In 1979, the first study demonstrating the importance of social relationships to health was published, and it was truly a bombshell report. A nine-year prospective survey of nearly 7,000 adults, it found that people who lacked social and community ties were at increased risk of mortality. What could explain this? Was it really true that relationships make a difference to health?
After the study was published, many follow-up studies replicated and confirmed the finding that people with a greater number of social ties have a lower mortality risk and are at lower risk for a variety of health problems. They are also more likely to survive a heart attack, less likely to be depressed, less susceptible to infectious disease, and less likely to have a recurrence of cancer. Meta-analyses have found that the effect of relationships on mortality is comparable to the effects of classic mortality risk factors like exercise and cigarette use.
