Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Gerontologist. 2010 Oct;50(5):594-602. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnq007. Epub 2010 Feb 19.
This study tested the hypothesis that volunteering in environmental organizations in midlife is associated with greater physical activity and improved mental and physical health over a 20-year period.
The study used data from two waves (1974 and 1994) of the Alameda County Study, a longitudinal study of health and mortality that has followed a cohort of 6,928 adults since 1965. Using logistic and multiple regression models, we examined the prospective association between environmental and other volunteerism and three outcomes (physical activity, self-reported health, and depression), with 1974 volunteerism predicting 1994 outcomes, controlling for a number of relevant covariates.
Midlife environmental volunteering was significantly associated with physical activity, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms.
This population-based study offers the first epidemiological evidence for a significant positive relationship between environmental volunteering and health and well-being outcomes. Further research, including intervention studies, is needed to confirm and shed additional light on these initial findings.
本研究检验了这样一个假设，即中年时期在环境组织中做志愿者与 20 年内更多的身体活动以及更好的心理和身体健康有关。
该研究使用了 1974 年和 1994 年两次阿拉米达县研究的数据，这是一项自 1965 年以来对健康和死亡率进行的纵向研究，跟踪了 6928 名成年人的队列。研究使用逻辑和多元回归模型，考察了环境和其他志愿服务与三个结果（身体活动、自我报告的健康和抑郁）之间的前瞻性关联，其中 1974 年的志愿活动预测 1994 年的结果，控制了许多相关的协变量。
中年时期的环境志愿服务与身体活动、自我报告的健康和抑郁症状显著相关。
这项基于人群的研究提供了第一个流行病学证据，证明环境志愿服务与健康和幸福结果之间存在显著的积极关系。需要进一步的研究，包括干预研究，以确认和进一步阐明这些初步发现。
