New Study Links Mental and Physical Health

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin Madison are proving what many people have long suspected. According to a new study, mental health influences physical wellbeing

Director of the UW’s Institute on Aging Carol Ryff says her new study could change the way doctors think about preventative medicine. During the study, her team identified biological markers known to make people more susceptible to certain diseases. They then measured those against life history.

Ryff says resiliency, or having psychological strength, directly correlated with better health outcomes. “Who remains healthy as they move across the decades of adult life requires input on a much broader level than just one so called medical profile for medical conditions.”

Ryff says her study confirmed that there is more to being healthy than just genetics. For example, she found that people who live at or slightly above the poverty level, who stay involved in a strong community and have nurturing mothers are far less likely to suffer from things like cardio-vascular disease as they age. She says that finding has many important implications. “These psychological and social factors are not just correlated with health. They predict real outcomes like how long people live and at what age they may succumb to disease.”

Ryff and her team are currently working with African Americans in Milwaukee researching how challenges like high unemployment and infant mortality rates affect physical health.