Questão 13 - FAME Medicina 2025/1

In 2019, a review published in JAMA Network Open by Alan Rozanski, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Morningside hospital in New York City, compared the results of 15 different studies for a total of 229,391 participants. Rozanski’s meta‑analysis showed that individuals with higher levels of optimism experience a 35 percent lower risk of cardiovascular events compared to those with lower optimism, as well as a lower mortality rate. Rozanski pointed out that the most optimistic people tend to take better care of themselves, especially by eating healthily, exercising, and not smoking. These behaviors have been found to a much lesser extent in the most pessimistic people, who tend to care less for their own well‑being. But the damage produced by pessimism is also biological: The continuous wear and tear caused by elevated stress hormones like cortisol and noradrenaline leads to heightened levels of body inflammation and promotes the onset of disease. Moreover, pathological pessimism can lead to depression, considered by the American Heart Association as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Available at: https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/optimismand-longevity/. Accessed on: July 28, 2024

 

What did Alan Rozanski’s 2019 meta‑analysis find out about optimism and health?