Strong, sustained social connections across life may slow biological aging, lowering inflammation and keeping the body’s “epigenetic clock” younger.
A lifetime of supportive relationships and community ties may help slow the body’s aging process. From the warmth of parents in childhood to friendships, religious involvement, and engagement in community life during adulthood, these social advantages appear to influence biological aging. Researchers suggest that such advantages can “reset” what are known as epigenetic clocks, making a person’s biological age younger than the number of years they have actually lived.
The findings were published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity – Health and are based on data from more than 2,100 adults who participated in the long-term Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study.
Anthony Ong, a psychology professor at Cornell University, and his colleagues discovered that individuals with greater “cumulative social advantage” experienced slower rates of epigenetic aging and showed reduced levels of chronic inflammation.
Central to the research were epigenetic clocks, molecular markers that estimate how quickly the body is aging. Two clocks in particular, GrimAge and DunedinPACE, are considered among the best predictors of disease risk and lifespan. Participants who maintained broader and more consistent social networks displayed notably younger biological profiles on both measures.
The Role of Lifelong Relationships
“Cumulative social advantage is really about the depth and breadth of your social connections over a lifetime,” Ong said. “We looked at four key areas: the warmth and support you received from your parents growing up, how connected you feel to your community and neighborhood, your involvement in religious or faith-based communities, and the ongoing emotional support from friends and family.”
The researchers hypothesized that sustained social advantage becomes reflected in core regulatory systems linked to aging, including epigenetic, inflammatory, and neuroendocrine pathways. Remarkably, they found that higher social advantage was linked to lower levels of interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory molecule implicated in heart disease, diabetes, and neurodegeneration. Interestingly, however, there were no significant associations with short-term stress markers like cortisol or catecholamines.
Unlike many earlier studies that looked at social factors in isolation – whether a person is married, for example, or how many friends they have – this work conceptualized “cumulative social advantage” as a multidimensional construct. And by combining both early and later-life relational resources, the measure reflects the ways advantage clusters and compounds.
“What’s striking is the cumulative effect – these social resources build on each other over time,” Ong said. “It’s not just about having friends today; it’s about how your social connections have grown and deepened throughout your life. That accumulation shapes your health trajectory in measurable ways.”
Long-Term Impact on Health
This doesn’t mean a single friendship or volunteer stint can turn back the biological clock. The authors suggest that the depth and consistency of social connection, built across decades and different spheres of life, matters profoundly. The study adds weight to the growing view that social life is not just a matter of happiness or stress relief but a core determinant of physiological health.
“Think of social connections like a retirement account,” Ong said. “The earlier you start investing and the more consistently you contribute, the greater your returns. Our study shows those returns aren’t just emotional; they’re biological. People with richer, more sustained social connections literally age more slowly at the cellular level. Aging well means both staying healthy and staying connected – they’re inseparable.”
Reference: “Cumulative social advantage is associated with slower epigenetic aging and lower systemic inflammation” by Anthony D. Ong, Frank D. Mann and Laura D. Kubzansky, 3 September 2025, Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health.
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2025.101096
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2 Comments
They don’t mention if the relationships and strong social bonds can involve pets/animals instead of humans. Let’s just say I’m “allergic” to humans.
Being social and being healthy go together in other species, as well. Unhealthy animals usually isolate themselves, as do humans. So this is not causal, but correlational. Healthy people will tend to have relationships more than unhealthy people. The relationships don’t make them healthy, the health makes them social. Of course, social interactions were destroyed during the pandemic, so if this article is true, then the pandemic caused shorter lifespans by reducing social bonding.