Political polarization (extreme disagreement in political views) is harmful to health, psychologists from the University of North Carolina have found, The Journal of Health and Social Behavior noted.

The authors analyzed data from a survey of more than 4,000 people about their political views, participation in political life, emotions in relation to the opposing political party, and health status.

Analysis of the results of the study showed that people who were too emotional about politics and very polarized evaluated their health worse. They also participated more actively in the political life of their country.

However, the authors noted that the participants themselves assessed their condition, so in the future it is worth repeating the study to get more objective results.