Optimism Associated With Lower Risk of Having Stroke

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110721163025.htm

ScienceDaily (July 22, 2011) — A positive outlook on life might lower your risk of having a stroke, according to new research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

In an observational study, a nationally representative group of 6,044 adults over age 50 rated their optimism levels on a 16-point scale. Each point increase in optimism corresponded to a 9 percent decrease in acute stroke risk over a two-year follow-up period.

"Our work suggests that people who expect the best things in life actively take steps to promote health," said Eric Kim, study lead author and a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of Michigan.

Optimism is the expectation that more good things, rather than bad, will happen.

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"Optimism seems to have a swift impact on stroke," said Kim, noting that researchers followed participants for only two years. The protective effect of optimism may primarily be due to behavioral choices that people make, such as taking vitamins, eating a healthy diet and exercising, researchers said. However, some evidence suggests positive thinking might have a strictly biological impact as well.

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