Abstract
Objectives This study was designed to clarify the relation between social interaction and seven-year-mortality in a group of elderly people.
Methods The participants were all 65 years or older living in farming communities near major urban centers in Japan (n=801). The contents of the questionnaire covered social interaction (using an “Index of Social Interaction” consisting of 18 items), health status, physical function, activities of daily living (ADL), age and gender.
Results A total of 139 subjects died within the seven year period after the baseline survey: 1) baseline age and physical function were related to the seven-year mortality; 2) greater social interaction was positively related to reduced mortality; 3) multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for baseline age, gender, physical function, health status, and ADL indicated that greater social interaction was related to reduced mortality.
Discussion These findings highlight the importance of social interaction in successful aging.
