Bashful men 50% more likely to die of heart attack or stroke

It really doesnt pay to be shy if you are a man, for a new study has found that timid men are 50 percent more likely to die of heart disease.

London, July 11 : It really doesn't pay to be shy if you are a man, for a new study has found that timid men are 50 percent more likely to die of heart disease.

The finding is based on a study that was conducted over a period of 30 years, and included more than 2,000 men who were aged between 40 and 55.

As a part of the study the researchers from Chicago's Northwestern University asked the men to fill questionnaires designed to determine how social they were.

By the time the study ended three decades later, 60 per cent had died and the experts then compared the questionnaire results with death certificate details, reports the Daily Mail.

After taking into account factors more commonly linked to heart disease such as smoking, high levels of cholesterol, and obesity, the researchers still found that the shyest men were 50 per cent more likely to have died of a heart attack or stroke.

And while the researchers have no idea why this happens, they believe that one of the factors that may contribute is the fact that shy men may find unfamiliar situations more stressful than their outgoing counterparts.

Their conclusion, as a spokesman for medical publishers Elsevier, which backed the study, put it, is for men to enjoy life if they want to live longer.

"These figures suggest it may be in your best interest to get out to the pub, go dancing or do dinner with your friends. Your life may depend on it!" the paper quoted the spokesperson, as saying.

ANI