A sidenote...

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-02-2003
A sidenote...
8
Tue, 02-17-2004 - 5:54pm
I just read this and thought some of our "want to live a long and healthy life" posters might find it useful. And for all of you, we need to keep this in mind.

"If a chronic disease struck the Hundred Acre Woods, who would live longer, Winnie the Pooh or Eeyore? According to new research about how personality affects survival rates in chronically ill patients, easy-going Pooh would have the edge over his gloomy friend.

The research, published as the lead article in the July issue of the journal Health Psychology, found that patients who were prone to depressed mood, pessimism and excessive worrying were 37.5 percent more likely than the average patient to die in an average four-year period, and that those who tended to be highly conscientious, goal directed and dependable were 36.4 percent less likely to die.

Alan Christensen, a professor of psychology in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, professor of internal medicine in the UI Carver College of Medicine and the primary investigator, said this study provides the first strong connection between personality and mortality among the chronically ill.

"We've seen many decades of speculation about whether psychological traits affect physical health, but until recently there has not been a lot of good, hard evidence," he said.

In this study, Christensen and his team, including Dr. William Lawton, a UI associate professor of internal medicine, followed 174 patients suffering from chronic renal insufficiency (impaired kidney function.) Most of these patients were expected someday to require dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant to compensate for loss of kidney function.

Each patient completed a standard personality assessment at the outset consisting of 60 questions designed to gauge five areas of personality—neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience and agreeableness. At follow-up, which ranged from 24 to 69 months depending on when the patients were enrolled in the study, 49 (28.2 percent) of the patients had died.

The researchers also conducted extensive reviews of each patient's medical history and physical status to control for such factors as age, diabetes, heart disease and anemia, all of which can contribute significantly to mortality in individuals with kidney disease. For example, each additional year in age increased patients' risk of death 5.4 percent.

The study showed that both neuroticism and conscientiousness were significant factors in predicting patient mortality beyond the effects of age and many medical factors.

Neuroticism generally refers to having a negative outlook on life, being prone to mildly depressed mood and excessive worrying. Those high in neuroticism are generally not severely depressed or being treated for depression. Individuals high in neuroticism may be at risk for poor health due to a reduction in immune functioning or simply because they do not engage in healthy behaviors.

Conscientiousness refers to diligence, a strong sense of personal control and a willingness to take on personal challenges. Those low in conscientiousness may be lax about engaging in healthy behaviors and are known to be less willing to follow prescribed medical treatments or advice. This reluctance to follow important medical treatments may contribute to their decreased survival rates.

"The data suggest that it may be as important for patients and physicians to think about patients' psychological traits, emotions and behaviors and how they see and approach the world and themselves as it is to consider the medical or physical status of the patient," Christensen said. "We all know people who are not severely depressed but who chronically tend toward moderate depression or anxiety. Typically we just think 'Oh, that's just how they are,' and don't pay attention to it as a potentially important factor in their physical health. This research shows that we should be paying attention because these traits could be shortening their lives."

Although we don't usually think of such life-long enduring traits as being easy to change, Christensen said that there is reason to believe individuals can alter their degree of neuroticism and conscientiousness. Moreover, doctors should be able to use information about how their patients' personalities may be putting them at risk to judge how closely they need to be monitored and how aggressively to treat them.

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health. In addition to Christensen and Lawton, the research team included Shawna L. Ehlers, Patricia J. Moran, Katherine Raichle, Karin Ferneyhough, all of the UI Department of Psychology; and John S. Wiebe, of the University of Texas at El Paso Department of Psychology."

So, let's all try to be the happiest and most positive, kick-butt group of people who ever tried and succeeded to lose weight.

Edited 2/18/2004 2:39:08 PM ET by melodyneve


Edited 2/18/2004 5:44:10 PM ET by melodyneve

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2004
In reply to: melodyneve
Tue, 02-17-2004 - 5:56pm
That seems very relevant at this point in time =)
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-02-2003
In reply to: melodyneve
Tue, 02-17-2004 - 5:57pm
I aim to please.....thanks for your kindness in other posts.
Avatar for angelinoh
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2003
In reply to: melodyneve
Tue, 02-17-2004 - 6:04pm
LOL>.you crack me up Mel..hope you have a happy day =)
Avatar for brens2boys
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
In reply to: melodyneve
Tue, 02-17-2004 - 7:02pm
I knew there was a reason I liked that fluffy Pooh bear so much =)

Bren

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-02-2003
In reply to: melodyneve
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 2:40pm
BUMP
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-02-2003
In reply to: melodyneve
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 5:32pm
BUMP
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2003
In reply to: melodyneve
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 6:07pm

I felt left out Mel..your doing all this bumping so I felt the need to BUMP as well HEHEHE..


bump


iVillage Member
Registered: 12-02-2003
In reply to: melodyneve
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 3:24pm
BUMP- let's be winnies and tiggers Gals!