Old adults who have family members nearby are less likely to have an early death than those whose network comprised largely of friends. A recent study has underscored the impact of familial relationships on longevity.
Researchers discovered that older adults who reported having an “extremely close” relationship with non-spousal family members had a six per cent risk of mortality within the next five years. On the other hand, there was a 14 per cent risk of mortality among those who reported feeling “not very close” to their family members.
The study also revealed that respondents who listed more non-spousal family members in their network – whether they were more emotionally close to them or not – had lower chances of death compared to those who listed fewer family members.
“Regardless of the emotional content of a connection, simply having a social relationship with another person may have benefits for longevity,” said James Iveniuk, the lead author of the study. The research findings were recently presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in Seattle, Washington.
