Ryff and her colleagues measured levels of the inflammatory protein interleukin-5 (IL-6) in participants in the Survey of midlife in te United states, a long-term study of age-related differences in physical and mental health. High levels of IL-6 are associated with a number of health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and some cancers.
The researchers found that people whose education stopped with a high school diploma or less but who had high scores on measures of general happiness or self-acceptance or who felt their life circumstances were manageable, had IL-6 levels that were comparable to similarly satisfied, but highly educated people.
The findings could help in efforts to narrow the wide gap in overall health between
The rich and poor. ‘Other research shows that these psychological factors respond well to intervention,” Ryff said, ‘therapies exist that give people the tools to keep all these psychological characteristics working in their favor. They’ve been show to keep people from falling back into depression and anxiety, which we know means bad things for their health.”