Lower personal energy and vitality is a factor in individuals delaying or avoiding paying for medical treatment or services and the rate at which they can recover, according to a report from Cigna Healthcare.
The Cigna Healthcare International Health Study 2024 surveyed more than 10,000 respondents in 11 markets: the US, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Kenya, UAE, Saudi Arabia (KSA), Singapore, and Hong Kong.
As well as linking lower vitality to avoiding paying for treatment, the report also found men and baby boomers were more likely to have high vitality, that being out of work had a high adverse impact on vitality and that workers with high vitality were more willing to help an organisation hit its goals.
Cigna designed the Evernorth Vitality Index (EVI) to help generate insights about health and wellbeing globally.
The index aims to give a full picture of health and wellbeing – composed of multiple, interdependent, dynamic dimensions – and presents the data as a single, score of whole-person health.
It accounts for how people feel about their autonomy, competence, and relatedness across eight dimensions of health: financial, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, environmental, spiritual/purpose, and occupational.
Cigna added that it defined vitality as an individual’s ability to pursue life with health, strength, and energy.
Deferring medical services
Individuals with high vitality were found to feel more capable of bouncing back from illness or injury than those with low vitality – 88% compared with 27%.
Conversely, those with low vitality were found to be more likely to defer medical services. Researchers found this was often driven by limited financial resources.
The report found these financial constraints may have pushed individuals, particularly those with lower vitality, to delay or avoid medical services to avoid incurring costs.
This was found to be evident in regions like the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and the United States, where the high cost of healthcare led many to delay or avoid treatment.
But the research found certain demographic groups were also especially affected by the cost of medical treatment, with women and younger adults, who also faced higher stress levels more frequently, particularly vulnerable.
For example, 17% of women reported delaying counselling or therapy services versus 12% for their male counterparts.
Additionally, while 19% of people overall did not receive necessary medical care due to cost, this figure increased to 23% among adults aged 25-44.
Those with high vitality were more optimistic about managing their health conditions; 90% of high vitality individuals felt confident in their ability to manage their health, compared to just 19% of those with low vitality. They also reported having more social support and better physical health.
Men and boomers have higher vitality
In 2024, 16% of the global population had what Cigna described as “high vitality”.
These people reported more autonomy and competence across all health dimensions, and also rated their overall health higher than other respondents, including physical and emotional wellbeing, underscoring the multi-dimensional character of health.
The research also showed important differences between key demographic groups.
Men had higher vitality than women. At a generational level, baby boomers aged 60 and above displayed the highest level of vitality, followed by millennials aged 25 to 44, and Gen Z aged 18 to 24. Gen X aged 45 to 59 reported the lowest vitality.
Those in work generally had higher vitality than those who were not employed.
But having a robust support system proved a crucial factor influencing vitality.
High vitality individuals were significantly more likely to feel they had access to emotional support, quality medical care, and trustworthy assistance when needed.
This strong support network contributed to their better management of health conditions and overall resilience.
In contrast, individuals with low vitality often reported less access to these support systems, which exacerbated their health challenges.
Impact of unemployment
Those in work scored higher across all vitality dimensions than those who were not (68 vs 63.4). At a national level, the highest levels of work wellbeing were in the UAE, KSA, and Hong Kong.
Although employed individuals tended to have higher vitality, there were other factors beside their work which contributed to this.
Countries such as the KSA and Kenya, which reported high levels of work wellbeing and overall wellbeing, also showed indications that family, physical, and financial wellbeing were equally important.
On the other hand, in European countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, work wellbeing was relatively low, which correlated with their lower overall wellbeing figures.
Among the various vitality factors, workers and non-workers differed the most in financial vitality, with 40% of workers feeling confident in their ability to financially support themselves, compared to 31% of non-workers.
In addition, workers were slightly more likely to feel they had the skills and tools necessary to live a healthy life (40% vs 36%) and saw more value in learning new things (55% vs 50%).
Working people were also more likely to feel they could connect with others and reported feeling more energised, alive, and vital compared to those out of work.
Unemployment affected almost all aspects of health, the largest being physical health, where there was a 16 point difference between employed and non-employed people.
Link to higher job satisfaction
But high vitality and wellbeing was also linked to higher job satisfaction and to better job performance.
Working people with high vitality were more willing to work harder to help their workplace succeed and were more enthusiastic about their job.
In contrast, low vitality in the workplace was connected to lower engagement and productivity.
Employees with low vitality were more prone to experience stress at work and were less motivated to contribute to the success of their organisation.