title: Volunteering and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Does Helping Others Get "Under the Skin?".
abstract: This study investigated whether volunteering was related to 5 risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) among middle-aged and older adults.
  
  
  
  Data from the 2004 and 2006 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 7,803) were examined. Logistic regression was used to describe the relationships among volunteering and central adiposity, hypertension, lipid dysregulation, elevated blood glucose levels, and high inflammation, along with 2 indexes of the MetS.
  
  
  
  Among middle-aged adults, results showed that volunteers were less likely to have high central adiposity, lipid dysregulation, elevated blood glucose levels, and MetS compared with non-volunteers. For older adults, results showed volunteers were less likely to be hypertensive and more likely to have lipid dysregulation than their non-volunteer counterparts.
  
  
  
  These results supported findings from other studies that formal volunteering is beneficial for middle-aged adults, and to a lesser degree, older adults. Further research is required to determine what factors may mediate the volunteer-CVD risk relationships.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, University of Massachusetts Boston. jeffrey.burr@umb.edu.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Burr
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, University of Massachusetts Boston.
authors.forename: Sae Hwang
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, University of Massachusetts Boston.
authors.forename: Jane L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Tavares
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007249:Inflammation; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014838:Volunteers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: CVD; Health; Health and Retirement Study; Inflammation; Metabolic syndrome; Social engagement; Social support; Volunteer hours; Volunteerism and civic engagement