Medical research has found there is a direct link between good health and living in community. People with strong social ties, recover faster from illlness and live longer. People who live in community have lower healthcare costs. This is one of the reasons the Danish government has supported the development of over 100 senior cohousing communities in the past 20 years.
Listed below you will find a number of research studies showing the numerous health benefits of community.
Please click on the links below to read more.
1. The Roseto Effect
Researchers from Harvard and Yale found that the men in a close-knit community had less heart attacks. |
2. Lack of Social Support and Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease in Middle-Aged Swedish Men
Swedish researchers find lack of social support for men as significant as smoking as a leading indicator for coronary heart disease. |
3. Population Based Study of Social and Productive Activities as Predictors of Survival Among Elderly Americans
A coalition of Harvard, Yale and Rush Institute for Healthy Aging researchers found that social and productive activities were equally as significant as physical exercise in promoting longer, healthier lives in Americans 65 +. |
4. Anticipated Support From Neighbors and Physical Functioning During Later Life
A SUNY researcher has found that the expectation of neighborliness keeps older adults more functional. |
5. Social Participation and Health in a Community Rich in Stock of Social Capital
Finnish researchers from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland found that members of the Swedish-speaking minority living in Finland live longer, healthier lives due to more active and meaningful social lives than their Finnish counterparts. |
6. Maintaining Cognitive Health in an Ageing (sic) Society
Researchers from France, the U.K. and the U.S. find social engagement, intellectual stimulation and physical activity play a key role in maintaining cognitive health. |
7. Participating in Social Activities Helps Preserve Cognitive Function: An Analysis of a Longitudinal, Population-Based Study of the Elderly
An international group of researchers finds community social activities have even higher impact than family relations on maintaining and improving cognitive function among the elderly. |
8. Absence Makes The Heart Grow Weaker
Loneliness is bad for the heart, suggests a new study conducted by a psychologist at the
University of Chicago. |
9. Senior Cohousing in Denmark and Sweden Characteristics of Residents, Motives for Moving To and Evaluative Outcomes
Researchers find seniors in Denmark and Sweden are overwhelmingly positive in their evaluation of life in senior cohousing communities. |
10. Perceptions of Senior Cohousing amongst Korean 50s Living in Seoul Area
Though less than 20% of Korean seniors had heard of cohousing, upon understanding the concept, half said they would like to live in a cohousing community when they retire. |
11. Study of the well-being of older people in co-housing
This study shows a positive response in well-being for seniors living in cohousing as compared to seniors living in other accomodations. |
