@article{Kyriopoulos2018-ck,
title = {Are happy people healthier? An instrumental variable approach
using data from Greece},
author = {Ilias Kyriopoulos and Kostas Athanasakis and John Kyriopoulos},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-07-01},
journal = {J Epidemiol Community Health},
volume = {72},
number = {12},
pages = {1153--1161},
address = {England},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: From a theoretical perspective, several studies
indicate that happiness and health are-in some
extent-interrelated. Despite the mechanisms explaining the
relationship between happiness and health, there is still no
consensus regarding this link. Using recently collected primary
data, this study aims to examine the relationship between
happiness and health, and identify potential heterogeneity in the
association depending on socioeconomic status (SES). METHODS:
This study draws on data from a nationally representative
cross-sectional survey, conducted by the Greek National School of
Public Health in 2015. We applied an instrumental variable (IV)
approach to address the endogeneity, arising from the
simultaneous determination of happiness and health. Controlling
for several confounders (ie, socioeconomic, demographic,
lifestyle, social capital variables) we employed several IV
models, including two-stage least squares, IV probit and
bivariate probit models. RESULTS: We report strong evidence of a
relationship between happiness and health. This association
remains strong after correcting for endogeneity, and is robust
across different specifications. Further, we find a positive
relationship between happiness and self-rated health (SRH) for
low educated, but not for high educated. Similarly, we find a
strong relationship between happiness and health for the lower
socioeconomic strata, but not for the higher ones. CONCLUSIONS:
Overall, we show that happiness is positively associated with
health. Further, happiness significantly influences SRH in
low-SES individuals, but this association wanes for the higher
socioeconomic strata. This finding has significant implications
for health promotion, prevention and public health, and suggests
that policymakers have a wider array of choices for improving
health and tackling health inequalities.},
keywords = {prevention; public health policy; self-rated health; socioeconomic},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
BACKGROUND: From a theoretical perspective, several studies
indicate that happiness and health are-in some
extent-interrelated. Despite the mechanisms explaining the
relationship between happiness and health, there is still no
consensus regarding this link. Using recently collected primary
data, this study aims to examine the relationship between
happiness and health, and identify potential heterogeneity in the
association depending on socioeconomic status (SES). METHODS:
This study draws on data from a nationally representative
cross-sectional survey, conducted by the Greek National School of
Public Health in 2015. We applied an instrumental variable (IV)
approach to address the endogeneity, arising from the
simultaneous determination of happiness and health. Controlling
for several confounders (ie, socioeconomic, demographic,
lifestyle, social capital variables) we employed several IV
models, including two-stage least squares, IV probit and
bivariate probit models. RESULTS: We report strong evidence of a
relationship between happiness and health. This association
remains strong after correcting for endogeneity, and is robust
across different specifications. Further, we find a positive
relationship between happiness and self-rated health (SRH) for
low educated, but not for high educated. Similarly, we find a
strong relationship between happiness and health for the lower
socioeconomic strata, but not for the higher ones. CONCLUSIONS:
Overall, we show that happiness is positively associated with
health. Further, happiness significantly influences SRH in
low-SES individuals, but this association wanes for the higher
socioeconomic strata. This finding has significant implications
for health promotion, prevention and public health, and suggests
that policymakers have a wider array of choices for improving
health and tackling health inequalities.