Does Staying Active Keep Us Alive as We Get Older?
A study reported in the August 2007 issue of Journal of Aging and Health provides a look at the important role of regenerative (e.g., resting), productive (e.g., housework), and consumptive (e.g., meeting friends) activies in helping people aged 70 and older stay alive. An observational study of 473 persons aged 70 to 103 years stratified by age and sex was carried out in the former West Berlin, Germany. Study participants lived in the community as well as in facilities for the elderly. Using structured interviews in the participants' homes to study activity levels from 1990 to 1993, the rate of survival time from time of interview to a target date (August 1, 2003) was determined. Using regression measures to examine the role of different types of activity on survival, it was found that consumptive (stimulating) activities were significantly related to survival after several confounding factors were ruled out. The effect was found to diminish over time. The authors discuss the idea that daily activities are linked to survival through a psychosocial pathway that might involve perceived quality of life. Consumptive activities (e.g., meeting friends, reading a novel) may contribute significantly to maintaining health and achieving longevity because they are performed on a daily basis and their effects may accumulate over the life course.
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