Optimistic women live longer according to US study
Optimistic women have a lower risk of heart disease and dying than their more pessimistic counterparts according to a US investigation published in the journal Circulation. Women who were deemed optimistic had a 9 per cent lower risk of developing heart disease and a 14 per cent lower risk of dying from any cause, and made healthier choices such as not smoking and eating well.
The study showed that cynical women who held hostile thoughts about others or were generally mistrusting were 16 per cent more likely to die over the eight year time-scale it took place.
Lead researcher Dr Hilary Tindle, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, said: "The majority of evidence suggests that sustained, high degrees of negativity are hazardous to health."