Recent research shows that a high level of emotional wellbeing can contribute to recovery and to the chances of survival in physical illness.
The research consists of a meta-analysis that was conducted by University of Twente in collaboration with the Trimbos Institute. There was considerable diversity in the studies used for the analysis, but the results are similar for type of health outcome, year of publication, duration of follow-up and methodological quality of the studies.
Remarkably, few studies have been conducted on emotional wellbeing as a long-term predictor of course of illness. The existing studies on this vary in quality. The meta-analysis shows that wellbeing can have important consequences for physical illness.
To date, considerable research has been conducted on symptoms and pathology, but this meta-analysis shows that the question of wellbeing warrants greater attention.
Read the article here:
Lamers, S.M.A., Bolier, L., Westerhof, G.J., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E.T. (2011, online first). The impact of emotional well-being on long-term recovery and survival in physical illness: A meta-analysis. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, DOI: 10.1007/s10865-011-9379-8
More information: Sanne Lamers
