Abstract
Supportive family and friendship ties can serve different functions and thus might show different associations with an individual’s health. Particularly, older adults might show varying health benefits of different types of supportive ties depending on their marital and retirement status. Our aim is to analyze relationships between different types of supportive social ties and autonomic nervous system (ANS) function, a physiological indicator of health that can help to establish the biological plausibility of the association—measured by heart rate variability (HRV). We present cross-sectional linear regression analyses of a German cohort of community-dwelling older adults (2008–2010; n = 1,548; mean age = 68.7 years). Our findings indicate that supportive friendship ties show significant positive associations (i.e., higher HRV) in individuals that are either not married or above retirement age. Supportive family ties show significant positive associations in individuals below retirement age. Significant results vanish or are reduced after accounting for behavioral/physical and psychological/cognitive indicators. We conclude that programs supporting the development or maintenance of friendship ties might be especially beneficial in unmarried older adults and adults above retirement age.
Highlights
Over the past decades, a large amount of research has examined the relationship between social ties and measures of both morbidity and mortality
While we found results that were mostly significant for indicators of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function known to reflect both sympathetic and parasympathetic activity (LF-heart rate variability (HRV), Very low frequency (VLF)-HRV, and standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN)), we did not observe similar findings for root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and High frequency (HF)-HRV, indicators reflecting primarily parasympathetic activity
This study provides evidence that supportive family and friendship ties have different associations with ANS function based on certain life circumstances
Summary
A large amount of research has examined the relationship between social ties and measures of both morbidity and mortality. Having fewer social ties has been associated, for example, with decreased subjective health (Thanakwang 2009), a higher prevalence of depression (Han et al 2019), and both increased all-cause and cause-specific mortality (Holt-Lunstad et al 2010; Shor et al 2013). In their meta-analysis, Holt-Lunstad et al (2010) suggested that the association between social ties and mortality is similar in magnitude to other well-established risk factors for mortality, such as tobacco use, alcohol abuse, obesity, and physical inactivity. In contrast to other types of support, instrumental support may lead to emotional distress and feelings of vulnerability, diminishing the positive effects of support (Li and Zhang 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
