You Need Friends....

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Thursday, 23 June 2005

Friends, not family, are the keys to a long life, a study of elderly Australians suggests.

The study followed 1500 people over 70 and found that those with close face-to-face of phone relationships with five or more friends were 22% less likely to die n the next decade than those who reported few, distant friends. Close ties with relatives had no effect.

"Friends are less likely to be a source of negative stress which, for some older people, their children can be" says Lynne Giles, who led the work.

Source: New Scientist 25 June 05