The presence of and search for meaning in life may impact health and well-being, with a significant difference in this association for adults younger than vs. older than age 60 years, according to cross-sectional data published in Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

“Many in the medical field tend to dismiss the importance of positive psychological attributes such as meaning in life, optimism, resilience, wisdom, etc., as unrelated to physical and mental health,” Awais Aftab, MD, of the department of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, told Healio Psychiatry. “I think our study shows that medicine cannot ignore these aspects of our lives. How much meaning we have in our lives has a bearing on how healthy we are.”