Effect of Having a Sense of Purpose in Life on the Risk of Death from Cardiovascular Diseases

Abstract

BackgroundMany studies have focused on disease causality, but few of them deal with health-promoting factors. Thus, we examined the effect of having a sense of purpose in life (ikigai) on mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD).MethodsIn 1988, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 2,959 Japanese subjects, ranging in age from 40 to 74 years, and followed them till the end of 2003. The level of their sense of purpose in life was evaluated by a self-administered questionnaire. After excluding those with a history of heart disease, stroke, or malignant tumor, 1,618 subjects (832 men and 786 women) who had completed the questionnaire were used in the analyses with Cox’s proportional hazards model.ResultsDuring the average 13.3 years of follow up, 249 deaths (172 men and 77 women) occurred as a result of all causes: 32 from heart disease, 31 from stroke, 63 from CVD, and 104 from malignant tumors. The adjusted hazard ratios for death in men with a strong sense of purpose in life, as compared with those with a low sense of purpose, were 0.28 (95% confidence interval: 0.10-0.84) for stroke, 0.56 (0.28-1.10) for CVD, and 0.62 (0.45-0.86) as a result of all causes. In women, no significant relationship was found between having a sense of purpose in life and mortality; this was possibly because the smaller number of deaths reduced the statistical significance.ConclusionWe found that in men, having a sense of purpose in life affected the risk of death as a result of all causes, stroke, and CVD.

A functional genomic perspective on human well-being

“…These findings mirror results from previous studies of adverse experience in identifying a similar set of target cells (34,36,41,42), with eudaimonic well-being in particular showing a reversal of CTRA-related transcription factor dynamics (12,33). These results identify specific psychological, cellular, and molecular targets for future analyses of the social signal transduction pathways that mediate the prospective health advantages of psychological well-being (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11).…”

“…social genomics | gene regulation P sychological well-being has been shown to forecast future physical health above and beyond its association with current physical health (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6), and above and beyond its association with reduced levels of stress, depression, and other negative affective states (2,3,(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). However, the biological basis for this relationship remains poorly understood, in part because of a paucity of information regarding the molecular signaling pathways that transduce positive psychological states into somatic physiology (12), and in part because of the multidimensional nature of human well-being (6,13).…”

Wellbeing and Society: Towards Quantification of the Co-benefits of Wellbeing

“…The analysis by Tanno et al (2009) uses data for Japan and suggests that both men and women with sense of life purpose are less likely to die from any cause as well as from cardiovascular diseases in different follow-up intervals. Koizumi et al (2008) find lower mortality risk from cardiovascular diseases, but only for men, in another 15-year follow-up study for Japan.…”

Emotion assessment using the NIH Toolbox

“…[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] However, the mechanisms by which psychological well-being affects health remain unclear. Pressman and Cohen 14 have suggested that positive affect has both direct and stress-buffering effects on health outcomes.…”