Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jun;24(4):547-68.
doi: 10.1177/0898264311432310. Epub 2012 Jan 4.

Trajectories of social engagement and mortality in late life

Patricia A Thomas  1
Affiliations

Trajectories of social engagement and mortality in late life

Patricia A Thomas. J Aging Health. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: There is a dearth of empirical research examining how patterns of stability and change in social engagement affect mortality. This study uses social integration theory within a life course framework to examine trajectories of social engagement over time and how those patterns relate to mortality.

Method: Data are drawn from the Americans' Changing Lives survey, a nationally representative panel study, with mortality information spanning from 1986 to 2005.

Results: Even after controlling for known predictors of mortality, membership in a trajectory of high and slightly increasing social engagement was related to lower risk of mortality. Sociodemographic, health condition, and health behavior variables mediated the impact of the other social engagement trajectories on mortality.

Discussion: Findings suggest the importance of maintaining high levels of social engagement over time for the health of older adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Estimated means for trajectory classes of social engagement
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. August KJ, Rook KS, & Newsom JT (2007). The joint effects of life stress and negative social exchanges on emotional distress. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 62B, S304–S314. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bennett KM (2002). Low level social engagement as a precursor of mortality among people in later life. Age and Ageing, 31, 165–168. - PubMed
    1. Berkman LF, Glass T, Brissette I, & Seeman TE (2000). From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Social Science & Medicine, 51, 843–857. - PubMed
    1. Berkman LF, Melchior M, Chastang J-FF, Niedhammer I, Leclerc A, & Goldberg M (2004). Social integration and mortality: A prospective study of French employees of electricity of France-Gas of France. American Journal of Epidemiology, 159, 167–174. - PubMed
    1. Berkman LF, & Syme SL (1979). Social networks, host-resistance, and mortality: A nine-year follow-up study of Alameda county residents. American Journal of Epidemiology, 109, 186–204. - PubMed

Publication types