Optimists may enjoy longer lives than people with a dimmer outlook on the future, a long-term study suggests. Researchers found that of nearly7,000 adults followed since their college days in the 1960s, those whowere optimistic in their youth had a lower risk of dying over the next40 years than their more pessimistic peers. On average, the most pessimisticstudy participants were 42 percent more likely to die of any cause thanthe most positive participants, according to findings published in theMayo Clinic Proceedings medical journal. The results echo those of a number ofpast studies on personality factors and health, including research thathas linked optimism to longer life. One study of elderly adults foundthat those with a positive view of the future were less likely thanpessimists to die over the next decade — regardless of their health atthe start of the study. The current findings could beexplained by any number of factors, according to the study authors, ledby Dr. Beverly H. Brummett of Duke University Medical Center in Durham,North Carolina. For example, they say, optimists are less likely to suffer from depressionthan are pessimists, which could, in turn, affect their physicalhealth. They may also maintain a healthier lifestyle, paying moreattention to their diet and exercise habits.