Social connections and mortality in Chilean older adults: analysis of 20 years of follow-up.

Authors

Leticia De Albuquerque-Araújo, Gloria Icaza-Noguera, Carlos Márquez-Jara, Cecilia Albala-Brevis

Published in

Salud publica de Mexico. Volume 68. Issue 5 (sept-oct). Pages 481-489. Oct 10, 2026. Epub Oct 10, 2026.

Abstract

To estimate the effect of social connections aspects on mortality among the Chilean older population.
This cohort study analyzed a sample of 2 265 community-dwelling adults aged 60+ from Santiago, Chile, with a median follow-up of 15 years. Social connection clusters were derived via cluster analysis across five dimensions: household size, marital status, group participation, recreational social activities, and perceived social support. All-cause mortality (2000-2019) was the outcome. Cox regression models, Kaplan-Meier curves, and interaction analyses were conducted, adjusting for sex, age, education, income, multimorbidity, and depression.
Among older adults without multimorbidity at baseline, being in the 'without a partner and social participation' and 'no perception of support and no social participation' clusters increased mortality risk compared to the reference cluster ('with social participation, partner, and support').
These findings suggest that older individuals in better health (without multimorbidity) benefit the most in terms of longevity from being socially integrated.

PMID:
42873953
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Oct 2026.

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