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Optimism
boosts health, life span: Study
Optimists live longer and healthier lives than pessimists,
according to a U.S. study of 100,000 women who were
surveyed about their personality traits and then followed
for eight years.
Those who said they were optimists were less likely
to die from any cause and 30 percent less likely to
die from heart disease. Women who were more pessimistic
had a higher overall death rate and were 23 percent
more likely to die from a cancer-related condition,
ABC News reported.
The findings were presented Thursday in Chicago at the
annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society.
Optimistic people may have less physical reaction to
stress, or may be more likely to follow a doctor’s
advice and, therefore, maintain their health, suggested
lead author Hilary Tindle, an assistant professor of
medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, the AP reported.
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