Optimism May Make for a Longer Life

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Optimism May Make for a Longer Life

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Mon Nov 1, 4:44 PM ET

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older adults with a bright outlook on the

future may live longer than those who take a dimmer view, a study out

Monday suggests.

 

Researchers in the Netherlands found that older men and women judged to

have optimistic personalities were less likely to die over the nine-year

study period than those with pessimistic dispositions.

 

Much of this reduced risk was due to lower rates of death from

cardiovascular disease among the most optimistic men and women in the

study. They were 77 percent less likely to die of a heart attack, stroke

or other cardiovascular cause than the most pessimistic group-regardless

of factors such as age, weight, smoking and whether they had

cardiovascular or other chronic diseases at the study's start.

 

The researchers, led by Dr. Erik J. Giltay of the Psychiatric Center GGZ

Delfland in Delft, report the findings in the Archives of General

Psychiatry.

 

Many studies have tied negative emotions, such as chronic depression and

hopelessness, to the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or other

conditions. Less clear, according to Giltay's team, has been whether an

optimistic disposition -- the tendency to believe that good things,

rather than bad, will happen -- may help an older person live longer.

 

To investigate, the researchers followed 941 Dutch adults between the

ages of 65 and 85. At the outset, participants completed a standard

survey on general well-being that included a scale that gauged their

tendency to be optimistic or pessimistic. The scale included statements

like, " I often feel that life is full of promises, " and " I still have

many goals to strive for. "

 

Study subjects were divided into four groups according to their levels

of optimism or pessimism. The researchers also collected information on

lifestyle factors, occupation, education and health history.

 

After an average follow-up of nine years, 42 percent of the study group

had died, but those with the highest levels of optimism at the start had

the lowest death rates-30 percent versus more than 57 percent in the

most pessimistic group.

 

With other factors considered, the risk of death was 29 percent lower

among highly optimistic men and women.

 

There are a number of possible explanations for the findings, according

to the researchers. One is that, although chronic disease was accounted

for in this study, pessimistic participants still may have been in

poorer general health, possibly suffering " subclinical " health conditions.

 

But optimism may have had positive effects as well. Optimists, Giltay

and his colleagues note, may be better at coping with adversity, and

may, for example, be more likely to comply with medical treatment if

they do fall ill.

 

It's also possible, they add, that there are biological benefits of

having a sunnier disposition, such as effects on the immune and hormonal

systems.

 

SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, November 2004.