Volunteering is associated with delayed mortality in older people: analysis of the longitudinal study of aging.
The Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA) assessed the health and social functioning of a representative sample of 7527 American community-dwelling older people (>70 years). We tested the hypothesis that frequent volunteering is associated with less mortality risk when the effects of socio-demographics, medical status, physical activity and social integration are controlled. We used Cox proportional hazards analyses to assess the unadjusted and adjusted associations between frequency of volunteering and time-to-death (96-month follow-up). Death occurred in 38.3 percent of the sample. After adjusting for covariates, frequent volunteers had significantly reduced mortality compared to non-volunteers. This association was greatest for those who frequently visited with friends or attended religious services.
Harris
Alex H S
AH
Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System & Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. alexsox@sbcglobal.net
Thoresen
Carl E
CE
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012306:Risk; D012944:Social Support; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology*