Volunteering is associated with increased survival in able-bodied participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Background: Volunteering has been linked to reduced mortality in older adults but the mechanisms explaining this effect remain unclear. Objectives: To determine whether volunteering is associated with increased survival in participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and to examine whether differences in survival are modified by functional disabilities. Methods: A multivariate Cox Proportional Hazards model was used to estimate the association of volunteering with survival over a period of 10.9 years in 10,324 participants, whilst controlling for selected confounders. To investigate effect modification by disability, the analyses were repeated in participants with and without self-reported functional disabilities. Results: Volunteering was associated with a reduced probability of death from all-causes in univariate analyses (HR = 0.65, CI 0.58-0.73, P < 0.0001), but adjustment for covariates rendered this association non-significant (HR = 0.90, CI 0.79–1.01, P = 0.07). Able-bodied volunteers had significantly increased survival compared to able-bodied non-volunteers (HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.69 – 0.95, P = 0.009). There was no significant survival advantage among disabled volunteers, compared to disabled non-volunteers (HR = 1.06, CI 0.88–1.29, P = 0.53). Conclusion: Volunteering is associated with reduced mortality in older adults in England, but this effect appears to be limited to volunteers who report no disabilities