Staying social in later life could lead to increased longevity

Socialising and attending community groups, such as book clubs and church groups in later life, could boost health as much as regular exercise.

In a study carried out by the University of Queensland in Australia and published in the online journal, BMJ Open, research has revealed that continuing to socialise can have a significant impact on health and well-being, similar to engaging in regular physical activity.

The study revealed that the more groups an individual attends in the first few years after they stop working, the lower their risk of death.

Study researchers stated: “Accordingly, we can see that the effects of physical activity on health were comparable to those associated with maintaining old group memberships and developing new ones.”

Though the study was observational, researchers stressed that no firm conclusions could be drawn about cause and effect, however they stressed that the findings could affect retirement planning of future retirees.

They wrote: “They suggest that as much as practitioners may help retirees adjust by providing support with financial planning, they may also help by providing social planning.”

“In this regard, practical interventions should focus on helping retirees to maintain their sense of purpose and belonging by assisting them to connect to groups and communities that are meaningful to them.”

Retirement was found to represent a significant life change and evidence from additional studies has suggested that the health and well-being of retirees decreases when they formally stop going to work.

Researchers assessed the impact of social group memberships on 424 volunteers for six years after they had officially retired. They compared them to the same number of people of the same age, gender and health status but who were still working.

Participants were at least 50 years old, living in England and taking part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which began in 2002. They were asked how many different clubs, societies and organisations they belonged to, and which ones. Study participants were also tasked with completing a validated scale to assess their quality of life and another to assess their subjective physical health.

The results revealed that participants whose quality of life was good before retirement were more likely to score highly on the quality of life assessment after retirement.

Those who were members of social groups had increased quality of life compared to those still in work. Every group membership lost after retirement saw around a 10 per cent drop in the quality of life score six years later.

Researchers found that if a person belonged to two groups before they retired and kept attending these for the following six years, their risk of death was two per cent, rising to five per cent if they gave up one of the memberships, further rising to twelve per cent if they stopped attending all groups.

Similar patterns were not observed for those still in formal employment.

Furthermore, researchers assessed whether changes in the level of physical activity affected the risk of death, comparing these results with the effect of participants having a social group membership.

They found that if a person exercised vigorously for a week before retirement and kept up the same frequency afterwards, their chance of dying within the following six years was three per cent. These figures rose to six per cent if they reduced their level of physical activity to less than once a week, further rising to eleven per cent if they stopped exercising completely.

The research follows the publication of a Public Health England report titled: ‘Life expectancy: recent trends in older ages’, which reveals that life expectancy at older age is at its highest level ever. The figures in the report revealed that life expectancy in England for people aged 65, 75, 85 and 95 increased between 2013-2014, except for women aged 85.

Chief executive of the Centre for Better Ageing, Anna Dixon commenting on the Later Life in 2015 report, said: “The fact that we are living longer is something to celebrate and presents a huge opportunity for society. But as well as adding years to life, we need to add life to years – enabling people to enjoy a good later life.

"Our research has shown that there is a wide variation in how people experience later life, and that there are three interconnected factors that are key to a happy later life; health, financial security and social connections. By understanding more about what influences happiness in later life, we can ensure fewer people miss out.”