Health

General Directory

* Emotional Stress is the number one cause of illness and disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stress accounts for around 75% of all doctor visits. This involves an extremely wide span of physical complaints including, but not limited to: headache; back pain; heart problems; upset stomach; stomach ulcer; sleep problems; tiredness; inability to overcome disease; accidents.

Other studies have found that up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints. (Occupational Health and Safety news and the National Council on compensation Insurance)

* Emotional Stress is a major contributing factor to the six leading causes of death in the United States: cancer, coronary artery disease, accidental injuries, respiratory disorders, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide. According to statistics from Meridian Stress Management Consultancy in the UK, almost 180,000 people in the UK die each year from some form of stress-related illness.

* An estimated 40 million working days are lost each year in the UK from stress-related illness. (Quote from Meridian Stress Management Consultancy in the UK.)

* Emotional Stress can cause you to die from stroke or heart disease. Hiroyaso Iso, MD, of the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki-ken, Japan, gathered information from more than 73,000 Japanese men and women, aged 40-79. He found that women who report high levels of mental stress, are twice as likely to die from stroke or heart disease than those with low stress levels.

* Vacations (balancing work with rest) cuts risk of death by 20 to 50 percent! A research study conducted by State University of New York at Oswego showed that regular vacations decreased the risk of death by almost 20 percent in men between the ages of 35 to 57. Research by the Framingham Heart Study, discovered that frequent vacations decreased risk of death by approximately 50 percent in women between the ages of 45 to 64.

* Up to 80% of industrial accidents are due to stress. ⁽Occupational Health and Safety news and the National Council on compensation Insurance)

* 80% to 90% of all industrial accidents are related to personal problems and employee inability to handle stress. Jansen, M., (1986). Emotional disorders in the labour force: prevalence, costs, prevention and rehabilitation. International Labour Review, 125 (5) 605-615.

* Not managing stress is more dangerous than smoking or high cholesterol. A 20-year research study by the University of London found that unmanaged reactions to stress were a more dangerous risk factor for cancer and heart disease than either cigarette smoking or high cholesterol foods.

* The 4th disabling workplace injury is neurotic reaction to stress. Also, in 1993 over 25 days were lost on average by each person suffering job stress. (US. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

* 50% of job absenteeism is caused by stress. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work reported that over half of the 550 million working days lost annually in the U.S. from absenteeism are stress related and that one in five of all last minute no-shows are due to job stress.

* Optimists live about 20% longer than pessimists. (Research study by Donald D. Hensrud, M.D., Director of the Mayo Clinic Executive Health Program)

* During a 30-year period, 19% more pessimists died - compared to optimists.

• Subjects and Methods: A total of 839 patients completed the MMPI between 1962 and 1965 as self-referred general medical patients. Thirty years later, the vital status of each of these patients was ascertained.

• Results: Of the 839 patients, 124 were classified as optimistic, 518 as mixed, and 197 as pessimistic. Follow-up was available for 723 patients. Among these, a 10-point Tscore increase on the Optimism-Pessimism scale (eg, more pessimistic) was associated with a 19% increase in the risk of mortality.

• Conclusion: A pessimistic explanatory style, as measured by the Optimism-Pessimism scale of the MMPI, is significantly associated with mortality.

Optimists vs Pessimists: Survival Rate Among Medical Patients Over a 30-Year Period, TOSHIHIKO MARUTA, MD; ROBERT C. COLLIGAN, PHD; MICHAEL MALINCHOC, MS; AND KENNETH P. OFFORD, MS. Mayo Clin Proc, February 2000, Vol 75 Survival Rate of Optimists vs Pessimists 140 Mayo Clin Proc. 2000;75:140-143 140 © 2000 Mayo Foundation for Medical. http://www.mayo.edu:80/proceedings/2000/feb/7502a1.pdf

* Positive attitude adds more years of life (7.6 yr) than does having low blood pressure (4 yr), low cholesterol (4 yr), ideal weight (1-3 yr), not smoking (1-3 yr), and exercise (1-3 yr). These results are from a 23-year study involving 660 Ohio residents. (Levy BR, Slade MD, Kunkel SR, Kasl SV. Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 2002 Aug; 83(2):261-70.)

* Nuns with a positive attitude lived 10 years longer than less positive nuns. A 15-year study by David Snowdon, professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky found that nuns who used more words such as "happy," "joy," "love," "hopeful" and "content" in their autobiographies lived as much as 10 years longer than those expressing fewer positive emotions. (Published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)

* 20% more optimistic heart disease patients live 11 years than do pessimists. An 11-year study involving 866 adults with heart disease, showed that optimists with heart disease are 20% more likely than pessimists to live for 11 years after diagnosis. The study took into account how ill the patients initially were and key factors such as smoking that could shorten life. (study by Beverly Brummett of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.)

* Optimists are 50% less likely to develop coronary heart disease. A 10-year study by Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs of 162 people who developed coronary heart disease found that only 34 of the cases were from optimists while 77 were pessimists. The study controlled for other health factors such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and other traditional coronary risk factors. (November/December issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.)

* Pessimistic stroke victims are 79% more likely to die - than optimists. According to a study of 372 stroke victims, those who felt the most pessimistic or hopeless about their recovery were 79% more likely to die over 5 years than those who were more positive, regardless of the severity of stroke, age and the presence of other diseases. (Dr. S. C. Lewis of Western General Hospital in Edinburgh) (Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, July 2001)

* Older adults who give and help are 60% less likely to die, compared to non helpful peers. A study at the University of Michigan shows that older people who help others decrease their risk of dying by almost 60% compared to peers who don't help or provide emotional support to relatives, neighbors, or friends.

* Sense of control over one's primary role adds years. A nationwide survey of 884 older adults indicate that feelings of control over the single most important role (spouse, parent, grandparent, other relative, friend, homemaker, provider, and voluntary worker, church, or club member) significantly reduce the odds of dying.

However, it was found that control over the 2nd and 3rd most important roles are not related to mortality, nor are feelings of control over life as a whole. (Neal Krause, School of Public Health, University of Michigan. Benjamin A. Shaw, School of Public Health, University of Michigan. Role-Specific Feelings of Control and Mortality)