Social connections are differentially related to perceived and physiological age acceleration amongst older adults.

ABSTRACT: Human social connections are complex ecosystems formed of structural, functional and quality components. Deficits in social connections are associated with adverse age-related health outcomes, but we know little about the ageing-related mechanistic processes underlying this. Using data from 7,047 adults aged 50+ in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, we explored associations between diverse aspects of social deficits and both perceived and physiological age acceleration, which provide complementary psycho-behavioural and biological mechanistic explanations. We created and validated a novel physiological ageing index using clinical indicators pertaining to the cardiovascular, respiratory, haematologic, metaboloic and cognitive systems using principal component analysis. Doubly-robust

SUBMITTER: Fancourt D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11838645 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature