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Seniors with active social lives live longer: study

More frequent social activity was associated with significantly longer survival, researchers said.

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By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Seniors with active social lives live longer, according to new research.

Meeting with friends or family nearly every day can delay death twice as long as those who are isolated, suggests the study.

In 2017, 962 million people around the globe were over the age of 60, and the number is forecast to double by 2050.

The new study, involving more than 28,000 Chinese people, explored whether the frequency of socializing among senior citizens might be linked to overall survival.

The research team looked at participants in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), an ongoing study of older people living independently, which began in 1998.

Information on the frequency of socializing only started being collected in 2002, and the current study involves a total of 28,563 people with an average age of 89.

The participants were asked how often they engaged in social activities: almost every day; at least once a week; at least once a month; occasionally; or never.

Information on potentially influential factors - including education, marital status, household income, plus fruit and veg intake - was also recorded, with survival tracked for an average of five years or until death.

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The findings, published online by the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, showed that, overall, more frequent social activity was associated with significantly longer survival.

The greater the frequency, the greater the likelihood of living longer.

Up to five years from the start of the monitoring period standardized death rates were 18.4 per 100 people monitored for a year among those who never socialized; 8.8 among those who did so occasionally; 8.3 among those who did so at least monthly; 7.5 among those who socialized at least once a week; and 7.3 among those who did so nearly every day.

Time to death was delayed by 42 percent in those who occasionally socialized, by 48 percent in those who did at least monthly, by 110 percent in those who did so at least weekly, and by 87 percent in those who did so nearly every day, compared with those who said they never socialized.

After five years, the survivors included 8,420 people who said they never socialized, 688 who did so occasionally, 350 who did so at least monthly, 295 who did so at least weekly, and 272 who did so nearly every day.

Standardized death rates were 6.2 per 100 people monitored for a year among those who never socialized; 4.8 among those who did so occasionally; 5.0 among those socializing at least once a month; 5.4 among those doing so at least once a week; and 3.6 among those who did so nearly every day.

Study author Dr. Sen He, of Sichuan University West China Hospital, said: "A threshold effect was evident: only socializing nearly every day was associated with significantly longer survival in this group among whom time to death was delayed by 204 percent."

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Dr. He said that factors associated with being more socially active were male sex, younger age, a higher level of education, marriage, living in a town or city and/or with relatives, and good health.

He said that when the figures were further stratified by age, social activity seemed to be even more strongly associated with extended survival within the first five years for the oldest old, suggesting that strategies to promote the maintenance of an active social life in very old people, should be encouraged.

Dr. He said it is not clear exactly why socializing in older age might extend survival, but explanations might include enhancing healthy behaviors, such as more physical activity and a better diet.

He said socializing might also mitigate the impact of chronic stressors.

Dr. He added: “In our study, although the association between social activity frequency and overall survival attenuated after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, socioeconomic status, healthy behaviors and several morbidities, it still remained statistically significant, which indicated that social activity participation per se was an independent predictor for overall survival in older people."

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