Psychol. Bull.：哈佛大学研究发现：乐观有益心脏健康

美国哈佛大学研究发现，乐观开朗、感觉生活充满希望的人患心脏病或中风的风险低。

研究报告由最新一期《心理学通报》月刊网络版发表。

存在关联

哈佛大学公共卫生学院研究人员分析先前200个研究，这些研究都试图找出心理健康与心血管健康的关系。所有研究采用问卷调查和评分的方式，给调查对象的性格、是否乐观、生活满意度等打分。

美联社引述研究负责人朱莉娅·贝姆的话报道：“不消极和积极不是一回事……我们发现，乐观、对生活满意和幸福等因素与患心血管疾病风险降低有关，不受年龄、社会经济水平、是否吸烟和体重的影响。”

“举例来说，最乐观的调查对象与同龄人相比，患心血管疾病的比率低近50%，”贝姆说。

多种因素

研究人员分析说，之所以会出现这一差异，是因为心境好的人血压水平和胆固醇水平会相对较低。

研究报告另一作者劳拉·库布扎恩斯基说，乐观与积极的情绪都是宝贵财富。研究显示，对未来持积极态度的人生活方式更健康，锻炼次数更多、吃得更好、睡眠更充足。

人们通常认为，积极情绪能让人的抗压能力更强。研究人员举例说，他们所分析的其中一个研究显示，300名曾接受过外科手术的调查对象中，积极乐观者手术后六个月因心脏病或并发症就医的比例比其他人低50%。

保持乐观

贝姆和同事强调，研究结果只能证明乐观与少患心血管疾病存在联系，不能证明乐观能保护心脏。这不仅是因为研究人员很难量化乐观这个概念，还因为预防心血管疾病时，如何控制胆固醇水平和预防糖尿病才是更重要的因素。

研究人员还认为，他们只分析了200个研究，这一数量仍然偏少。因此，研究还需要进一步深入。

库布扎恩斯基说，若是未来研究能证明乐观心境真的能保护心血管，那么人们预防和治疗心脏病及中风的方法将获得改变。

贝姆在先前研究中说，仅是让人们微笑就能让他们情绪好转。密歇根大学的伊丽莎白·杰克逊博士说：“有时这（笑）很难，特别是经济不景气的时候。但是拿出一点时间来放松、享受充满阳光的一天可能也会对心脏健康有益”。

doi:10.1037/a0027448

The Heart's Content: The Association Between Positive Psychological Well-Being and Cardiovascular Health

Boehm, Julia K.; Kubzansky, Laura D.

This review investigates the association between positive psychological well-being (PPWB) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We also consider the mechanisms by which PPWB may be linked with CVD, focusing on the health behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, and food consumption) and biological functions (e.g., cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic processes) that are most relevant for cardiovascular health. Because PPWB is a broad concept, not all aspects of PPWB may be associated with cardiovascular health. Thus, we distinguish between eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, optimism, and other measures of well-being when reviewing the literature. Findings suggest that PPWB protects consistently against CVD, independently of traditional risk factors and ill-being. Specifically, optimism is most robustly associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular events. In general, PPWB is also positively associated with restorative health behaviors and biological function and inversely associated with deteriorative health behaviors and biological function. Cardiovascular health is more consistently associated with optimism and hedonic well-being than with eudaimonic well-being, although this could be due in part to more limited evidence being available concerning eudaimonic well-being. Some similarities were also evident across different measures of PPWB, which is likely due to measurement overlap. A theoretical context for this research is provided, and suggestions for future research are given, including the need for additional prospective investigations and research that includes multiple constructs of psychological well-being and ill-being.