It Takes a Village

"I felt very, very alone," she said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm going to die alone.'"

But she eventually recovered and vowed to become more social and develop deeper and more supportive friendships. She joined Toastmasters and formed a group of close friends who meet regularly for dinner. As she developed tighter bonds, she saw her health improve.

Wainwright said in a typical year she used to contract several colds, a bad case of the flu and a bout of bronchitis. Since she expanded her social circle, she's rarely sick. "I feel my baseline strength is better, and I think it's because I feel connected to people in a way I wasn't before," she said.

In the study, which appears in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Fujiwara's team obtained data on self-reported physical and mental health and social connections from 944 twin pairs, ranging in age from 25 to 74, who were participants in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States. Of the twin pairs, 351 were identical, which allowed the researchers to rule out the influence of both genes and upbringing factors, such as family life and level of wealth. The remaining 593 twin pairs were fraternal, which also helped eliminate the contribution early childhood experiences may make to long-term health.

Among both the identical and fraternal twins, those who reported higher levels of a sense of belonging to a supportive community had better health than their sibling. The twins assessed their own overall health status, by rating it from poor to excellent. The study was unable to zero in on specific diseases and conditions. That would require a much larger study, which Fujiwara said is his next project. The association between better health and social connections remained even after adjusting for age, gender, race and education.

Support when you're sick
Dr. Diego Coira, the chairman of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, added that while improved social ties won't make us immune to all diseases, the feelings of support can do wonders in aiding recovery.

"Even if you have a healthy social life, if you get cancer, that illness may still progress," he said. "But there's no doubt that if your social support is good, your chance of dealing with illness is better and the illness may be milder."

For Wainwright, the feeling of support she gets from her circle of friends has made all the difference in her health.

"I'm convinced that surrounding myself with people who care about me and love me makes me stronger," she said. "It's all about support. If I feel supported, then I don't have to expend precious resources worrying about me because I know there are people there to take care of me if something happens, so there's more resources to deal with other things."

Steve Mitchell is a science and medicine writer in Washington, D.C. His articles have appeared in a variety of newspapers, magazines and Web sites, including UPI, Reuters Health, The Scientist and WebMD

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