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By Tara Parker-Pope – The New York Times

In the quest for better health, many people turn to doctors, self-help books or herbal supplements. But they overlook a powerful weapon that could help them fight illness and depression, speed recovery, slow aging and prolong life: their friends.

Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health.

A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age.

In a new book, “The Girls From Ames: A Story of Women and a 40-Year Friendship,” Jeffrey Zaslow tells the story of 11 childhood friends who scattered from their hometown across the United States. Despite the distance, their friendship endured.

Two of the friends recently learned they have breast cancer.

Kelly Zwagerman, now a high school teacher, said that when she was diagnosed in 2007 she reached out to her childhood friends, even though they lived far away.

Zwagerman said she was often more comfortable discussing her illness with her girlfriends than with her doctor. “We go so far back that these women will talk about anything,” she said.

Zwagerman says her friends have been an essential factor in her treatment and recovery, and research bears her out. In 2006, a study of nearly 3,000 breast cancer patients found that women without close friends were four times more likely to die as women with 10 or more friends. Notably, proximity and contact wasn’t associated with survival. Just having friends was protective.

While many studies focus on the intense friendships between women, some research shows that men can benefit too. In a six-year study of 736 middle-age Swedish men, the two most important factors affecting heart attack risk and fatal coronary heart disease were smoking and a lack of social support.
“People with stronger friendship networks feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech. “The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”