ArticleAmerican journal of preventive medicine2020
Volunteering and Subsequent Health and Well-Being in Older Adults: An Outcome-Wide Longitudinal Approach.
Article in American journal of preventive medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Health benefits and harms of older adult volunteering: mixed methods systematic review.The Gerontologist · 2026Pooled it
- Petit volunteer protocol for loneliness alleviation in community-dwelling older adults in Japan: a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2026Trial
- Racial Differences in Social Capital Volunteer Activities: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Study of How Race and Place Influence Opportunities.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Association between hobby engagement and frailty among adults aged 65 years and older in 15 countries: findings from four prospective cohort studies.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Meaningful voluntary work design and dual pathways for healthy aging (MVP-HA): a cross-sectional and mixed-methods study in Hong Kong.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Classification of Social Participation and Its Association With Loneliness in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study of the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology-Study of Geriatric Syndromes.Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Article
- Urban environments and depression among older adults: policy implications from the WHO age-friendly cities framework.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Voting behavior and mortality risk in older adults: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Unconditional Quantile Regression Analysis of Volunteering and Cognitive Functioning: Implications for Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Article
- The Impact of Volunteer Wildlife Caregiving on Meaning in Life in Mid-Aged and Older Australians.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Examination of Total Hours of Volunteering or Informal Helping Among Older Adults and Risk of Future Functional Disability Using Data From a Large Panel Study.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association · 2026Article
- Faith, Social Connection, and Aging: A Narrative Review of the Impact of Religious and Spiritual Engagement on Social Well-being in Older Adults Across Global Contexts.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Loneliness and Its Association with Depression, Aspiration Risk, and Conversation in Japanese Older Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Daily Activities and Purpose in Life.International journal of wellbeing · 2026Article
- How time exposure, role engagement and task essence ("3E") of volunteering interact to associate with healthy aging: a cross-sectional mixed-method study in Hong Kong.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Volunteering and Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes in Black Adolescents From Low-Income Families.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- How helping others helps us: neural mechanisms linking prosocial behavior to psychological and physical wellbeing.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- Forms of support giving and receiving, and their associations with self-rated health and general self-efficacy among older adults in Switzerland.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Well-Being Activities Among Internal Medicine Physicians: Results of a National Survey.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2025Article
- Is psychological engagement more important than participation? Volunteer activity and subjective cognitive function in older adults.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionGrowing evidence documents strong associations between volunteering and favorable health and well-being outcomes. However, epidemiological studies have not evaluated whether changes in volunteering are associated with subsequent health and well-being outcomes.
methodsData were from 12,998 participants in the Health and Retirement Study-a large, diverse, prospective, and nationally representative cohort of U.S. adults aged >50 years. Using multiple logistic, linear, and generalized linear regression models, this study evaluated if changes in volunteering (between t
resultsDuring the 4-year follow-up period, participants who volunteered ≥100 hours/year (versus 0 hours/year) had a reduced risk of mortality and physical functioning limitations, higher physical activity, and better psychosocial outcomes (higher: positive affect, optimism, and purpose in life; lower: depressive symptoms, hopelessness, loneliness, and infrequent contact with friends). Volunteering was not associated with other physical health outcomes (diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancer, heart disease, lung disease, arthritis, overweight/obesity, cognitive impairment, and chronic pain), health behaviors (binge drinking, smoking, and sleep problems), or psychosocial outcomes (life satisfaction, mastery, health/financial mastery, depression, negative affect, perceived constraints, and contact with other family/children).
conclusionsWith further research, volunteering is an activity that physicians might suggest to their willing and able patients as a way of simultaneously enhancing health and society.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.