Does having meaning in life improve health?
Type de matériel :
4
Context: Meaning in life is a current concept in full resurgence in society. It encompasses purpose in life, individual beliefs, and meaning-making. Previous studies have suggested a link between meaning in life and physical or mental health. This overview of systematic reviews seeks to establish a statistical link between meaning in life and health. Method: Overview of systematic reviews looking for a statistical link between patient meaning in life and their health. Results: In total, 12 systematic reviews, including 6 meta-analyses, were included. Eight reviews explored a statistical link between meaning in life and health, and four investigated the effects of psychotherapeutic interventions targeting meaning in life on people’s health. Meaning in life is associated with a reduction in the risk of accidental mortality (RR = 0.83; 95% CI 0.75–0.91; I2 = 82.5%), and with delayed mortality after a psychotherapeutic intervention in older adults living in retirement homes or residences. It is also associated with a reduction in cardiovascular events (RR = 0.83; 0.75–0.92; p = 0.001; I2 = 56.2%). According to AMSTAR 2, seven systematic reviews are of low quality and five are of very low quality. Conclusion: Our overview identified that meaning in life plays a protective role with regard to health. This result is limited by the poor quality of the included reviews. Additional studies are needed to conclude a causal relationship between meaning in life and improved health, and to test this hypothesis in younger patients.
Réseaux sociaux