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HEALTH
PEOPLE WITH A SENSE OF PURPOSE LIVE LONGER,
STUDY SUGGESTS
BY KASHMIRA GANDER ON 5/24/19 AT 11:10 AM EDT
People who have a sense of purpose in life appear to
live longer, according to the latest research linking
this outlook to a person’s quality of life and to better
physical and mental health.
The authors of the study published in the journal
JAMA Network Open looked at data collected from 6,985 adults who were signed up to the Health
and Retirement Study on people ages 50 and above
in the US. The team looked at a group who completed
a questionnaire in 2006 about their purpose in life,
and used it to come up with a score. On average, the
participants were 68.6 years old. Next, the scientists
looked at causes of death in the group between 2006
and 2010. Variables included their demographic,
marital status, race and education level. Lifestyle
choices like smoking and drinking were also noted.
Purpose was defined by the authors as a selforganizing life aim that stimulates goals, promotes
healthy behaviors and gives meaning to life.
The data revealed that the stronger the participants
felt they had a purpose in life, the lower their risk of
dying. This result remained even when the scientists
adjusted their calculations for factors that could affect
their score, such as a participants’ sociodemographic
status and their health.
But scientists don’t know why there seems to be a
link between purposefulness and the length of life.
One explanation is that the attitude and overall wellbeing could prevent genes linked with inflammation
from being expressed in the body. Meanwhile, lacking
a purpose could dampen a person’s motivation to be
healthy and active, the authors suggested.
Andrew Oswald, a professor of economics and
behavioral science at the University of Warwick, in the
U.K., who studies human happiness, told Newsweek:
“It is as though the mind and body can draw on a pool
of immune responses, and a healthy mind allows the
body more immune response, in some way that we
simply do not understand in 2019. Remarkably, a
number of studies seem to show that happy people
and people with a sense of purpose live longer.
<https://tinyurl.com/yykc8uu4> Acesso em: 27.05.2019. Adaptado.
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