A study using information from more than 100 countries has identified the minimum threshold for happiness, beyond which increasing levels protect against premature death from non-communicable diseases.

The results, in Frontiers in Medicine , suggest that the health benefits of happiness only emerge in countries once their populations achieve a minimal level of subjective wellbeing.

The findings could be used for public health initiatives aimed at improving population health.

The researchers assessed happiness using a “Life Ladder” that measured subjective well-being—or happiness—with zero being the worst possible life and 10 being the greatest.

They found that happiness only acted as a population asset once a minimum threshold of approximately 2.7 was met on the Life Ladder scale,

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