Health News – New study found that providing social support to your family, friends, and spouse may be as beneficial as receiving assistance when it comes to your health.
In a recent study, researchers at the Ohio State University examined the data collected from 1054 participants who were healthy adults aged between 34-84 years. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that measured how often they communicated with their family and friends, whether they were married or living with a partner, and how often they attended social activities.
The questionnaire even included queries regarding how much the participants believed that they could rely on their family, friends, or spouse if they needed support. After two years, the participants returned for a blood test for interleukin-6 (a marker of systemic inflammation in the body).
The study discovered a significant association between indicators of positive social relationships and lower inflammation among people who said they were available to offer social support to their family and friends. As per the findings, the connection between people’s health and the willingness to help others is more likely to be observed in women.
“It may be that when people believe they can give more support to friends and family, these relationships are especially rewarding and stress-relieving, which reduces inflammation,” said Tao Jiang, lead author of the study published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
According to the research result, the healing power of good relationships comes from the fact that the support is mutual. It suggested that being available to help others is extremely beneficial even after taking into account several factors that may affect inflammation, from income, education, age to health behaviors, medication use and diagnosed medical conditions.
To Know More You May Refer To:
Jiang, T., Yakin, S., Crocker, J., & Way, B. M. (2022). Perceived social support-giving moderates the association between social relationships and interleukin-6 levels in blood. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 100, 25-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2021.11.002
