Optimists outlive pessimists, a new study shows. Of nearly 100,000 women【C1】______in the Womens Health Initiative, those who gave【C2】______answers on a personality test were 9% less likely to【C3】______heart disease within eight years—and 14% less likely to【C4】______—than women who got low optimism【C5】______on the test. TIMEs Alice Park wrote about an earlier【C6】______of this study in the spring. She writes: 【C7】______studies have indeed documented the life-extending benefits of optimism,【C8】______most of that research has involved only men and has been【C9】______in small numbers. Whats more, not all studies have done a good job of【C10】______out potentially confusing factors such as health【C11】______and lifestyle. Thats【C12】______makes the new study different 'Taking into【C13】______income, education, health behaviors like blood pressure and whether or not you are【C14】______active, whether or not you drink or smoke, we still see optimists with a decreased risk of death compared to pessimists,' says Dr. Hilary Tindle, lead author of the study. 'I was surprised that the relationship was【C15】______of all of these factors.' The study also found an interesting and【C16】______disturbing difference in the way that attitude is related to【C17】______for black women vs. white women. Pessimistic black women in the study were 33% more likely to have died after eight years than optimistic black women, while white pessimists were only 13% more likely to have died than their optimistic【C18】______The numbers in the study werent large enough to support any【C19】______explanations for this racial gap, but 'there is definitely a suggestion that whites and blacks may be【C20】______in how optimism affects longevity,' says Tindle. 【C1】