Objective: The aims of the study were to assess whether subjective well-being is a protective factor for mortality in the general population and to analyze the differential impact of evaluative, experienced, and eudaimonic well-being.
Methods: Systematic review of articles in the PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed databases. Data on the studies' characteristics, quality, and the effects of variables were extracted. A meta-analysis was conducted on the studies included in the systematic review.
Results: A total of 62 articles that investigated mortality in general populations, involving 1,259,949 participants, were found, and added to those considered in a previously published review (n = 14). The meta-analysis showed that subjective well-being was a protective factor for mortality (pooled hazard ratio = 0.920; 95% confidence interval = 0.905-0.934). Although the impact of subjective well-being on survival was significant in both men and women, it was slightly more protective in men. The three aspects of subjective well-being were significant protective factors for mortality. The high level of heterogeneity and the evidences of publication bias may reduce the generalizability of these findings.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that subjective well-being is associated with a decreased risk of mortality. Longitudinal studies examining changing levels of well-being and their relationship to longevity would be required to establish a cause-effect relationship. Establishing such a causal relationship would strengthen the case for policy interventions to improve the population subjective well-being to produce longevity gains combined with optimizing quality of life.