Reduce the risk of developing serious illnesses, both physical and mental. Feel happy. Maintain good health of the body and mind. To design well-being in middle age and as the years advance, these are the most significant parameters to define a satisfactory aging.
But how much does it weigh to be two people facing life day after day? For men, it is certainly important. For women, it would matter less. This indication is given by an original Canadian research on people followed over time, for about three years. The research examined the data relating to 7641 subjects over 60 considering their social and health conditions first in the period 2011-2015, with checks then repeated in the period 2015-2018. It was conducted in Canada. And it reveals how for men life as a couple is particularly important for maintaining well-being and, curiously, signals a potential gender difference. For women, the presence of a “he” would not have the same positive impact.
What the research says
According to the research, men who were married or who got married during the survey showed a double the chance of aging optimally compared to their male peers who have never been in a couple. For women the situation appears different. Those who had never married were twice as likely to age optimally compared to married men who were widowed or divorced during the observation period, but they did not have different trajectories in terms of healthy aging compared to those who did not marry during the study period. In short: for women, there would be no significant difference in terms of health trajectory for well-being in old age between those who are married and those who do not live in a couple.
The study was coordinated by Esme Fuller-Thomson, director of the Institute for Life Course & Aging and professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto (formerly Mabel Ho) and was published online in International Social Work.
The importance of social contact
Explaining these results, which obviously take into consideration a varied population and do not allow conclusions to be drawn on the individual couple, reveals the impact of gender on well-being in old age. The potential reasons for these positive effects certainly appear to be linked to the push that, particularly for men, can come from the mutual stimulus to adopt or maintain positive health behaviors such as do not smoke or engage in regular physical activity. And certainly a lifestyle with healthy choices in terms of nutrition and good habits appears to be of great importance.
But there is a broader aspect that should not be underestimated since, regardless of the couple’s life, regular contact with relatives, friends and neighbours can help seniors feel connected, reduce feelings of loneliness, and improve their overall well-being. According to Canadian experts, it is essential to focus on programs and services aimed at involving and supporting seniors, with special attention to those who have never lived as a couple, those who have been widowed, or who have separated in adulthood.
The value of telemedicine
Socializing, regardless of the presence of a spouse who certainly helps to keep oneself “connected” with the outside world and improves psycho-physical well-being, appears to be strategic for the prevention of cognitive deterioration. And also the technology can help in this sense, as revealed by a research published in Lancet Health Longevity. Thanks to astructured psychological assistance, although provided only by telephone for a period of eight weeks, there was a heavy (positive) response on the front of loneliness on the emotional front. The decrease in the perception of loneliness of people reached through the call was 21%. The study, as reported in a note from the University of York, was conducted by experts from the same university together with scholars from the Hull York Medical School and the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.
Do you think that the telemedicineeven through a simple phone call, can become a prevention tool. And it can highlight the importance of maintaining contact, even if not physical, with people who, due to pathology or social conditions, find themselves entering the tunnel of lonelinesswith consequent repercussions on the psychological state. Even contact with an operator who knows what to propose and how to “accompany” the person, through fixed and defined appointments, can become an excellent prevention tool for psychological well-being and not only, considering that a condition of solitude that persists over time can even appear as a potential additional risk factor for cerebral stroke after 50 years, with an increase in risk higher than 56% compared to those who are included and participate in a social and family environment. The study that demonstrates this appeared on eClinicalMedicine.
