'Shy people more likely to have heart disease'

People who are shy face a higher risk of dying from a heart disease or stroke than those who are sociable, according to a latest study conducted in the US.

Shyness is the feeling of apprehension or lack of confidence experienced by a person with regard to social association with others.

The results of the study showed that sociable men have been found to have healthier hearts than their more reserved friends. It found that the shrinking violets are 50 per cent more likely to die from a heart disease or stroke, reported the online edition of Daily Mail.

Researchers from Chicago's Northwestern University tracked the health of more than 2,000 men over three decades. At the start of the study, the men, who were aged between 40 and 55, filled in questionnaires designed to set their levels of sociability.

By the end of the study, 60 per cent had died and the analysts went to work. Comparing the questionnaire results with death certificate details revealed a clear link between shyness and heart disease, the researchers said.

The shyest men were 50 per cent more likely to have died of a heart attack or stroke than the most outgoing men, the study said.

This was true even when factors more commonly linked to heart disease such as smoking, high levels of cholesterol and obesity were taken into account. There was, however, no link between sociability and other ailments.

The researchers admitted, in the journal Annals of Epidemiology, that it was not clear why unsociable men should have more heart problems.