BRUSSELS, June 16 (UPI) -- Some say those who have their health have everything and a European survey indicates those who have their health are more likely to be happy.
The survey findings, aggregated from Gallup surveys conducted in 38 European countries from 2005 to 2010, reveal people tend to be happier into old age in countries with better access to quality healthcare.
"Health is an important aspect of overall well being, and may be more important for the elderly as health declines in old age," Gallup says in a statement.
"Many of the countries with lower gross domestic products also have lower satisfaction with personal health and lower satisfaction with the availability of quality healthcare, ranging from 35 percent in Bulgaria to 92 percent in Austria."
Older people in countries with life expectancies of age 78 years or older are more than twice as likely to experience happiness than older people in countries where life expectancies are lower than 73 years, Gallup says.
The survey is based on 83,747 face-to-face and telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults in each country, age 15 and older, conducted from 2005 and 2010 in 38 countries. The survey has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points to 5.7 percentage points.
