Social Ties Increase Longevity by 50 Percent

More powerful than exercise, better than giving up smoking, extensive social networks have been shown to increase longevity by 50 percent. The Scientific American reports on research conducted at Brigham Young University that reviewed the results from 148 studies—which included a total of 308,849
participants—going back to the early 20th century. Most studies assessed
survival in contrast to mortality from all causes. Sciam reports that the analysis also assessed what kind of studies best predict a person’s survival. Questionnaires that had asked participants
at least a few in-depth questions about various social connections (such
as, “To what extent are you participating or involved in your social
network?” or “To what extent can you count on other people?”) were more
effective at pinpointing a person’s overall risk of mortality from all
causes than those that simply determined if a person was single or married or lived with at least one other person. The researchers found that when the questions delved deeper, complex social networks increased survival rates by 91 percent.

Read more in the Scientific American.

Read an abstract from the study in PLoS
Medicine.