Stay Positive And Live Longer, Study Suggests

March 9, 2009 6:52 a.m. EST

Miami, FL (AHN) - A new study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine touts the health benefits of staying positive.

The study analyzed information gleaned from about 100,000 women free from heart disease or cancer when they joined a hormone therapy trial in 1994. The women, who were all between the ages of 50 and 74 when the trial began, were given a questionnaire about their expectancies of the trial.

Eight years after the beginning of the trial, the study's researchers said the optimistic women had a 14-percent lower risk of dying from any ailment than the pessimists who took part in the trial. The optimists had a 30-percent lower risk of dying from heart disease than their co-participants.

The study also concluded that women who had a dour outlook about the trial had a 23-percent higher risk of dying from cancer by the study's end.

The study's lead author, Hilary Tindle, theorized that the positive participants may have had better outcomes in life because optimistic people may physically react to stress better than pessimists, and they may be more prone to listen to doctors' advice about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Tindle told ABC News.