WASHINGTON: Love thy neighbour, it could keep your heart healthy!

A new University of Michigan study shows that elderly who live in a good neighbourhood with trustworthy people lowered their risk of stroke up to 48 per cent.

Feeling connected with neighbours builds what researchers describe as "neighbourhood social cohesion."

The trust and connection with neighbours was associated with a reduced risk of stroke above and beyond the effects of negative psychological factors - such as depression and anxiety, said Eric Kim, a doctoral student in the U-M Department of Psychology and the study's lead author.

Other studies have focused on how negative neighbourhood factors such as violence, noise, traffic, litter and poor air quality can increase poor health. The U-M research is among the first studies to examine how positive neighbourhood assets might enhance good health.

"Studies in the past have typically looked at a neighbourhood's physical environment and its association with health, for example the number of fast food restaurants in an area," Kim said.

"We looked at the social environment," Kim said. This study builds upon the growing literature that suggests the importance of a neighbourhood's social climate on health, he said.

Researchers used data from a nationally representative sample of 6,740 adults over the age of 50. Participants, who had never suffered a stroke, were asked to indicate the degree of trust in their neighbourhood, with higher scores indicating more cohesion with neighbours.

They also disclosed some information on chronic illnesses (eg, high blood pressure, heart problems and diabetes) and psychological factors.

Among the sample, 265 respondents had a stroke during the four-year follow-up (46 fatal, 219 nonfatal). But the research indicated that the higher perceived neighbourhood social cohesion was associated with a lower risk of stroke.

"If observational studies repeatedly find an association with neighbourhood social cohesion and better health, randomised controlled trials - which may eventually lead to public-health type interventions--may be in order," Kim said.

The study appears in the journal Social Science Medicine.