Optimists May Have Fewer Strokes - BZ-SS

Optimists May Have Fewer Strokes:

Optimists May Have Fewer Strokes By Chris Kaiser, Cardiology Editor, MedPage Today Published: July 22, 2011 Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston. www.medpagetoday.com

Action Points  :

Action Points People who view the world through rose-colored glasses may have the best view, according to researchers who suggest that a healthy dose of optimism can reduce the risk of stroke. www.medpagetoday.com

A Survey:

A Survey A survey of more than 6,000 older Americans , actually a subset of participants in the biennial Health and Retirement Study , had a lower relative risk of stroke for each unit increase in an optimism measure, Eric Kim, a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues, wrote in a paper published online in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association . Eric S. Kim www.medpagetoday.com

“…scale…”:

“…scale…” Using a scale that ranged from 3 to 18, each unit increase in optimism was associated with an age-adjusted OR of 0.90 for stroke (95% CI 0.84 to 0.97; P <0.01). Moreover, although negative psychological factors – anxiety (OR 2.12; P <0.01), depression (OR 1.20; P <0.01), negative affect (OR 1.69; P <0.01), and neuroticism (OR 1.28; P <0.05) – were significantly associated with stroke, optimism was able to blunt their impact. www.medpagetoday.com

“…optimism protects…”:

“…optimism protects…” "The protective effect of optimism remained significant in all models, implying that optimism protects against stroke above and beyond the effects of the negative psychological factors tested," Kim and colleagues concluded. www.medpagetoday.com

“..studies..show…”:

“..studies..show…” "There is this notion that optimists are foolish and don't worry about health outcomes because they believe everything will be fine," Kim told MedPage Today in an interview. "But studies consistently show that high optimism is associated with health knowledge and the pursuit of healthy behaviors ." www.medpagetoday.com

“..taking the appropriate action..”:

“..taking the appropriate action..” Kim tempered that answer a bit by saying there is "an inflection point" where the health of those in the highest tertile (95th) of optimism begins to decline. The optimists in this small sample at the high end tended to believe everything will be fine without them necessarily taking the appropriate action to ensure the desired end, he said. www.medpagetoday.com

“..the first study to discover…”:

“..the first study to discover…” Nevertheless, this is the first study to discover a correlation between optimism and stroke. Previous research had shown that low pessimism and temporary positive emotions are linked to lower stroke risk. www.medpagetoday.com

“..more systemic,..”:

“..more systemic,..” The researchers made a distinction between optimism and other forms of positivity. "Happiness and joy, for example, can be temporary, but optimism is broader and will show up from day to day and action to action and is more systemic ," Kim said. www.medpagetoday.com

Slide 10:

For the study, Kim and colleagues used the Health and Retirement Study , a nationally representative and prospective panel study that surveys 22,000 Americans ages 50 and greater every two years. They focused on data from 2006 through 2008 www.medpagetoday.com

Slide 11:

Their analysis included a subset of 6,044 adults (2,542 men, 3,502 women) who were stroke-free at baseline. They adjusted analyses for chronic illnesses, self-rated health, and relevant sociodemographic, behavioral, biological, and psychological factors. www.medpagetoday.com

“…reduction in risk …”:

“…reduction in risk …” During the study period, 88 strokes occurred. For each unit increase in optimism , as measured by a modified Life Orientation Test-Revised, researchers found a 9% reduction in the risk of stroke. www.medpagetoday.com

“…five different models.”:

“…five different models.” Kim remarked about the swift impact of optimism as they had followed participants for only two years. To adjust for the large number of potential covariates, researchers created five different models. The core model consisted of age, gender, chronic illness, and self-rated health. Each succeeding model added covariates to the core: www.medpagetoday.com

five different models:

five different models Model 2: core model plus additional sociodemographics (race/ethnicity, marital status, educational degree) Model 3: core model plus health behaviors (current smoker, exercise, alcohol use) Model 4: core model plus metabolic factors (diabetes, body mass index) Model 5: core model plus cardiovascular factors (systolic/diastolic blood pressure, hypertension, heart disease) www.medpagetoday.com

Slide 15:

They found that the association between optimism and stroke remained significant in all five models, regardless of which covariates were included. "People have known intuitively that positive psychological outlooks can enhance health outcomes. Research is finally examining those questions," Kim said. www.medpagetoday.com

Slide 16:

But Kim and his colleagues cautioned that relying on self-reported data was a clear limitation of the study as was the short follow-up period of only two years. Nonetheless -- and perhaps indicating an optimistic nature -- he suggested that promoting optimism might be an intervention to reduce stroke risk, but he did concede that more studies are needed. www.medpagetoday.com

Sources::

Sources: Primary source: Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association Source reference: Kim E, et al "Dispositional optimism protects older adults from stroke: the Health and Retirement Study" Stroke 2011; DOI:10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.613448. www.medpagetoday.com

Slide 18:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/SciSrc/27695