b1. How many close friends do you have, people that you feel at ease with, can talk to about private matters?
(1) ≤ 2(2) > 2
b2. How many of these close friends do you see at least once a month?
(1) ≤ 2(2) > 2
b3. How many relatives do you have, people, that you feel at ease with, can talk to about private matters?
(1) ≤ 2(2) > 2
b4. How many of these relatives do you see at least once a month?
(1) ≤ 2(2) > 2
b5. Do you participate in any groups such as a senior center, social or work group, religious-connected group, self-help group, or charity, public service, or community group?
(1) No(2) Yes
b6. About how often do you go to religious meetings or services?
(1) Never or almost never/Once or twice a year(2) Every few months or more frequently
b7. Is there someone available to you whom you can count on to listen to you when you need to talk?
(1) None/a little of the time(2) Some/most/all of the time
b8. Is there someone available to give you good advice about a problem?
(1) None/a little of the time(2) Some/most/all of the time
b9. Is there someone available to you who shows you love and affection?
(1) None/a little of the time(2) Some/most/all of the time
b10. Can you count on anyone to provide you with emotional support (talking over problems or helping you make a difficult decision)?
(1) None/a little of the time(2) Some/most/all of the time
b11. Do you have as much contact as you would like with someone you feel close to, someone in whom you can trust and confide?
(1) None/a little of the time(2) Some/most/all of the time
During the preparation of this work, the authors used ChatGPT-5.6 to improve language and grammar. After using the tool/service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.
Author contributions
TL: Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Visualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. HD: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—review & editing. PHH: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—review & editing, Supervision, Investigation. All authors read and approved the submitted version.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Ethical approval
The study protocol was approved by the Boston University Medical Campus Institutional Review Board (IRB; approval number H-43332). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent to participate
Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to enrollment in FHS.
Consent to publication
Informed consent to publication was obtained from relevant participants.
Availability of data and materials
The datasets analyzed in this study were obtained from the Framingham Heart Study and are not publicly available due to data use agreements and participant privacy protections. Requests for access to these datasets should be directed to the Framingham Heart Study through https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/fhs-for-researchers/.
Funding
Support for this work came from the Alzheimer’s Association (grant number [23AARF-1019048]) and from the National Institute on Aging (grant number [U19AG068753]), as well as the Framingham Heart Study of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and Boston University School of Medicine. This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. [75N92019D00031]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Open Exploration maintains a neutral stance on jurisdictional claims in published institutional affiliations and maps. All opinions expressed in this article are the personal views of the author(s) and do not represent the stance of the editorial team or the publisher.
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