Facts and Feelings about Disease Prevention and Health Promotion - Satisfying Work, Social Activities, And Personal Relationships Are Key To Health And Wellness

Family, friends, active interests, and community involvement may do more than simply help people enjoy their lives. Social activities and relationships actually FIGURE 10.17
Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of current smoking among adults aged 18 years and over, by race/ethnicity, January–June 2003 may enable people to live longer by preventing or delaying development of many diseases, including dementia. During the past two decades, research has demonstrated that social experiences, activities, relationships, and work stress are related to health, well-being, and longevity. The kind of work stress that causes the greatest harm to physical and mental health is effort–reward imbalance—when great effort is made and the effort is neither recognized nor rewarded. Although women appear more vulnerable to job stress, men's health seems more dependent on the availability of social relationships and emotional support.

Several studies have shown that marriage or living with a partner has greater health benefits for men than women because traditionally women are caregivers. Newer findings question whether the nurturing qualities of women are solely responsible for married men's improved health. Recent research reveals that men and women living alone have better health than those with unsatisfactory relationships with their partners. An alternative explanation of these findings may be that healthier people are more likely to marry than those with health problems.

Dr. Laura Fratiglioni and her colleagues at the Stockholm Gerontology Research Centre found that among Swedish older adults, the risk of developing dementia FIGURE 10.18
Percent of adults aged 18 years and over who had 5 or more drinks in 1 day at least once in the past year, 1997–2003 increased with increased social isolation. The quality, rather than frequency, of social contacts was more important in staving off impairment. People who had infrequent but satisfying interactions with families and friends fared better than those with unhappy or stressful relationships. The Swedish project also suggests that a variety of strong relationships is important—a single bond is insufficient to reduce risk. Older adults with several kinds of enduring relationships such as marriage, children, friends, and relatives were at lowest risk.

A promising finding from the study published in the April 2000 Lancet is the observation that one relationship may substitute for another. This is a key concern because death of a spouse or close friend may increase the survivor's risk for social isolation. The observation that strong connections with children, relatives, and friends can substitute for relationships with spouses or partners is especially significant for widowed, divorced, or never-married older adults.

Along with personal relationships, social activities also seem to protect against disease and increase longevity, even when the activities do not involve physical exercise. An annual study tracked the health and longevity of 2,761 older adults living in New Haven, Connecticut. After thirteen years, the researchers determined that "Social and productive activities that involve little or no enhancement of fitness lower the risk of all cause mortality as much as fitness activities do."

FIGURE 10.19
Percent of adults aged 18 years and over who had 5 or more drinks in 1 day at least once in the past year, by age group and sex, January–June 2003

Pets Are More Than Best Friends; They Can Help Keep People Healthy

Research conducted during the late 1990s found that pet ownership was associated with better health. At first it was believed that the effects were simply increased well-being—the obvious delight of hospital and nursing home patients petting puppies, watching kittens play, or viewing fish in an aquarium clearly demonstrated pets' abilities to enhance mood and stimulate social interactions.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (vol. 47, no. 3, March 1999) found that attachment to a companion animal was linked to maintaining or slightly improving the physical and psychological well-being of older adults. Parminder Raina and his colleagues followed nearly one thousand older adults for one year and found that pet owners were better able to perform the activities of daily living and were more satisfied with their physical health, mental health, family relationships, living arrangements, finances, and friends. FIGURE 10.20
Age- and sex-adjusted percent of adults aged 18 years and over who had 5 or more drinks in 1 day at least once in the past year, by race/ethnicity, January–June 2003 These findings were confirmed further by a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine December 2002 (J. Blascovich, B. Mendes, vol. 64, no. 5) using both men and women and dogs and cats.

Other research revealed the specific health benefits of human interaction with animals. One study followed people who had suffered heart attacks and found that after one year pet owners had one-fifth of the mortality rate of people without pets. Several researchers have observed that petting dogs and cats actually lowers blood pressure. The physiologic mechanisms responsible for these health benefits are as yet unidentified; however, some researchers think that pets connect people to the natural world, enabling them to focus on others, rather than simply on themselves. Other investigators observe that dog owners walk more than people without dogs and credit pet owners' improved health to exercise. Nearly all agree that the nonjudgmental affection pets offer boosts health and wellness.