poor health strongly predicted mortality, the investigators examined the relation between ha…