人们常认为心情好有利于健康，英国的一项有关老人精神状况的新研究对此提供了证据。调查显示，如果老人生活得相对更快乐，那么其生命延续的可能性往往更大。
伦敦大学学院等机构的研究人员在新一期美国《国家科学院院刊》上报告说，他们选取英国近4000名年龄在52岁到79岁之间的老人，调查他们的精神状况和死亡风险。
分析显示，老人的精神状况与死亡风险之间存在相关性。在平均为期5年的跟踪调查期间，快乐程度最低的老人群体死亡率为7.3%，而快乐程度最高的老人群体死亡率只有3.6%。也就是说，越快乐的老人越有望活得更久。
此前已有一些研究支持“快乐有利于长寿”的观点，本次研究又提供了新的证据。但研究人员也指出，这里所能证明的只是一种相关性，对于其中的因果关系还有待深入分析。
领导本次研究的安德鲁·斯特普托教授说，一种可能的原因是快乐能够反映出一个人在生活、人际关系等方面的舒适程度，而这些因素也会对身体健康产生影响。（生物探索）
相关英文论文摘要：
Positive affect measured using ecological momentary assessment and survival in older men and women
Links between positive affect (PA) and health have predominantly been investigated by using measures of recollected emotional states. Ecological momentary assessment is regarded as a more precise measure of experienced well-being. We analyzed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, a representative cohort of older men and women living in England. PA was assessed by aggregating momentary assessments over a single day in 3,853 individuals aged 52 to 79 y who were followed up for an average of 5 y. Respondents in the lowest third of PA had a death rate of 7.3%, compared with 4.6% in the medium-PA group and 3.6% in the high-PA group. Cox proportional-hazards regression showed a hazard ratio of 0.498 (95% confidence interval, 0.345–0.721) in the high-PA compared with the low-PA group, adjusted for age and sex. This was attenuated to 0.646 (95% confidence interval, 0.436–0.958) after controlling for demographic factors, negative affect, depressed mood, health indicators, and health behaviors. Negative affect and depressed mood were not related to survival after adjustment for covariates. These findings indicate that experienced PA, even over a single day, has a graded relationship with survival that is not caused by baseline health status or other covariates. Momentary PA may be causally related to survival, or may be a marker of underlying biological, behavioral, or temperamental factors, although reverse causality cannot be conclusively ruled out. The results endorse the value of assessing experienced affect, and the importance of evaluating interventions that promote happiness in older populations.
