People who do voluntary activities live longer and have better mental health than others, researchers reveal today.
Studies have shown that volunteers cut their risk of dying over periods of up to seven years by a fifth, researchers found.
Volunteers also have better satisfaction with life and less depression than others, according to the report in BMC Public Health.
The findings could be explained by the nature of people who volunteer.
The latest analysis was conducted by Dr Suzanne Richards, of the University of Exeter Medical School, Devon, UK.
It is thought that in Australia 36% of people undertake some voluntary activity while across Europe it is fewer than one in four and in the USA it is 27%.
Dr Richards said: “Our systematic review shows that volunteering is associated with improvements in mental health, but more work is needed to establish whether volunteering is actually the cause.
"It is still unclear whether biological and cultural factors and social resources that are often associated with better health and survival are also associated with a willingness to volunteer in the first place.
"The challenge now is to encourage people from more diverse backgrounds to take up volunteering, and then to measure whether improvements arise for them.”
Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers. BMC Public Health 23 August 2013
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