Family visits save seniors from depression
Visiting your parents may be a little thing for you, but it could save them from depression.
For adults aged 50 years and older, the probability of experiencing depressive symptoms steadily increased as the frequency of in-person–but not phone, written, or email contact–decreased.
Seniors without in-person social contact with children, other family, and friends at least every few months had a significantly higher probability of clinically significant depressive symptoms two years later (11.5%) compared with those having in-person contact once or twice a month (8.1%) or once or twice a week (7.3%).
“This study shows that meeting up and connecting with people face-to-face is good medicine for depression prevention,” said Dr. Alan Teo, lead author of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society study. “As opportunities for connecting grow with social media, I hope we can study more how different ways of connecting influence mental health.”
Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies
