Why a good social life is key to long life trends now
Staying socially active in your twilight years could be the key to living longer, new research suggests.
Older people who socialised daily, weekly or monthly had a significantly greater chance of a longer life than those who socialised the least or not at all, a study found.
Experts believe spending time with friends and family can relieve stress as well as encourage people to be more physically active.
Researchers from Sichuan University West China Hospital looked at data for 28,563 Chinese people who were asked about their socialising habits as part of a long-term study, with answers provided in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2014.
Image shows elderly couple socialising. Over the first five years of the study, 25,406 people said they did not engage in any social activities, 1,379 said sometimes; 693 said at least once a month, 553 at least once a week and 532 almost daily
Averaging aged 89 at the start of the study, they were asked how often they took part in social activities, with answers including almost every day, not daily, but at least once/week; not weekly, but at least once a month; not monthly, but sometimes; and never. Survival was tracked for an average of five years or until people died.
Over the first five years of the study, 25,406 people said they did not engage in any social activities, 1,379 said sometimes; 693 said at least once a month, 553 at least once a week and 532 almost daily.
During the entire study, 21,161 (74 per cent) people died, of whom 15,728 did so within the first five years.
In the first five years, after adjusting for factors such as sex, age, diet and whether somebody was married, death rates were 18.4 per 100 people who never socialised, 8.8 among those who did so occasionally, 8.3 among those who did so at least monthly, 7.5 among those who socialised at least once a
