Answer to “How Are You?” Predicts Longevity

Sure, people who are in good health are likely to live longer than people in poor health, but now comes research from the University of Zurich suggesting that there is a very real correlation between the way people rate their health and the number of years they will live, and that correlation can continue for more than 30 years. A University of Zurich news release reports that the study, which was conducted in Switzerland, found that men who rated their health as “very poor” were 3.3 times more likely to die than men of the same age who rated their health as “excellent”, and the risk of death was 1.9 times higher in women who rated their health as “very poor” than for those who rated it as “excellent”. The risk of death increased steadily from an optimistic to a pessimistic rating: people in “excellent” health had better chances of survival than those in “good” health, the latter better chances than those in a “fair” state of health, and so on. The researchers suspect that, in addition to the likelihood that people who claim to be in good health actually are in good health, people who rate their health as excellent have attributes that sustain their health, such as a positive attitude, an optimistic outlook and a fundamental level of satisfaction with one’s own life. Read more from the University of Zurich.