Researchers from University College London have been looking into ageing and happiness in a sample of 11,000 men and women over the age of 50 who they followed from 2002 to 2009. They found that men became happier after their retirement while older women were more likely to feel lonely and/or live alone. 18.7% of the women had depression symptoms compared to 11.5% of the men. Women aged 75 and over had high rates of depression, low life satisfaction, poor quality of life and high levels of loneliness but men over 65 were actually happier than younger men. Men and women between 50-64 who had frequent contact with friends and relatives were less likely to have depressive symptoms than those who had infrequent contact (13.1% vs 17.9%). More affluent older people had fewer depressive symptoms, greater life satisfaction, better quality of life and lower levels of loneliness.
