Socializing can keep you nimble

Summarized by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
July 3, 2009

Summary

Motor decline is the general slowdown that people experience as they age. A new study shows that people with a more active social life experience a much slower rate of decline. It's not known what the underlying biology is, but it may be worth encouraging older people to socialize more in the interests of long term health.

Introduction

Motor decline is an inevitable part of aging. It can range from a mild muscle weakness and slower walking to full-blown disability. Common as it is, we still do not know too much about the risk factors involved in motor decline - although clearly some people deteriorate faster than others. If there were ways of keeping people mobile as they age, it would certainly help improve quality of life in later years and have an impact on long-term health.

What was done

As part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project, researchers at Rush University Medical Center tested the link between social activity and motor decline in 906 older adults. The researchers measured grip and pinch strength, ability to stand on one leg, walk in line, place pegs on a board and tap their index fingers. They also completed a survey about the extent of the social activity, ranging from rare to yearly, monthly, weekly or daily.

What was found

Lower frequency of participating in social activities was clearly linked to more rapid motor decline. Each point decrease in socializing was linked to a 33% more rapid rate of decline. The same one point decrease had the same effect as aging five years. This level of change is also linked to more than 40% mortality risk and 65% risk of disability.

What this study means

Although we do not yet know the mechanism by which social activities keep people physically mobile, the link is independent of confounding factors, the researchers find. Therefore, it is worthwhile maintaining and increasing social activities if you want to keep mobile and independent in later life.

Source

• Buchman AS, Boyle PA et al Association between late-life social activity and motor decline in older adults Archives of Internal Medicine June 22 2009; 169: 1139-1146