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Cited by 397Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionHealth disparities and outcomesHealth, psychology, and well-being

To Flourish or Not: Positive Mental Health and All-Cause Mortality

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Keyes, Corey L. M., Simoes, Eduardo J.·2012·American Journal of Public Health
DOI 10.2105/ajph.2012.300918PMC PMC3477942
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Abstract

Objectives. We investigated whether positive mental health predicts all-cause mortality. Methods. Data were from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study (n = 3032), which at baseline in 1995 measured positive mental health (flourishing and not) and past-year mental illness (major depressive episode, panic attacks, and generalized anxiety disorders), and linked respondents with National Death Index records in a 10-year follow-up ending in 2005. Covariates were age, gender, race, education, any past-year mental illness, smoking, physical inactivity, physical diseases, and physical disease risk factors. Results. A total of 6.3% of participants died during the study period. The final and fully adjusted odds ratio of mortality was 1.62 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00, 2.62; P = .05) for adults who were not flourishing, relative to participants with flourishing mental health. Age, gender, race, education, smoking, physical inactivity, cardiovascular disease, and HIV/AIDS were significant predictors of death during the study period. Conclusions. The absence of positive mental health increased the probability of all-cause mortality for men and women at all ages after adjustment for known causes of death.

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [2]Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging Evidence, Practice. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2004 [Google Scholar]
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Authors
Keyes, C. L. M., & Simoes, E. J.
Affiliations
  • Emory University (US)
  • Corey L. M. Keyes is with the Department of Sociology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. Eduardo J. Simoes is with the Department of Health Management and Informatics, University of Missouri–Columbia School of Medicine, Columbia.
ORCID
Keyes, Corey L. M.
Venue
American Journal of Public Health
Publisher
American Public Health Association
Published
2012-11
Volume
102
Issue
11
Pages
2164-2172
ISSN
  • 0090-0036 (ISSN-L)
  • 1541-0048
DOI
10.2105/ajph.2012.300918
PMC
PMC3477942
OpenAlex
W2166140021
Cited by
397
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 58 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 8
FWCI
20.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • National Institute on Aging (P01AG020166)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, psychology, and well-being
Keywords
positive mental health, eudaimonia, all-cause mortality, mental illness, depression, panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, Midlife in the United States study, predictors of death, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, physical inactivity, smoking
MeSH terms
Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Mental Disorders, Cardiovascular Diseases, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Mortality, Sex Factors, Smoking, United States, HIV Infections, Chi-Square Distribution, Logistic Models, Racial Groups, Sedentary Behavior

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