A prospective study of associations among helping, health, and longevity

Abstract

How does helping behavior contribute to the health and the longevity of older helpers? From an evolutionary perspective, the ultimate cause may be rooted in ancestral parenting and grandparenting. These activities may have generalized to a neural and hormonal caregiving system that also enabled prosocial behavior beyond the family. From a psychological perspective, helping others may be associated with healthy aging, which, in turn, contributes to longevity as a proximate cause. Yet little is known about the extent to which mediating factors such as the health benefits of helping behaviors translate into enhanced longevity, particularly in regard to grandparenting. To fill this gap, we conducted mediation analyses (structural equation models) to examine whether grandparenting and supporting others in the social network contributed directly or indirectly (through better health 5-6 years later) to the longevity of older helpers. We drew on longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study (N = 516), in which older adults in Berlin, Germany, were interviewed at baseline (1990-1993, mean age at entry = 85 years) and continuously followed up until 2009. Results suggest that the associations of both grandparenting and supporting others with enhanced longevity are mediated by better prospective health (indirect effect). The effect of helping was not fully mediated, however-helping was also directly associated with increased longevity independently of the health indicators measured. The results were robust against effects of the helper's preexisting health status and sociodemographic characteristics of participants, their children, and grandchildren. We conclude that better prospective health contributes to the link between helping and longevity, but does not fully account for it. Other potential contributing mechanisms remain to be identified. As populations age across the globe, identifying mechanisms that foster health in old age can help to highlight potential targets for public health interventions.

Interdisciplinary perspectives on grandparental investment: a journey towards causality

“…In the within-individual analysis, however, the only association that remained significant showed that the number of difficulties with activities of daily living decreased over time among grandparents whose childcare frequencies had increased previously. In line with previous longitudinal evidence associating babysitting with improved health (Hilbrand, Coall, Meyer, et al, 2017) and increased exercise (Hughes, Waite, LaPierre, & Luo, 2007), these findings are consistent with the association between grandchild care and grandparental well-being working specifically through physical health. Clearly, the final word on this association is some time away.…”

“…In a mediation analysis using structural equation modelling, grandparenting and supporting others were associated with improved subsequent health, which was in turn associated with longevity. Subsequent health partially mediated the associations between grandparenting and supporting others and longevity, accounting for 22% of this relationship (Hilbrand, Coall, Meyer, Gerstorf, & Hertwig, 2017). Therefore, health is likely to be on this causal path; however, more detailed information exploring issues of motivation, emotion and relationship quality are required to fully understand the mechanisms involved.…”

Quality of life, burden, family emotional support: a model for older adults who are caregivers

“…Caregivers who provided emotional support without burden had a better score in total quality of life, self-realization/pleasure and control/autonomy than those who did not exchange or did not receive emotional support, perhaps a favorable indication of the notion that solidarity provision and without rendering can benefit the well-being of older adults (2,33) . Only providing support is an indicator of risk to the welfare of seniors, especially when they are members of dysfunctional families or very lacking in resources, in such a way that older adults represent a financial source for them (23) .…”

Desarrollo evolutivo humano y longevidad. Un análisis bio-psicosocial

“…Los resultados de otro estudio sugieren que existen asociaciones entre ser abuelos y apoyar a otros con la mayor longevidad. (Hilbrand, Coall, Meyer, Gerstorf, & Hertwig, 2017).…”