Background:Previous research has shown a link between low positive affect and mortality, but questions remain about how positive affect is related to mortality and how this differs by gender and age. Purpose:To investigate the relationships between positive affect, negative affect, and mortality in a general population sample, and to examine whether these relationships were related to age, sex, or cause-specific mortality. Methods:We used data from 5,554 Norwegian participants aged 47-49 and 71-74 years who completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and also provided data on demographics, health behaviors, and physical health as part of the Hordaland Health Study. The primary outcome was mortality after an average follow-up period of 16.5 years. Results:Participants in the lowest positive affect tertile had a near twofold increased mortality risk, compared to those in the highest positive affect tertile. This association was driven primarily by the PANAS "active" item and persisted, even after controlling for activity-related confounds and other positive affect items. No significant associations were found between negative affect and mortality. The relationship between positive affect and mortality was not significantly attenuated by age or sex. Although low positive affect was associated with an increased risk of mortality, it was not related to a specific cause of death. Conclusions:Low positive affect was significantly associated with mortality risk. The relationship was driven by the PANAS active item and not associated with cause-specific mortality. Findings suggest future research should examine the association between feeling inactive, sedentary behavior, and subsequent mortality.

Neopterin may be relevant for colorectal cancer (CRC) development, as a biomarker of cellular immune activity exerting pleiotropic effects on cellular ageing, oxidative stress, and inflammation. So far, the association between prediagnostic neopterin and colon and rectal cancer risk has not been evaluated in human populations. A nested case-control study was conducted within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort using data on plasma concentrations of total neopterin (T-N, sum of neopterin and 7,8-dihydroneopterin) in 830 incident CRC case patients (561 colon and 269 rectal) matched within risk sets to 830 control participants. A subsequent replication study used data from the Hordaland Health Study, where 173 CRC case patients have been diagnosed among 6594 healthy participants over 12 years of follow-up. After multivariable adjustment for a priori chosen CRC risk factors, a "U-shaped" association of T-N with CRC was revealed. Compared with the second quintile of the T-N distribution, the relative risks for the first, third, fourth, and fifth quintiles were 2.37 (95% CI = 1.66 to 3.39), 1.24 (95% CI = 0.87 to 1.77), 1.55 (95% CI = 1.08 to 2.22), and 2.31 (95% CI = 1.63 to 3.27), respectively. Replication of these associations within the Hordaland Health Study yielded similar results. No differences have been observed when the associations were explored by colon and rectal cancer site (two-sided P difference = .87) and after excluding case patients diagnosed within the first four follow-up years. These novel findings provide evidence of the role of both suppressed and activated cell-mediated immunity as reflected by prediagnostic T-N concentrations in the development of CRC.