Health and Happiness among Older Adults

Abstract

The relationship between health and happiness was explored using a cross-sectional survey of 383 community-dwelling older adults. As a function of self-reported health, median happiness was increasing at a decreasing rate; happiness variability was decreasing at a decreasing rate. In multivariable logistic regression, lowest-quartile happiness was associated with poverty, unfavorable subjective health, debilitating pain and urinary incontinence, but not with the comorbidity count or other comorbidities. The results, robust to common method bias, suggest that subjective health measures are better predictors of happiness than objective measures are, except for conditions that disrupt daily functioning or are associated with social stigma.

Happiness and health in psychiatry: what are their implications?

“…This relationship was also found in adolescents 64 , the young 65,66 and the elderly 67 . However, in the elderly, a study found that health predicted subjective well-being, but the reverse was not true 68 , perhaps because, in this population, other factors previously listed in the sociodemography of happiness subsection 3,4 came into play.…”

“…However, different chronic diseases seem to impact differently on subjective well-being 71 . In the elderly, for example, the physical diseases that impose decreased happiness were disabling pain and urinary incontinence; these disturb the activities of daily living and are associated with social stigmas 67 .…”

In the choice between health and money, health comes first: an analysis of happiness among rural Chilean elderly

“…Happiness can be beneficial in numerous ways; it has positive implications for society as well as individuals, suggesting that the promotion of happiness is a wise investment in social and public health 6 . The literature reports various studies that have used the Subjective Happiness Scale 7 to measure subjective happiness 2,8,9,10 . Some recent studies relate to older adults.…”

Subjective Well-Being and Self-Reported Health in Osteoarthritis Patients Before and After Arthroplasty

“…Physical health is one of the important correlates of SWB, but only when self-reported health (SRH) ratings are used (George and Landerman 1984;)-the correlation between SWB and health status is rather weak when more objective health ratings (such as hospitalization, doctor visits, confirmed diagnoses) are examined (Angner et al 2009;Brief et al 1993;Okun and George 1984;Watten et al 1997). Concerning the causality of the relationship, several studies have shown that SWB causally contributes to health, with initial levels of SWB predicting important health outcomes in later life (Diener and Chan 2011).…”