Older adults who give to others live longer than those who do not, according to a University of Michigan analysis, whose results will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science. In fact, the analysis suggests, people who are generous in their help of others reduce their short-term risks of dying by 60 per cent. 

Funded partially by the National Institutes of Health, the analysis focused on more than 400 older couples who participated in the University of Michigan's Changing Lives of Older Couples program. The couples were chosen randomly in 1987 and then, in the following five years, were tracked by the University of Michigan faculty who oversaw the program. The most recent conclusions are based on further evaluations of the data. 

Stephanie Brown, a psychologist at the University's Institute for Social Research and one of the authors of the recent analysis, found that people who said that they gave no help to others were more than twice as likely to die during the survey period as those who said they actively helped others. The analysis sought to "control" or adjust for differences in age, gender, and other factors. 

The analysis is summarized on the Federal government's FirstGov for Seniors site, at www.seniors.gov/articles/1102/generosity.htm

December 2002