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It’s just simple, everyday acts of kindness, that does the trick.
A long-running national study indicates that regularly supporting others outside the home is linked to slower cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults, pointing to potential public health implications as populations grow older.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Massachusetts Boston tracked more than 30,000 U.S. adults over roughly 20 years. According to the research team, people who repeatedly helped others outside their household experienced a noticeably slower decline in cognitive abilities as they aged.
The analysis found reductions of about 15 to 20 percent in age-related cognitive decline among those who volunteered formally or offered informal support to neighbors, friends, or relatives. The strongest and most consistent association appeared among participants who helped for roughly two to four hours a week.
The findings were published in Social Science & Medicine and funded by the National Institute on Aging and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, both part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
“Everyday acts of support – whether organized or personal – can have lasting cognitive impact,” said Sae Hwang Han, an assistant professor at UT Austin and the study’s lead author, told the University of Texas.
Formal and informal roles
The study examined formal volunteering and informal helping side by side, a comparison that has rarely been made. Informal helping included activities such as driving someone to medical appointments, childcare, home maintenance, or assistance with paperwork.
Previous research shows that around one-third of older Americans participate in organized volunteering, while more than half regularly provide informal help. The researchers reported that both forms were linked to similar cognitive benefits over time.
“Informal helping is sometimes assumed to offer fewer health benefits due to its lack of social recognition,” Han said. “It was a pleasant surprise to find that it provides cognitive benefits comparable to formal volunteering.”
Long-term engagement
To reach their conclusions, the researchers used data from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of Americans over 51 that has collected information since 1998. They accounted for factors such as education, wealth, and physical and mental health.
Even after those adjustments, cognitive decline slowed when people began helping others and stayed engaged. By contrast, withdrawing from helping activities was associated with poorer cognitive outcomes.
The authors argue that volunteering and neighborly support should be viewed as part of broader public health strategies, particularly as risks of dementia rise with age. “Many older adults in suboptimal health often continue to make valuable contributions to those around them,” Han said.
Sources: Social Science & Medicine, University of Texas at Austin, University of Massachusetts Boston
