A Brighter Outlook Could Translate To A Longer Life 
 
 Enlarge this image Luciano Lozano/Getty Images Luciano Lozano/Getty Images 
 
 Older women who look on the bright side of life were less likely to die in the next several years than their peers who weren't as positive about the future. 
 
 The research, published Wednesday in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is the latest to find an association between a positive sense of well-being and better health, though it's not yet clear whether one causes the other. 
 
 In this study, researchers used data from 70,021 women who were part of the long-running Nurses' Health Study, looking at their level of optimism as assessed by a brief, validated questionnaire in 2004. For example, they were asked to what degree they agreed with the statement "In uncertain times, I usually expect the best." Their average age was about 70 years old. Then the researchers tracked deaths among the women from 2006 to 2012. (That two-year lag was to avoid including women who were already seriously ill.) 
 
 They found that after controlling for factors including age, race, educational level and marital status, the women who were most optimistic were 29 percent less likely to die during the six-year study follow-up than the least optimistic. That reduced risk was seen in cancer (16 percent lower), heart disease (38 percent), stroke (39 percent), respiratory disease (37 percent) and infection (52 percent). 
 
 The researchers didn't see a difference in their results when they controlled for depression. When the researchers ran additional analyses controlling for existing health conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes and cancer, the risk of dying was 27 percent lower among the most optimistic women. When controlling for health behaviors like smoking and exercise: 14 percent lower. And when controlling for all those factors, the risk of dying was still 9 percent lower among the most optimistic women. 
 
 This study is significant because of its size, and because it digs into the effect of those potentially confounding variables, says Nancy Sin, a health psychologist at Penn State University who studies the psychosocial factors involved in heart health and aging and was not involved in the study. Other studies have also shown a relationship between optimism and physical health, particularly in cardiovascular health. 
 
 Optimism could conceivably lead to improved health outcomes through several mechanisms, says Eric Kim, an author of the study and research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. First, people who are more optimistic also tend to have healthier behaviors when it comes to diet, exercise and tobacco use. But the study shows that the relationship persists even when those behaviors are controlled for, suggesting something else is also going on. 
 
 It's also possible that more optimistic people cope better, says Kim. "When they face life challenges, they create contingency plans, plan for future challenges and accept what can't be changed," he says. 
 
 And finally, "optimism may directly impact biological function," says Kim, possibly through better immune function or lower levels of inflammation. 
 
 There are some short-term studies suggesting that optimism can be taught. But it's not yet clear whether there are easy techniques that can permanently change how hopeful someone is about the future. Nor is it known whether making someone more optimistic will also make them healthier. That would require a clinical trial. 
 
 Moreover, "not everyone wants to be optimistic," says Kim. "We should be sensitive to people's preferences." In addition, it's important to emphasize that optimism is only partly under our control. People have diseases for all sorts of reasons, many of which are not under their control no matter how optimistic they are, he says. 
 
 "It's important not to place any blame on patients," says Sin. She says it's important to understand exactly what it is about optimistic people that is potentially relevant to health — for example, perhaps they have better social relationships and support. 
 
 Katherine Hobson is a freelance health and science writer based in Brooklyn, N.Y. She's on Twitter: @katherinehobson. ||||| Optimists are twice as likely to be in ideal cardiovascular health 
 
 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- People who have upbeat outlooks on life have significantly better cardiovascular health, suggests a new study that examined associations between optimism and heart health in more than 5,100 adults. 
 
 "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." 
 
 Participants' cardiovascular health was assessed using seven metrics: blood pressure, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose and serum cholesterol levels, dietary intake, physical activity and tobacco use - the same metrics used by the American Heart Association to define heart health and being targeted by the AHA in its Life's Simple 7 public awareness campaign. 
 
 In accordance with AHA's heart-health criteria, the researchers allocated 0, 1 or 2 points - representing poor, intermediate and ideal scores, respectively - to participants on each of the seven health metrics, which were then summed to arrive at a total cardiovascular health score. Participants' total health scores ranged from 0 to 14, with a higher total score indicative of better health. 
 
 The participants, who ranged in age from 45-84, also completed surveys that assessed their mental health, levels of optimism, and physical health, based upon self-reported extant medical diagnoses of arthritis, liver and kidney disease. 
 
 Individuals' total health scores increased in tandem with their levels of optimism. People who were the most optimistic were 50 and 76 percent more likely to have total health scores in the intermediate or ideal ranges, respectively. 
 
 The association between optimism and cardiovascular health was even stronger when socio-demographic characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity, income and education status were factored in. People who were the most optimistic were twice as likely to have ideal cardiovascular health, and 55 percent more likely to have a total health score in the intermediate range, the researchers found. 
 
