In-Person Contact Is Critical to Seniors' Mental Well-Being

By Sondra Forsyth

In a study of adults aged 50 years and older, the probability of experiencing depressive symptoms steadily increased as the frequency of in-person, but not phone or written/email contact, decreased. The article was published in October 2015 in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

A release from the publisher reports that people without in-person social contact with adult children, other family members, and friends at least every few months had a significantly higher probability of clinically significant depressive symptoms two years later (11.5%) compared with those having in-person contact once or twice a month (8.1%) or once or twice a week (7.3%).

The release quotes lead author Dr. Alan Teo as saying, “This study shows that meeting up and connecting with people face-to-face is good medicine for depression prevention. As opportunities for connecting grow with social media, I hope we can study more how different ways of connecting influence mental health.”