A team of geneticists from the Medical Research University in Brisbane, Australia, has found a correlation between a person's life expectancy and his attitude. Scientists find that pessimists die on average two years earlier than optimists. ABC News reports on the study of Australians, citing scientific work of the authors.

For the study, scientists studied questionnaires filled out by three thousand volunteers over 50 years old from 1993 to 1995 - in which volunteers answered questions related to their views on life. The team sorted the questionnaires from the most pessimistic to the most optimistic, and then compared the life expectancy of the respondents with their answers..

It turned out that people with pronounced negative thinking in the next 25 years were more likely to suffer from cardiovascular and other diseases. The most pessimistic respondents died on average two years earlier than the optimists. At the same time, optimism did not affect longevity in any way..

According to scientists, the reason for the reduction in the life expectancy of older pessimists may be a state in which a person is aware of his problems, but does not see the point in following the advice of doctors, following a diet or playing sports..