The Importance of the Social Environment for Longevity

Background and Purpose: There is growing need for developing age-friendly environments, however, communities are still at the nascent stage of preparedness. Lack of evidence based data is making it hard to convince policy makers to put greater focus on older adult needs. The need for age friendly environments is a local and global phenomenon. In an effort to build on the theoretical and empirical understanding of what constitutes elder-friendly communities, the purpose of this study was to further the knowledge of the relationship between the social dimensions of neighborhoods and the physical and mental health of older adults. The concept social capital was used to capture the social dimension of neighborhoods.

Methods: Five individual level (Support, Participation, Cohesion, Trust and Interaction) and three community level (Crime, Voting, and Residential Setting) social capital indicators were examined in relation to five health outcomes (self rated health, activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, number of depressive symptoms and level of stress) among a group of older adults (65 years and older) living in urban and suburban community dwellings of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Four datasets, from 2007 and later were used: i) Community Health Data Base (CHDB); ii) PA Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE) Project; and iii) PA Uniform Crime Reporting System (UCRS) and iv) US Census.  Linear and logistic regressions modeling examined the relationships between individual and community indicators of social capital and health, accounting for key demographic indicators, among older adults.

Results: Findings showed multiple indicators of individual level social capital were important for both physical and mental health.  The association between individual level social capital indicators was particularly strong with self-rated health. Specifically, Trust increased the odds of improved self-rated health (OR=0.29); Cohesion increased the odds of improved self-rated health (OR=0.17); Support increased the odds of improved self-rated health (OR=0.09); and Participation increased the odds of improved self-rated health (OR=0.11). All individual level social capital indicators, except Interaction, were important for self-rated health. For other health conditions, only one or two individual level social capital indicators were significant. No significant relationships were found between individual level social capital indicators and ADL. In terms of community level social capital indicators, studied among a reduced sample of older adults, only SES was significant for some physical health outcomes. 

Conclusions and Implications: This research has implications in regards to the role of social capital (individual and community level) in terms of physical and mental health, and ultimately longevity of older adults. Specifically, social capital measured at the individual level may be particularly important in regards to health and well-being of community dwelling older adults. The findings support future efforts to build interventions aimed at maximizing physical and mental health of older adults through multiple channels including active participation, building sense of belonging and support derived from neighbors, as well as increasing trust among neighbors. This research provides much needed empirical evidence that may help to secure political engagement, as well as assist policy makers focused on developing future age-friendly environments.