Your health: Optimism linked to a healthy heart

Optimism linked to a healthy heart

Having an optimistic outlook on life is good for your heart, according to a new study from the University of Illinois, UPI reports.

The study looked at 5,100 adults between the ages of 45 and 84, and the researchers had the participants complete surveys to assess their mental health and level of optimism.

Researchers also looked into their blood pressure, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, cholesterol levels, physical activity, diet and tobacco use — seven metrics used by the American Heart Association to assess cardiovascular health. Participants were given scores of 0, 1 or 2 representing poor, intermediate and ideal health for each metric, and their total points were added to determine their overall health level.

“Individuals with the highest levels of optimism have twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts,” said lead author Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois. “This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health.”

The more optimistic participants were 50 and 76 percent more likely to have intermediate and ideal cardiovascular test results respectively compared to their pessimistic counterparts.

More pessimistic people were found to have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

“At the population level, even this moderate difference in cardiovascular health translates into a significant reduction in death rates,” Hernandez said.

Survey: Americans are in good moods

Americans are more upbeat about their days than people in most rich countries, new data from Pew Research Center's annual Global Attitudes survey suggest, The Washington Post reports.

Pew surveyors typically ask respondents how their day is going as a first question in order to start a conversation and help the respondents become more comfortable with the interviewer. In the process, however, Pew has gathered a massive amount of data on how people in different countries say their day is going — 48,643 responses from 44 countries over the past year alone.

About two-thirds of people across countries said they were having a typical day in 2014, while 27 percent said their day was going particularly well, and 7 percent said their day was going poorly.

People in poorer countries were more likely than those in richer nations to say the day was a good one. However, the U.S. is a major outlier, with the highest GDP per capita among countries surveyed and a disproportionately high measure of reportedly good days.

Of Americans surveyed, 41 percent said they were having a good day, while 49 percent said the day was typical and 8 percent said it was bad.

Africans and Latin Americans were more likely to say it was a good day, with Nigeria, Colombia, Nicaragua, Kenya and Brazil all giving particularly positive responses. Bad days were the most common in Jordan and Egypt.