Moderate evidence

A sense of purpose and survival in later life

Is having a sense of purpose linked to physical health, not just mood?

Bottom line

Among 6,985 US adults over 50, those with the lowest sense of purpose had 2.43 times the hazard of dying during the study period compared with those with the highest¹.

Researchers followed 6,985 adults over 50 from the US Health and Retirement Study. Purpose in life was measured with a 7-item questionnaire from the Ryff and Keyes psychological well-being scales, and deaths were tracked from 2006 to 2010².

People in the lowest purpose category had a hazard ratio for death from any cause of 2.43 compared with the highest category¹. For deaths from heart, circulatory and blood conditions, the hazard ratio was 2.66³.

The authors concluded that purposeful living may have health benefits and called for research testing whether interventions that build purpose improve health outcomes⁴.

What this does not show

This is one observational cohort. It cannot show that purpose causes longer life; poor health may also reduce a sense of purpose.
The study covers US adults over 50 and a four-year mortality window.

Claims and sources

Life purpose was significantly associated with all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 2.43, 95% CI 1.57 to 3.75, lowest versus highest life purpose category).
Research finding Moderate evidence
- Alimujiang A, Wiensch A, Boss J, Fleischer NL, et al. (2019). Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years. JAMA Network Open. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270
The analysis included 6,985 Health and Retirement Study participants older than 50; purpose was measured in 2006 with a 7-item questionnaire from the modified Ryff and Keyes Scales of Psychological Well-being, and mortality was assessed between 2006 and 2010.
Research finding Moderate evidence
- Alimujiang A, Wiensch A, Boss J, Fleischer NL, et al. (2019). Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years. JAMA Network Open. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270
For heart, circulatory and blood conditions, the hazard ratio was 2.66 (95% CI 1.62 to 4.38).
Research finding Moderate evidence
- Alimujiang A, Wiensch A, Boss J, Fleischer NL, et al. (2019). Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years. JAMA Network Open. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270
The authors concluded that purposeful living may have health benefits and that future research should evaluate the association of life purpose interventions with health outcomes.
Research finding Limited evidence
- Alimujiang A, Wiensch A, Boss J, Fleischer NL, et al. (2019). Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years. JAMA Network Open. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270

Version 1. First published 2026-10-24, updated 2026-10-24. Approved by The Human First editors on 2026-10-24. Sources last verified 2026-10-24. Machine-readable version.