 Optimists had significantly better blood sugar and total cholesterol levels than their counterparts. They also were more physically active, had healthier body mass indexes and were less likely to smoke, according to a paper on the research that appears in the January/February 2015 issue of Health Behavior and Policy Review. 
 
 The findings may be of clinical significance, given that a 2013 study indicated that a one-point increase in an individual's total-health score on the LS7 was associated with an 8 percent reduction in their risk of stroke, Hernandez said. 
 
 "At the population level, even this moderate difference in cardiovascular health translates into a significant reduction in death rates," Hernandez said. "This evidence, which is hypothesized to occur through a biobehavioral mechanism, suggests that prevention strategies that target modification of psychological well-being - e.g., optimism - may be a potential avenue for AHA to reach its goal of improving Americans' cardiovascular health by 20 percent before 2020." 
 
 Believed to be the first study to examine the association of optimism and cardiovascular health in a large, ethnically and racially diverse population, the sample for the current study was 38 percent white, 28 percent African-American, 22 percent Hispanic/Latino and 12 percent Chinese. 
 
 Data for the study were derived from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, an ongoing examination of subclinical cardiovascular disease that includes 6,000 people from six U.S. regions, including Baltimore, Chicago, Forsyth County in North Carolina, and Los Angeles County. 
 
 Begun in July 2000, MESA followed participants for 11 years, collecting data every 18 months to two years. Hernandez, who is an affiliated investigator on MESA, is leading a team in conducting prospective analyses on the associations found between optimism and heart health. 
 
 "We now have available data to examine optimism at baseline and cardiovascular health a decade later," said Hernandez, who expects to have an abstract completed in 2015. 
 
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 Co-authors of the current study were Kiarri N. Kershaw of Northwestern University; Juned Siddique, Honghan Ning and Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, all of Northwestern University; Julia K. Boehm of Chapman University; Laura D. Kubzansky of Harvard University; and Ana Diez-Roux of Drexel University. 
 
 The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Center for Research Resources funded the research. ||||| Photo 
 
 THE FACTS 
 
 Laughter may not exactly be the best medicine. But a cheerful outlook on life may be good for your heart. So concludes new research on the impact of happiness and optimism on cardiovascular health. 
 
 Scientists have known about the reverse relationship between psychological health and heart health for some time; studies show that depression and anxiety can worsen outcomes for heart patients. But the findings on happiness and its medical impact over the years have not been as consistent. 
 
 Really? Anahad O’Connor tackles health myths. 
 
 In a new analysis, researchers at Harvard sought a more definitive conclusion by reviewing the results of more than 200 studies looking at cardiovascular risks and emotional state, making this the largest report on the subject to date. Over all, the researchers found that traits like optimism and hope, and higher levels of happiness and satisfaction with one’s life, were linked with reductions in the risk of heart disease and stroke. 
 
 Such associations can be hard to untangle. Does being optimistic directly protect health, or is it the reverse — that people who watch their weight, exercise often and are generally in good health simply have more reason to be happy and optimistic? While researchers cannot say for sure, some studies have found a protective effect for optimism even after controlling for things like socioeconomic status, body weight and smoking. 
 
 One study last year, for example, looked at 8,000 people and found a lower risk of heart disease among those who reported more happiness or satisfaction in areas like career, sex life and family, but not in areas like romance and standard of living. The relationship remained after accounting for the subjects’ demographic data as well as their health behaviors. 
 
 THE BOTTOM LINE 
 
 Optimism and happiness are associated with lower cardiovascular risk, but whether a positive outlook directly protects health is still under investigation. 
 
 ANAHAD O’CONNOR 
 
 scitimes@nytimes.com
– Feeling gloomy about life, the universe, and everything? Then take note of a new study that links optimism to heart health and a handful of other health positives, EurekAlert reports. Analyzing data on more than 5,100 adults, researchers found that the most optimistic are twice as likely to be "in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts," says lead author Rosalba Hernandez. "This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health." Optimists were found to have better total cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and body-mass indexes, and to get more physical activity. "It's an incentive to try to be optimistic," CBS New York quotes a physician as saying. That's "oftentimes difficult in the times we live in, in the world we live in and the sad news all the time," the physician goes on. "But if you knew that you could actually save your life, I think that’s a pretty good prescription." Published in Health Behavior and Policy Review, the paper looks at 11 years of data on people aged 45 to 84 across six US regions. They were assessed every 18 months to two years by seven health metrics (including blood pressure, BMI, and dietary intake) and filled out surveys about their optimism and physical and mental health. It's likely the first study linking heart health and optimism in the general population, although a 2012 Harvard study did connect overall happiness with cardiovascular health, the New York Times reported at the time. (Another study finds that those who feel younger than their age will live longer.)