Association of Optimism With Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality

Rozanski, Alan; Bavishi, Chirag; Kubzansky, Laura D.; Cohen, Randy

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.12200

Cited by 160 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 62 publications

(214 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…There are reported associations with coronary heart disease 3 , 4 , stroke 5 , all-cause mortality 6 , 7 , or all-cause mortality with sub-division into grouped causes of death 8 – 10 . A recent meta-analysis 11 confirmed these associations. In general, more optimistic people have longer survival than more pessimistic people.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Pessimism is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but optimism is not protective

Whitfield

Zhu

Landers³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scores on an optimistic-pessimistic personality scale have been associated with mortality, but optimism and pessimism scores are separable traits and it is unclear which has effects on health or longevity. the Life orientation test (Lot), containing items for optimism and pessimism, was included in a twin study on health of Australians aged over 50 in 1993-1995. After a mean of 20 years, participants were matched against death information from the Australian National Death Index. 1,068 out of 2,978 participants with useable LOT scores had died. Survival analysis tested for associations between separate optimism and pessimism scores and mortality from any cause, and from cancers, cardiovascular diseases or other known causes. Age-adjusted scores on the pessimism scale were associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality (Hazard Ratios per 1 standard deviation unit, 95% confidence intervals and p-values 1.134, 1.065-1.207, 8.85 × 10-5 and 1.196, 1.045-1.368, 0.0093, respectively) but not with cancer deaths. optimism scores, which were only weakly correlated with pessimism scores (age-adjusted rank correlation = − 0.176), did not show significant associations with overall or cause-specific mortality. Reverse causation (disease causing pessimism) is unlikely because in that case both cardiovascular diseases and cancers would be expected to lead to pessimism.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Pessimism is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but optimism is not protective

Whitfield

Zhu

Landers³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, considering premature mortality risk, an objective endpoint, offers some methodological strengths such as virtually no misclassification and research based on longitudinal design by nature of the outcome. Recent meta-analyses have suggested that life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning/purpose in life, and optimism are protective against premature mortality [34–36], though the quality of statistical adjustment for potential confounders in these studies was variable. Here, we briefly discuss evidence as to whether and how various PWB dimensions are prospectively associated with premature all-cause mortality, specifically.…”

Section: Psychological Well-being and Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological well-being as part of the public health debate? Insight into dimensions, interventions, and policy

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundIncreasing evidence suggests that psychological well-being (PWB) is associated with lower disease and mortality risk, and may be enhanced with relatively low-cost interventions. Yet, dissemination of these interventions remains limited, in part because insufficient attention has been paid to distinct PWB dimensions, which may impact physical health outcomes differently.MethodsThis essay first reviews the empirical evidence regarding differential relationships between all-cause mortality and multiple dimensions of PWB (e.g., life purpose, mastery, positive affect, life satisfaction, optimism). Then, individual-level positive psychology interventions aimed at increasing PWB and tested in randomized-controlled trials are reviewed as these allow for easy implementation and potentially broad outreach to improve population well-being, in concert with efforts targeting other established social determinants of health.ResultsSeveral PWB dimensions relate to mortality, with varying strength of evidence. Many of positive psychology trials indicate small-to-moderate improvements in PWB; rigorous institution-level interventions are comparatively few, but preliminary results suggest benefits as well. Examples of existing health policies geared towards the improvement of population well-being are also presented. Future avenues of well-being epidemiological and intervention research, as well as policy implications, are discussed.ConclusionsAlthough research in the fields of behavioral and psychosomatic medicine, as well as health psychology have substantially contributed to the science of PWB, this body of work has been somewhat overlooked by the public health community. Yet, the growing interest in documenting well-being, in addition to examining its determinants and consequences at a population level may provoke a shift in perspective. To cultivate optimal well-being—mental, physical, social, and spiritual—consideration of a broader set of well-being measures, rigorous studies, and interventions that can be disseminated is critically needed.

show abstract

“…For example, for heart patients, depression increases risk for slower recovery and early mortality ( Gathright et al, 2017 ). High optimism, the most studied positive asset, is linked to fewer cardiac events and lower mortality across studies of heart disease patients, controlling for depression ( DuBois et al, 2015 ; Rozanski et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Stress Resilience and Reserve Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The geroscience agenda: Toxic stress, hormetic stress, and the rate of aging

Epel¹

2020

Ageing Research Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlights Social, behavioral and psychological drivers of aging are an important part of geroscience. Toxic stress accelerates biological aging processes whereas hormetic stress can slow aging. However, the types, timing, and frequency of hormetic stress, especially in humans, needs to be better delineated in order to be useful. Stress resilience, a larger umbrella term including hormetic stress that focuses on recovery, can be measured across levels--cellular, physiological psychological and social functioning. Developing a deeper understanding of stress resilience will lead to more targeted innovative interventions.

show abstract

Association of Optimism With Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality

Abstract: This meta-analysis assesses whether individuals with a mindset of optimism have a lower risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.

Cited by 160 publications

References 62 publications

Pessimism is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but optimism is not protective

Pessimism is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but optimism is not protective

Psychological well-being as part of the public health debate? Insight into dimensions, interventions, and policy

The geroscience agenda: Toxic stress, hormetic stress, and the rate of aging

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About