Can Being Neighborly Reduce Depression in Older Adults?

A study in Health & Social Care in the Community examined 10,105 older adults in China in 2011, 2013, and 2015 based in neighborhoods with a higher level of community participation, and the researchers associated this with lower rates of depression, reports Medical Xpress . Higher levels of neighborhood social participation were related to more time invested in physical activities, along with a higher frequency of contact with neighbors and subjects' own children. "We highlight the importance of social participation — both at the individual and neighborhood levels — in improving older people's mental health and discuss ways in which the government could encourage older people to participate in neighbourhood affairs in China," noted the University of Southampton's Zhixin Feng.