Volunteering Carries Health Benefits, Report Says

By Ian Wilhelm

Older Americans who volunteer receive significant health benefits for their charitable efforts, including added years to their lives, says a new report.

While people who contribute their time to good causes often say they felt a "helper's high," during the past 20 years scientific research has shown that there are more tangible health advantages, says the report.

"Even when controlling for other factors — such as age, health, and gender — research has found that when individuals volunteer, they are more likely to live longer," it says.

Besides raising life-expectancy rates, the report says volunteering can help lower rates of depression and help people recover from illness faster than in those who do not volunteer.

The report, which presents no new data, but collects findings from numerous studies, was written by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a governmental agency in Washington that oversees AmeriCorps and other federal-service programs.

While the corporation said that studies have shown that volunteering may benefit people of all ages, older volunteers are the most likely to receive mental or physical help.

Several researchers have hypothesized why this is so. Since their charitable efforts are less likely to be obligatory, such as a school requirement, or tied to other responsibilities, such as child rearing, older volunteers gain a greater sense of purpose, says the report. In addition, volunteering helps cement social ties during a potentially difficult time in life, says the report.

Of course, the publication also notes that measuring health advantages in older people is easier than in younger ones because they are more likely to be ill.

'Passing the Torch'

The Corporation for National and Community Service does not say what type of volunteer activities specifically lead to health benefits. But Stephen G. Post, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in Cleveland, who has studied the link between altruism and good health, says that opportunities to be a mentor to children, teenagers, or other young people have been shown to help older Americans.

"That seems to engage them in a very profound way," Dr. Post says. Such activities are like a "passing of the torch" to the younger generation, a traditional role for the elderly that has been diminished in modern society, he says.

The Corporation for National and Community Service said the findings are relevant as the baby boomers are reaching retirement age. That generation is expected to contribute a lot of time and money to nonprofit groups once they retire, and the report suggests that charities can craft their volunteer opportunities to maximize the health benefits available.

For example, the report says there is a "volunteering threshold," meaning that for older Americans to experience health benefits they need to devote, on average, one or two hours a week to charity.

The report notes, however, that if a person were to volunteer more time than this, he or she would not necessarily gain greater health advantages.

The 17-page report, "The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research," is available free online at http://www.nationalservice.org.