Social experiences and mortality risk: mediating roles of epigenetic aging, allostatic load, and health status

Abstract

Social environments affect health and longevity, yet biological pathways remain incompletely understood. Data from Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study were used to examine whether social experiences predicted mortality and whether effects were mediated by epigenetic aging, allostatic load, and health status. Outcomes included epigenetic clocks (e.g., GrimAgeV2), allostatic load (e.g., immune/inflammatory biomarkers), health status, and all-cause mortality. Among 1309 participants, positive social experiences (e.g., attending meetings) were associated with reduced mortality risk, epigenetic age deceleration, and better health; negative social experiences (e.g., childhood adversities) were associated with shortened survival, epigenetic age acceleration, and poorer health. Epigenetic aging partially mediated the mortality risk of positive and negative social exposures; inflammation attenuated the associations of positive social experiences and childhood adversity with mortality. Epigenetic aging appears to be an influential pathway linking social experiences to survival. Social conditions that slow biological aging and reduce inflammation offer promise as approaches to enhance longevity.