bluvsred
2024-02-13 12:59:31
Some experts think that social isolation is bad for human health. They point to a 1988 review of five prospective studies (investigations in which the characteristics of a population are determined and then the population is followed to see whether any of these characteristics are associated with specific outcomes) that showed that people with fewer social relationships die earlier on average than those with more social relationships. But, even though many prospective studies of mortality (death) have included measures of social relationships since that first review, the idea that a lack of social relationships is a risk factor for death is still not widely recognized by health organizations and the public. In this study, therefore, the researchers undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relevant literature to determine the extent to which social relationships influence mortality risk and which aspects of social relationships are most predictive of mortality. A systematic review uses predefined criteria to identify all the research on a given topic; a meta-analysis uses statistical methods to combine the results of several studies
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220507&id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000316&instance_id=60757&nl=the-morning%C2%AEi_id=84211342&segment_id=91601&te=1&user_id=a209f21720ff5aef450c47455d8538f8