Friendships Promote Long Life

Lifted from WebMD, this article agrees with the GGT view of friendship and the importance of having Girlfriends.
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In the study, researchers analyzed data collected from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging, which began in 1992.

At the start of the study, nearly 1,500 people over 70 were asked how much personal and phone contact they had with various social networks, including children, relatives, friends, and other confidants (including spouses). The group was monitored yearly for the first four years of the study and then about every three years.

After 10 years of follow-up, researchers found close contact with children and relatives had little impact on the risk of death. But a strong network of friends and confidants significantly reduced the risk of death during the follow-up period.

For example, those older adults with the strongest network of friends were 22% less likely to die during the study than those with the weakest network of good friendships.

Researchers say friends may exert a healthy influence on potentially risky behaviors like smoking and drinking, as well as have important effects on mood, self-esteem, and coping in times of difficulty.


Until next time...
Be Seen at the Top! And take a few of your girlfriends with you. ;-P

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