Pessimism Can Be Kiss of Death - Particularly if you're suffering from a chronic illness

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Pessimism Can Be Kiss of Death

Particularly if you're suffering from a chronic illness

By Janice Billingsley

HealthScoutNews Reporter

MONDAY, July 8 (HealthScoutNews) -- If you have a serious chronic illness, a

pessimistic personality may shorten your life.

That's the conclusion of a new study by University of Iowa scientists that

contends if you're a take-charge, conscientious person, you're more likely

to live longer.

In other words, you should think like Tiger Woods, not Woody .

In the study of 174 men and women who suffered from chronic kidney disease,

the researchers found those who were prone to excessive worry and general

anxiety were nearly 40 percent more likely to die over a four-year period

than the average patient. Conversely, those who were upbeat, dependable and

goal-oriented were almost 40 percent more likely to live longer over a

four-year period than the average patient.

" We have confirmed what research and clinical work and many other people

have speculated, that there is a link between personality style and physical

health, " says Alan Christensen, a professor of psychology and internal

medicine at the University of Iowa. He's the lead author of the study, which

appears in the July issue of Health Psychology. The research was funded by

the National Institutes of Health.

Many studies of this topic have been based on variables such as

self-reported symptoms and visits to the doctor. However, the data for this

study, Christensen says, was much more solid because the research was

" unfortunately based on the significant mortality rates for chronic renal

unsufficiency. "

For their study, Christensen and his colleagues interviewed men and women in

the early stages of chronic kidney disease, a life-threatening condition in

which the kidneys don't function properly.

" We wanted to assess personalities before the patients showed symptoms of

kidney disease, " he says, so the results wouldn't be skewed by anxieties

that come with advancing illness.

The patients, whose average age was 56, were given a standard personality

assessment test of 60 questions that gauged five personality areas:

neuroticism; conscientiousness; extroversion; openness to experience and

agreeableness.

They were then followed for two to five years, with the average follow-up

being four years. Forty-nine of the patients died during this time.

What the researchers found -- after controlling for age, diabetes and

anemia, which are the other major causes for mortality -- was that those who

had scored high on the neurotic assessment were 37.5 percent more likely to

have died over the four years than the average patient.

Meanwhile, those who received high marks for conscientiousness, which

indicates a diligence and willingness to take on challenges, were 36.4

percent less likely to die over the four-year period than the average

patients, Christensen says.

The question, he adds, is " how these personality styles affect

health-related behaviors. "

He says people who tend to worry or be in a mildly depressed mood might not

take good care of themselves, while those who are more conscientious " tend

to comply with medical advice, and are more likely to see a doctor if

they're sick. "

Dr. Joyce Gonin, who treats patients with chronic kidney disease at

town University Hospital, says, " It is very clear that the mood of the

patient will indicate if the patient will comply with the medication and

treatment. All too frequently, patients become depressed and skip their

dialysis session. "

" On the other hand, the more motivated a patient is, the more educated he or

she becomes about the disease, the more control they have over their

illness, the less likely it is you will see preventable complications, " she

says.

Because of this, she always assesses the emotional health of her patients.

" You can't deal with the chronically ill patient without taking into account

the psychological-social factors, " Gonin says.

Adds Christensen: " There also may be a physiological component to

personality. We know there's some relationship. Patients that have

chronically negative emotions tend to be immunosuppressed. "

What To Do

Information about dealing with chronic illness can be found at The Menniger

Letter. To learn more about kidney failure, visit the National Kidney and

Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse.

Copyright © 2002 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Last updated 7/8/2002