Eric S Kim1,2,3, Scott W Delaney4, Laura D Kubzansky4,5. 1. Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. eskim@hsph.harvard.edu. 2. Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. eskim@hsph.harvard.edu. 3. Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. eskim@hsph.harvard.edu. 4. Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. 5. Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In this review, we synthesize recent research that has reported associations of a higher sense of purpose in life with reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), and then explore mechanisms that might underlie these associations. RECENT FINDINGS: Accumulating observational and experimental evidence suggests that having a higher sense of purpose might influence CVD risk through three pathways: (1) enhancement of other psychological and social resources that buffer against the cardiotoxic effects of overwhelming stress; (2) indirect effects through health behaviors; and (3) direct effects on biological pathways. A sense of purpose in life is emerging as an independent risk factor for incident CVD. A key remaining question is whether purpose causally effects CVD risk; in the "Future Research Directions" section, we focus on work needed to establish causality and provide suggestions for next steps.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In this review, we synthesize recent research that has reported associations of a higher sense of purpose in life with reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), and then explore mechanisms that might underlie these associations. RECENT FINDINGS: Accumulating observational and experimental evidence suggests that having a higher sense of purpose might influence CVD risk through three pathways: (1) enhancement of other psychological and social resources that buffer against the cardiotoxic effects of overwhelming stress; (2) indirect effects through health behaviors; and (3) direct effects on biological pathways. A sense of purpose in life is emerging as an independent risk factor for incident CVD. A key remaining question is whether purpose causally effects CVD risk; in the "Future Research Directions" section, we focus on work needed to establish causality and provide suggestions for next steps.
Entities:
Keywords:
Cardiovascular disease; Epidemiology; Health psychology; Psychological well-being; Purpose in life, meaning in life
Authors: Laura D Kubzansky; Jeff C Huffman; Julia K Boehm; Rosalba Hernandez; Eric S Kim; Hayami K Koga; Emily H Feig; Donald M Lloyd-Jones; Martin E P Seligman; Darwin R Labarthe Journal: J Am Coll Cardiol Date: 2018-09-18 Impact factor: 24.094
Authors: John M Salsman; Benjamin D Schalet; Crystal L Park; Login George; Michael F Steger; Elizabeth A Hahn; Mallory A Snyder; David Cella Journal: Qual Life Res Date: 2020-04-19 Impact factor: 4.147
Authors: Koichiro Shiba; Laura D Kubzansky; David R Williams; Tyler J VanderWeele; Eric S Kim Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2021-05-18 Impact factor: 6.604
Authors: Eric S Kim; Carol Ryff; Afton Hassett; Chad Brummett; Charlotte Yeh; Victor Strecher Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2020-09 Impact factor: 3.864