Old people need to see their family three times a week

Why just emailing elderly relatives can double risk of depression

       Study is thought to be the first to examine the impact of different            types of social contact on the elderly

  • It also highlights just how important it is to spend time with our older generation – among whom th
  • Study is thought to be the first to examine the impact of different types of social contact on the elderly
  • There is said to be an ‘epidemic’ of loneliness
  • Speaking on the phone or being contacted online was not enough to replace seeing elderly face-to-face 
  • Those forms of contact did nothing to cut depression risk, experts say 

Families should visit their older relatives three times a week to help prevent them from becoming depressed, experts say.

Older people who saw their family or friends at least that often were half as likely to develop depression as those who did not, a study found.