Social Relationships

Many types of scientific evidence show that involvement in social relationships benefits health. The most striking evidence comes from prospective studies of mortality across industrialized nations. These studies consistently show that individuals with the lowest level of involvement in social relationships are more likely to die than those with greater involvement. The risk of death among men and women with the fewest social ties was more than twice as high as the risk for adults with the most social ties. Social ties also reduce mortality risk among adults with documented medical conditions. Among adults with coronary artery disease, the socially isolated had a risk of subsequent cardiac death 2.4 times greater than their more socially connected peers . In addition to mortality, involvement in social relationships has been associated with specific health conditions as well as biological markers indicating risk of preclinical conditions. Several recent review articles provide consistent and compelling evidence linking low quantities or quality of social ties with a host of conditions.