Negative Feelings Can Bring On Disease, Study Finds

People with negative personalities are especially vulnerable to heart disease, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis because their emotions interfere with immune system function, a researcher has concluded.

“People have been writing for years that stress and distress can increase the likelihood of illness,” said research psychologist Howard Friedman of the University of California, Riverside.

“But what we’re saying that is new is that there doesn’t appear to be an association between a particular emotional state such as anger and a particular illness such as heart disease or anxiety and ulcers, but that a general negative emotional state appears to be associated with a number of diseases,” he said.

Anxiety Held Longer

Friedman said people with disease-prone personalities tend to be more anxious in stressful situations than other people and hold on to the anxiety for longer periods.

Other studies have suggested people who are perpetually dissatisfied or who are often antagonistic are more prone to disease.

The area is one of controversy, however, because many scientists do not believe in a direct link between emotion and disease.

In a study in the current issue of American Psychologist, Friedman suggested that a stable emotional life is as important to good health as more traditional influences such as a healthy diet, regular exercise and avoidance of alcohol and drugs.

100 Studies Analyzed

Friedman and psychologist Stephanie Booth-Kewley arrived at their findings after analyzing more than 100 published studies involving the relationship between personality and disease.

The researchers statistically analyzed studies on victims of bronchial asthma, migraine headaches, ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease, disorders suffered by virtually millions of Americans.

“This doesn’t mean that people who become ill have brought it on themselves.