A good network of friends delays mortality
Lea Ellwardt, from the University of Cologne (Germany) and a team of collaborators bring us an interesting conclusion from a study conducted with 2911 people from 54 to 85 years of age: a good network of personal contacts makes the risk of dying less when you have a certain age.
Specifically, this group of researchers was interested in analyzing what characteristics this interpersonal network should have to really protect us from mortality.
To find out these questions, they carried out seven evaluations over 20 years that included aspects on emotions, social isolation, emotional and instrumental support, number of contacts, frequency of contacts and number of social roles that each one assumes.
Short assessments of cognitive functioning were also carried out with screening tests and different aspects of mental and physical health were measured, such as the level of depression, anxiety and the ability to carry out activities of daily living, among others.
The results of the analysis of the data obtained, recently published in the journal PLOS One, (2015), showed that, independently of variables such as cognitive status, mental or physical health conditions, the key to reducing mortality risk was have broad and also diverse interpersonal networks.
This translates into having many contacts or friendships and also in playing various roles at the social level (for example, husband, grandfather, neighbor, volunteer in an association ...).
These results are in line with what other studies have found, and again point out the fundamental of social contact and the fact of having a good network of friends that allows me to go out, chat, laugh and participate in various activities. More research has to be done to find out which are the mechanisms through which having this kind of social ties favors longevity.
However, we already anticipate that one of the great beneficiaries of social contact is your brain. Go out with your friends, participate in group activities and protect your brain.
Specifically, this group of researchers was interested in analyzing what characteristics this interpersonal network should have to really protect us from mortality.
To find out these questions, they carried out seven evaluations over 20 years that included aspects on emotions, social isolation, emotional and instrumental support, number of contacts, frequency of contacts and number of social roles that each one assumes.
Short assessments of cognitive functioning were also carried out with screening tests and different aspects of mental and physical health were measured, such as the level of depression, anxiety and the ability to carry out activities of daily living, among others.
The results of the analysis of the data obtained, recently published in the journal PLOS One, (2015), showed that, independently of variables such as cognitive status, mental or physical health conditions, the key to reducing mortality risk was have broad and also diverse interpersonal networks.
This translates into having many contacts or friendships and also in playing various roles at the social level (for example, husband, grandfather, neighbor, volunteer in an association ...).
These results are in line with what other studies have found, and again point out the fundamental of social contact and the fact of having a good network of friends that allows me to go out, chat, laugh and participate in various activities. More research has to be done to find out which are the mechanisms through which having this kind of social ties favors longevity.
However, we already anticipate that one of the great beneficiaries of social contact is your brain. Go out with your friends, participate in group activities and protect your brain.
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