Optimists live longer. Results from a government study showing nearly 100,000 women being followed adds to scientific findings saying that optimists live longer. The report is from the American Psychosomatic Society meeting and the University of Pittsburgh. Women aged 50 and above were in the study that started in 1994. Optimists were defined as those who said they expected good things rather than bad things to happen. Over the course of the study, optimists had a lower death rate in general and had a 30% lower death rate from heart disease. In contrast, those who were more hostile had a higher death rate and a 23% greater risk of death from a cancer-related condition. The results also suggested that optimism and hostility levels had a larger impact on black women's health. The researchers say that finding needs more study due to low numbers of black women in the group
