Elderly people with close relatives or friends up to 30 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases

Australian researchers released a study last week showing that the presence of a close relative or friend reduces the likelihood of cardiovascular disease detection by up to 30 percent. Courtesy of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Elderly people with close relatives or friends are up to 30 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease, according to a study.

Last week, researchers from Monash University in Australia analyzed the results of a six-year follow-up of 9,936 Australians aged 70 and older and published the findings in the “Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health” published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

The researchers found that the presence of close relatives was the key to reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases for elderly men. If three to eight relatives were around to discuss personal issues, the likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases was reduced by 30 percent compared to those without. Having relatively close relatives with whom you could turn to for help, even if they were not very close, also reduced your risk by 24 percent. For women, the presence of friends was important. Having at least three friends with whom to share personal problems was associated with a 29 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Living with family, relatives, or friends was associated with a 26 percent reduction in the outbreak of the diseases.

“Women were particularly less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases when they felt close friendships,” the researchers said. “Men were less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases when they were able to seek help from other people easily or have relatives they could talk about personal problems with.”

The study also found that competitive social activities were beneficial for men when it comes to reducing cardiovascular diseases. Playing chess or cards reduced the risk by 18 percent, according to the paper. “In the case of women, whatever the type of activity, socializing with others showed an effect on reducing cardiovascular diseases,” the researchers said.

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