The role of social factors in the successful ageing – Systematic review

Abstract

Purpose: Ageing is a complex phenomenon that should be studied in a multidisciplinary approachexamining the biological, psychological, and social determinants in it. There is a lack of understandingof how social factors contribute to a better and healthier way of ageing. Based on previous studies socialfactors have a more essential role in ageing successfully. These factors have a significant influence onmental and physical health as well. The present review aims to collect the most researched social factorsrelated to successful ageing and to examine the associations revealed between social factors and suc-cessful ageing. Materials/Methods: We conducted a systematic review by the guidelines of the PRISMAstatements. We examined the studies included by using a qualitative synthesis to identify the mostimportant social factors and their role in successful ageing. Results: In total, 18 original articles pub-lished in English between 2015 and 2020 were included in the review. The examined social factors related to successful ageing can be classified into four categories: Social engagement/participation, Socialsupport, Social integration/network, and Socio-demographic/Socioeconomic factors. Social factors aremodifiable and protective determinants, they could eliminate the negative effects of psychologicalfactors while modifying the effects of physical determinants of ageing at the same time. Conclusions:Our results have implications for future studies, as successful ageing should be examined in a multi-dimensional way. They should provide further evidence for the mediating/moderating importance ofsocial factors which also have relevance in practice. Social factors could provide a quality life for years to come. KEYWORDS: systematic review, successful ageing, social factors, mediation, moderation