Are social supports in late midlife a cause or a result of successful physical ageing?

Background. Many studies have noted a strong association between poor social support and premature mortality. A limitation of such studies has been their failure to control adequately for confounders that damage both social supports and physical health. Methods. A 50-year prospective multivariate study of 223 men was used to examine the possible causal relationships between social supports and health. Alcohol abuse, prior physical health and mental illness prior to age 50 were controlled. Relative social supports were quantified over the period from age 50 to 70. Results. Adequacy of social supports from age 50 to 70 was powerfully correlated with physical health at age 70 (P