According to a study presented on May 2 at the American Geriatrics Society's Annual meeting in Chicago, Retirees, over the age of 65 who participated in volunteer work had less than half the risk of dying compared to those who hadn't volunteered.
"We found that volunteering remains a powerful predictor of decreased mortality among current U.S. retirees, even after extensive adjustment for possible confounding factors," wrote the study's authors.
"Our research was building on what other people have previously done. A concern with past studies is that volunteers may be healthier to begin with. We thought we could account for this and other factors that could confound the relationship, and even after we examined those other factors, volunteers still had lower mortality," said the study's lead author, Dr. Sei Lee, an assistant professor of geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
However, Lee pointed out that this study's findings are preliminary and said his research is ongoing.
The study included 6,360 retired people over 65 years of age who were enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in 2002. This study population is considered representative of older adults in the United States. The average age in the study was 78, and the study population was 60 percent female.
"This is another component of a long line of work that suggests you want to remain engaged in life, and be active in as many domains as possible. Be physically active, mentally active and socially active. These are really important for staying as healthy as possible for as long as possible," said Lee.
"People who are socially engaged will have a better quality of life and better survival," said Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of the division of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "This study is a good way of using science to reinforce what's good common sense. Volunteering is a good thing to do, and lo and behold, it's good for you, too."
Learn more about the benefits of volunteering at NationalService.gov.
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