title: Giving to others and the association between stress and mortality.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to test the hypothesis that providing help to others predicts a reduced association between stress and mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined data from participants (n = 846) in a study in the Detroit, Michigan, area. Participants completed baseline interviews that assessed past-year stressful events and whether the participant had provided tangible assistance to friends or family members. Participant mortality and time to death was monitored for 5 years by way of newspaper obituaries and monthly state death-record tapes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When we adjusted for age, baseline health and functioning, and key psychosocial variables, Cox proportional hazard models for mortality revealed a significant interaction between helping behavior and stressful events (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.58; P < .05; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.35, 0.98). Specifically, stress did not predict mortality risk among individuals who provided help to others in the past year (HR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.79, 1.18), but stress did predict mortality among those who did not provide help to others (HR = 1.30; P < .05; 95% CI = 1.05, 1.62).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Helping others predicted reduced mortality specifically by buffering the association between stress and mortality.
authors: Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA. mjpoulin@buffalo.edu
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Poulin
authors: Stephanie L
authors: SL
authors: Brown
authors: Amanda J
authors: AJ
authors: Dillard
authors: Dylan M
authors: DM
authors: Smith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011584:Psychology; D012307:Risk Factors