Social connections and mortality in Chilean older adults: analysis of 20 years of follow-up

Objective. To estimate the effect of social connections aspects on mortality among the Chilean older population. Materials and methods. This cohort study analyzed a sample of 2 265 community-dwelling adults aged 60+ from Santiago, Chile, with a median follow-up of 15 years. Social connection clusters were derived via cluster analysis across five dimensions: household size, marital status, group participation, recreational social activities, and perceived social support. All-cause mortality (2000-2019) was the outcome. Cox regression models, Kaplan-Meier curves, and interaction analyses were conducted, adjusting for sex, age, education, income, multimorbidity, and depression. Results. Among older adults without multimorbidity at baseline, being in the ‘without a partner and social participation’ and ‘no perception of support and no social participation’ clusters increased mortality risk compared to the reference cluster (‘with social participation, partner, and support’). Conclusion. These findings suggest that older individuals in better health (without multimorbidity) benefit the most in terms of longevity from being socially integrated.