Justice
Liking Your Neighbors Could Help Prevent You From Having a Stroke
Researchers have found evidence that strong social ties may be just as important as not smoking.
When it comes to preventing a stroke, living in a neighborhood where you have strong social ties and feel comfortable may be as important as not smoking.
That’s the dramatic finding in a new study from University of Michigan researchers, who analyzed data from the Health and Retirement study, a nationwide biennial survey that has been ongoing since 1992. A total of nearly 7,000 individuals from communities around the country were included in the stroke study; none of them had had a stroke when the data collection began. The researchers then looked at how an individual’s incidence of stroke correlated with his or her “perceived neighborhood cohesion.”