The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, finds that people with a cheerful, trusting outlook tended to be in better health than those who take a darker view of life.

The study has tracked more than 97,000 postmenopausal American women for more than eight years, the largest study to date of the effect of positive thinking on health.

The women participating in the study completed surveys at study entry to assess their degree of optimism and their general level of hostility and cynicism. After eight years of follow-up, compared to pessimists, optimists had a 9 percent lower risk of developing heart disease and a 14 percent lower risk of dying.

“The majority of evidence suggests that sustained, high degrees of negativity are hazardous to health,” said Dr. Hilary A. Tindle, internist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and lead author of the study report.

Although the research team say that it is unclear why optimists were more healthy, the study results suggest that optimists were less likely to be depressed and to smoke, and were more likely to be younger, to have a higher level of education and to earn more. 

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/11/content_11860873.htm