A new study from the School of Public Health at Indiana University in Bloomington, US, suggests that optimism may protect postmenopausal women against type 2 diabetes.

The team of scientists discovered that the most optimistic women were 12% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women with the lowest quartile of optimism. Scientists also concluded that low optimism and high negativity linked to the higher risk of incident diabetes in postmenopausal women.

Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, the executive director of the journal Menopause, where the results of the research were published, comments: “In addition to efforts to promote healthy behaviors, women's personality traits should be considered to guide clinical or programmatic intervention strategies in diabetes prevention.”