Research indicates that social activities are linked to better health and well-being. As such, some medical professionals prescribe social activities to patients as a non-pharmacological intervention to improve their well-being. Understanding more about the link between social activities and better health over the lifespan could lead to more informed strategies for healthy aging.
For the current study, researchers analyzed data from 7623 adults aged 60 years and older from Canada. At the beginning of the study, the researchers recorded levels of social participation among participants in activities including church or religious activities, educational or cultural activities, and volunteer or charity work.
To begin with, all participants were ‘healthily aging’; defined as having adequate social support, no limitations to daily activities, no mental illness in the preceding year, no serious cognitive decline or pain that prevents activity, high levels of happiness and self-reports of good physical and mental health. The researchers asked participants about each of these metrics three years later and compared the results with their social participation at the beginning of the study.
Ultimately, they found that healthy aging was significantly linked to participation in social activities. They found that 72% of respondents who participated in volunteer or recreational activities at baseline were still considered ‘aging healthily’ at follow-up. The same was true for two-thirds of those who did not engage in these activities.
After accounting for confounding factors such as age and sex, the researchers found that only engaging in volunteer or charity work and reactional activities at the beginning of the study continued to predict healthy aging.
“Although the study’s observational nature prohibits the determination of causality, it makes intuitive sense that social activity is associated with successful aging,” said first author, Mabel Ho, a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) and the Institute of Life Course and Aging, in a press release.
“It is encouraging that there are ways to support our physical, cognitive, mental, and emotional well-being as we age. This is wonderful news for older adults and their families who may anticipate that precipitous decline is inevitable with age,” said senior author Esme Fuller-Thomson, Director of the Institute for Life Course & Aging and Professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, in a press release.
“It is important for older adults, families, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to work together to create an environment that supports a vibrant and healthy later life,” he concluded.
Sources: Neuroscience News, MDPI