LONDON - A study has found that happiness levels through life follow a U-shape, with people at their saddest at the age of 48.

The study by David Blanchflower, a former Bank of England chief, concluded that moods reach their lowest point at the age of 48.3, after which people become successively happier.

The highest levels of happiness were found among people aged 18 to 25.

For some, the notion of a “midlife crisis” is one fraught with myth, an overly-simplifed way of explaining behaviours such as making lavish purchases.

But according to a new study, there may be some truth to it, as people are estimated to experience their unhappiest state when they are around the age of 47.

Professor David Blanchflower CBE, an economics professor at Dartmouth College in the US and a former policy maker at the Bank of England, conducted an investigation into the “U-shaped” nature of happiness.

The study, which was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, assessed data from 132 countries, including 95 developing countries and 37 developed countries, to evaluate the connection between wellbeing and age.

Professor Blanchflower concluded his study by stating that “the happiness curve is everywhere”.

In May 2019, medical historian professor Mark Jackson called for society to “stop trivialising the midlife crisis” as it could be a sign of mental health issues.

The academic explained that there is plenty of research into the correlation between mental health and physical changes in adolescence and old age, but less so in middle age.