These new money and health findings might surprise you

Cigna Healthcare ( (CI) ) recently published a health survey called the 2024 Vitality in America Report. The survey is designed to gather insights about health, finances and well-being across the country.

The Vitality in America 2024 report is based on survey data from a combined 7,500 U.S. adults in collaboration with research partners YouGov and Morning Consult.

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The healthcare conglomerate wanted to learn how people feel about a variety of factors that affect well-being, such as their finances, and physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual health.

In the context of the Vitality in America report, vitality is defined as overall health and well-being and "human performance," according to the document.

Although people in the U.S. continue to report concerning levels of stress, poor mental health and loneliness, the report wasn't all doom and gloom.

When compared with the same 2022 report, fewer people reported feeling financially insecure and people reported feeling more energized.

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The third annual report shows a small but significant 2% shift in people with medium vitality to high vitality -- the first sign of improvement since 2022. This year, 1 in 5 people report high vitality, largely due to gains in people feeling energized (up 3% from 2022) and feeling alive and vital (up 4% from 2022).

Men had higher vitality levels than women. Baby boomers (people 60 and older) had the highest level of vitality, while Gen X (45-59) had the lowest, with Millenials (25-44) and Gen Z (18-24) somewhere in between.

Finances are the leading cause of stress

Stress is an indicator of an individual's ability to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors and the ability to feel capable, confident, and connected to others. Finances continue to be the leading source of stress for the general population, no matter their vitality level, with 39% reporting frequent stress due to finances during the past month.

Similar to healthy behaviors, stress levels vary significantly between individuals with low vitality and those with high vitality. However, there is reason for optimism: In 2024, people with low vitality reported feeling slightly less stressed across five common daily stressors than in 2023.

"Our vitality research shows there is a strong link between being gainfully employed and having higher vitality because income enables you to access the resources to help you be healthier," said Stuart Lustig, M.D., national medical executive for behavioral health strategy and product design at Cigna Healthcare.

Respondents were asked to respond to the following statement: "I have the freedoms and opportunities to financially support myself." Some 87 percent of people said they have "high vitality" in this area while just three percent reported low vitality in this area.

"Around 80% of health outcomes happen outside the doctor's office, and those who lack financial resources for things like healthy foods, transportation and stable housing - what we call the social determinates of health - are less likely to thrive and be well," added Dr. Lustig.

Interestingly, the report also found that employment is another key to vitality. People who are employed view their health more positively and engage in healthier behaviors such as logging more hours of quality sleep, which is a critical element of a person's overall health.