Purpose in Life

Research summary

• A dedicated meta-analysis found greater purpose in life is associated with lower all-cause mortality and fewer cardiovascular events, and this is corroborated by independent large cohort studies rather than resting on a single dataset: a UK Biobank analysis linked meaning in life to lower all-cause and cause-specific mortality, a US national cohort found life purpose predicted mortality in adults over 50, and an early landmark study found purpose in life predicted mortality among community-dwelling older persons.
• The Japanese concept of ikigai (a sense that life is worth living) has been studied in several large Japanese cohorts, with the original Ohsaki study and the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study both finding it predicts lower all-cause mortality.
• Purpose is also associated with better objective physical function in older adults.
• The convergence of independent cohorts across different countries and cultural framings of "purpose" is a notable strength, even though — as with most of this evidence base — the data are observational rather than experimental.