Happy, optimistic people have a lower risk of heart disease
and stroke, a Harvard School of Public Health review of more than 200
studies - reported in Psychological Bulletin - suggests.
While such people may be generally healthier, scientists
think a sense of well-being may lower risk factors such as high blood
pressure and cholesterol.
Stress and depression have already been linked to heart disease.
The researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health
trawled medical trial databases to find studies that had recorded
psychological well-being and cardiovascular health.
This revealed that factors such as optimism, life
satisfaction, and happiness appeared to be linked associated with a
reduced risk of heart and circulatory diseases, regardless of a person's
age, socio-economic status, smoking status or body weight.
Disease risk was 50% lower among the most optimistic individuals.
Being cheerful may protect against heart problems, say US experts.
'Not proof'
Dr Julia Boehm and colleagues stress that their work only
suggests a link and is not proof that well-being buffers against heart
disease.
“Start Quote
Psychological well-being is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, just like staying active and eating healthily” - Maureen Talbot British Heart Foundation
And not only is it difficult to
objectively measure well-being, other heart risk factors like
cholesterol and diabetes are more important when it comes to reducing
disease.
The people in the study who were more optimistic also engaged
in healthier behaviours such as getting more exercising and eating a
balanced diet, which will have some influence.
But even when they controlled for these factors and others,
like sleep quality, the link between optimism and better heart health
remained.
Although they looked at 200 studies, the researchers say this
number is still not enough to draw firm conclusions and recommend more
research.
Much of the past work on mood and heart disease has looked at stress and anxiety rather than happiness.
Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart
Foundation, said: "The association between heart disease and mental
health is very complex and still not fully understood.
"Although this study didn't look at the effects of stress, it
does confirm what we already know which is psychological well-being is
an important part of a healthy lifestyle, just like staying active and
eating healthily.
"It also highlights the need for healthcare professionals to
provide a holistic approach to care, taking into account the state of
someone's mental health and monitoring its effect on their physical
health."
