Photo: Wellness Gallery Catalyst Foundation | Pexels
If we can slow aging, we might stay healthy for longer. Professor Luigi Ferrucci, an expert on aging, says the next great step “will be understanding how lifestyle factors slow down aging.” While we’ve known for a while that people with strong social ties tend to live longer and enjoy better health, it’s been less clear how our social connections affect our bodies on a biological level. A new American study of more than 2,000 adults looked at the strength and consistency of people’s social connections and devised a measure called “cumulative social advantage” – essentially, how socially connected and supported someone is. The researchers then compared CSA to different measures of aging. It found that people with stronger social connections tended to show slower biological aging and lower inflammation and that social advantage is linked with broader inequalities. We need social policies that reduce poverty and improve education and opportunity, because these factors clearly shape health and aging. But strengthening our own social lives can also make a difference.
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