Happiness Decreases Cardiovascular Disease Risk (Study)
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Happiness Decreases Cardiovascular Disease Risk (Study)
A new study that will undoubtedly make people happy and pleased and represent another problem for those suffering from depression or anxiety has been recently published. British researchers conducted a study on nearly 8,000 British civil servants (with a mean age of 49 years), after which they concluded that happiness or contentment has beneficial effects on the heart and blood vessels.
Happiness
The study results are published online by the European Heart Journal. Officials responded to a questionnaire about seven specific aspects of their daily life: love affairs, leisure, living standards, profession, family life and sexual identity. They were asked to assess satisfaction in each of the areas, on a scale from 1 (‘very dissatisfied’) to 7 (‘very satisfied’). Notes from each section were combined to give an average figure on life satisfaction as a whole. Then the medical records of patients were reviewed to see which deaths can be linked with coronary artery disease, lethal heart attack and angina, on a period of about six years.
According to researchers, high levels of satisfaction in life decreases with 13% of the risk of coronary heart disease. Both in men and women, four areas seem to be closely related with the cardiovascular risk: occupation, family life and sexual identity (not love affairs, leisure and living standards).
The results do not surprise Professor Nicolas Danchin, cardiologist at the European Hospital “Georges Pompidou” (Paris). It is known for a long time that depression and anxiety are real risk factors for cardiovascular disese and acute stress can be the cause of myocardial infarction . Several epidemiological studies, have proven it says the specialist. Instead, the discovery of the beneficial effects of a positive psychological state is more recent and should be thorough.
However, there is a question nobody can answer yet: The positive effect of satisfaction is real or merely the absence of a negative matter when such persons are nor depressed or anxious? concludes Le Point.