Risky Health Behaviors Tied to Poorer Mental Well-Being, General Health in Midlife
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, April 28, 2025 -- Risky health behaviors, both current and cumulatively over time, are associated with poorer mental well-being and self-reported health, according to a study published online April 24 in the Annals of Medicine.
Tiia Kekäläinen, Ph.D., from University of Jyväskylä in Finland, and colleagues examined cumulative associations of risky health behaviors with mental well-being and health from age 36 onward. The analysis included participants (from the 1959 birth cohort) in the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development.
The researchers found that more current risky behaviors were associated with more depressive symptoms (B = 0.10), lower psychological well-being (B = −0.10), lower self-rated health (B = −0.45), and more metabolic risk factors (B = 0.53). There were even stronger associations for temporal risk scores (depressive symptoms: B = 0.38; psychological well-being: B = −0.15; self-rated health: B = −0.82; metabolic risk factors: B = 1.49). Among temporal risk scores, alcohol consumption was negatively associated with most outcomes, smoking was associated with poorer mental well-being, and physical inactivity was associated with poorer health.
"The current and temporal accumulation of multiple risky health behaviors were associated with poorer mental well-being and health," the authors write. "Preventing these behaviors early in adulthood and midlife is crucial to avoid their accumulation and subsequent health risks."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted April 2025
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