A new study found that people who feel younger than their actual age are likely to live longer than those who feel like their age.
Researchers at the University College-London examined the data of 6,489 participants with an average age of 66. Sixty-seven percent said they felt three years younger while 26 percent felt a little younger but not far from their actual age. Only 5 percent said they felt a year older than their age.
During the follow-up period of eight years, 14 percent of those who felt three years younger passed away. The death rate for those who felt close to their age was at 19 percent while those who felt older were at 25 percent.
The study factored in pre-existing health conditions of the participants such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and other diseases. Further analysis showed a strong link between cardiovascular health and self-perceived age, according to a news release.
The study is the first to look at the possible link between feeling younger and the mortality rate of older people. However, the researchers said that further research is needed because they failed to determine the actual cause of the link.
"The first thing we thought of is that people who feel older than their chronological age are sicker, and that is why they are at greater risk of dying," coauthor Andrew Steptoe of the epidemiology and public health department at University College London told Reuters Health by email.
The findings of the study can be beneficial to the development of new efforts that can help influence how older people perceive aging. Most seniors feel depressed when they grow old, so they tend to lock themselves in the room and become less physically active, thus increasing their risk to diseases.
"Optimism in many ways is a self-fulfilling prophecy," James Maddux, professor emeritus of psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., told HealthDay News. He is not involved in the study.
"If you feel your life and your health is largely under your control, and you believe you are capable of doing things like managing stress, eating right and exercising, then you are more likely to do those things," he added.
This study was published in the Dec. 15 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.
