It Takes a Village

When it comes to your health, your friends and neighbors may play a bigger role than your family.

A new study involving identical twins found that the siblings with tight-knit social circles were healthier than their counterparts who didn't feel as connected to their communities, despite their very similar DNA and upbringing.

Previous studies have found that people with strong relationships within their communities tend to have fewer ills, but it's been unclear how much of a role a person's "good" genes and childhood experiences played in their robustness. The new study removed those factors from the equation by using nearly 1,000 U.S. twin pairs who were raised in the same household. The research found that siblings with a deeper sense of belonging to a trusted community were more likely to report being in excellent or good health than their twin who didn't feel a deep social connection.

For individuals, the take-home message is that they may be able to improve their health by developing closer relationships with others in their community, said Takeo Fujiwara, who led the research and is chief of the behavioral science section at the National Institute of Public Health in Japan.

"This is very good news because we can say 'community' can contribute to physical health, no matter what kind of gene they have, or how they were raised when they were young," Fujiwara said.

The study only gathered a snapshot of the twins' overall health status so while social connections seem to improve both mental and physical health, it's not clear which specific diseases or conditions are impacted.

Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist at Stanford University, said she's not surprised that stronger social bonds play a big role in better health regardless of a person's genetic makeup.

"People who do not view the world as a supportive place are far more likely to have a fight-or-flight emergency response to minor stressors and challenges," McGonigal said. "Over time, this chronic heightened stress reactivity makes the body vulnerable to a wide range of health problems, from the everyday cold to cardiovascular disease."

McGonigal said one way people can increase their feelings of social support is through community service, such as helping at a church or food bank.

"Service puts you in a role where people trust you, and you interact with other people who are serving the community," she said. "These direct experiences can over time profoundly change whether you view your world as friendly or hostile."

Powerful connections
Colleen Wainwright, 46, found out just how life-changing stronger social connections can be when she developed a severe case of Crohn's disease several years ago. At the time, Wainwright, a Los Angeles resident, had just broken up with a boyfriend, had few close friends and felt socially isolated.