It’s getting tougher these days to think of the glass as half full rather than half empty, but if you’re going to survive this economic crisis — literally — you might as well try.
That’s the lesson from a large study of death rates in optimistic vs. pessimistic women, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. Using data from the Women’s Health Initiative, an ongoing government study of more than 100,000 women over age 50 that began in 1994, the team found that eight years into the study, optimistic women were 14% more likely to be alive than their pessimistic peers.
The participants were asked to answer a standard questionnaire that measured optimistic tendencies based on responses to statements like “In uncertain times, I expect the worst.” Those scoring highest in optimism on this scale were more likely to be alive eight years later, while those with the lowest, most pessimistic scores were more likely to have died from any cause, including heart disease and cancer.
At first blush, that’s not such a surprise, considering that optimistic people, being more hopeful overall, probably eat better, work out more and make regular visits to the doctor. Previous studies have indeed documented the life-extending benefits of optimism, although most of that research has involved men and has been conducted in small numbers. What’s more, not all studies have done a good job of weeding out potentially confounding factors such as health status and lifestyle. That’s what makes the new study different. “Taking into account income, education, health behaviors like [controlling] blood pressure and whether or not you are physically active, whether or not you drink or smoke, we still see optimists with a decreased risk of death compared to pessimists,” says Dr. Hilary Tindle, lead author of the study. “I was surprised that the relationship was independent of all of these factors.”
