Seniors who feel their life has purpose may live longer

(Reuters Health) - Seniors who feel their life has purpose may be less likely to die from heart, circulatory and digestive diseases and more likely to live longer, new data suggest.

In a study that followed nearly 7,000 people over age 50 for more than a decade, researchers determined that people were more likely to die at a younger age if they felt their lives had little purpose, according to the report published in JAMA Network Open.

“We found a strong association between life purpose and mortality in the U. S.,” said the study’s lead author, Leigh Pearce of the University of Michigan School of Public Health. “This has also been found in a number of studies conducted in a number of populations and seems to be quite a robust association.”

What constitutes “life purpose?”

“I think it’s about what people think is most valuable to them,” Pearce said. “Community, achievement, reputation, relationships, spirituality, kindness—these can all feed into any one person’s life purpose. So there is not a specific definition for any one person.”

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