Social participation and survival at older ages: is the effect driven by activity content or context?

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that time spent on social activities (i.e., in direct interaction with others) and time spent in social contexts (i.e., while others are present) is associated with survival in persons aged 70 and older. An observational study with mortality follow-ups was carried out in the former West Berlin, Germany (Berlin Aging Study). The sample was stratified by age and sex, and consisted of 473 persons aged 70 to 103 years. Social activity and social context measures were assessed in 1990-1993 by structured interviews in the participants' homes. Cox regression was used to model survival from time of interview. The main outcome measure was survival on 1 August 2003. Time spent on social activities was revealed as a predictor of survival only in analyses that did not control for confounding factors. In contrast, time spent in context "with friends" was significantly related to increased survival (relative risk=0.76, 95% confidence interval 0.59 to 0.99) even after several confounding factors were controlled for. This study suggests that time spent with friends affords a survival advantage among older adults, above and beyond the effects of other leisure activities. Future research on social participation and survival may benefit from an examination of the interaction between activity content and social context.

Inventory and analysis of definitions of social participation found in the aging literature: Proposed taxonomy of social activities

“…These activities are performed primarily for their own sake and cannot, therefore, be delegated to a third party without losing the benefit (Maier & Klumb, 2005). Our taxonomy shares similarities with the results of authors or groups that specifically worked on the conceptualization of social participation.…”

“…The activity analysis was performed to classify social activities, i.e. activities in direct interaction with others (Maier & Klumb, 2005). For this analysis, the main focus was on understanding social activities since they proved to be, although arguably, the most frequent, significant and analyzable dimension found in the definitions of social participation.…”

Atividades avançadas de vida diária e incidência de declínio cognitivo em idosos: Estudo SABE

“…There is no consensus concerning the mechanism by which AADL protect against cognitive decline 30,31,32,33 . The literature suggests that patterns of activity and related neural networks that are established in early life may be more important for maintaining cognitive health in old age, in the sense of minimizing the effects of decreasing velocity of cognitive processing in aging 30,34 .…”

Being Occupied with What Matters in Advanced Age

“…For German elders, time spent talking with friends on the phone and in-person conferred a significant survival advantage over three years. Spending time in active leisure as well as watching television or listening to the radio also related positively to survival, but less so than socialising with friends (Maier & Klumb, 2005). Accordingly, it is strongly argued that engaging in the social environment reduces the disability associated with ageing and is therefore protective of better health (Mendes de Leon, Glass, & Berkman, 2003).…”