Optimism
Nine years ago a study group — 999 men and women aged 65 to 85 — completed a questionnaire on health, self-respect, morale, optimism and relationships. Since then, 397 of them have died.
Optimistic participants had a 55 percent lower risk of death from all causes and 23 percent lower risk of death from heart failure.
The work was led by Erik Giltay of the Psychiatric Center GGZ Delfland.
Optimism protected men and women equally against heart-related death among the study members. Heart disease is the number one killer of American women: One in three dies from it.
“Study: Optimists Live Longer,” by Robert Roy Britt, Live Science, Health SciTech