Think positive to keep your heart healthy, says study

A recent study has found that people having an optimistic approach in all walks of life are likely to have more healthy hearts.

The study, conducted by the researchers at University of Illinois, involved more than 5,100 adults to examine the relation between optimism and heart health.

The researchers found that people who have upbeat outlooks and positive approach in life have remarkably better cardiovascular health.

Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois who led the study, said that the people having optimism at its highest levels have two times the odds of being in supreme cardiovascular health against those pessimistic counterparts.

Hernandez also stresses that this association remains important, even after adjusting for poor mental health and several other socio-demographic characteristics.

During the study, the researchers surveyed the people and assessed their levels of optimism, mental health and physical health, based upon their self-reported extant medical diagnoses of liver, arthritis and kidney disease. The total health scores of the participants ranged between 0 and 14, with the higher total score indicating toward better health.

A research paper detailed in the January/February 2015 issue of Health Behavior and Policy Review showed that the optimist people had remarkably better cholesterol and blood sugar levels against their pessimist counterparts. Moreover, the study showed the positive people were more physically active, healthier body mass indexes and were also less likely to smoke.

Concluding the findings, Hernandez said that the study offered great clinical significance as a previous 2013 study suggested that a one-point surge in a person’s total-health score on the LS7 was linked with an eight percent reduction in their stroke risk.