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Cited by 751Health disparities and outcomesAging and Gerontology ResearchDeath Anxiety and Social Exclusion

Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span

Open access
Yang, Yang Claire, Boen, Courtney, Gerken, Karen, Li, Ting, Schorpp, Kristen, Harris, Kathleen Mullan·2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1511085112PMC PMC4725506
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Abstract

Significance: Although much evidence has accrued in research over the past 20 years on the strong causal associations between social relationships and health and longevity, important gaps remain in our understanding of the mechanisms, timing, and duration of these associations. This study integrates social and biological disciplinary perspectives and research to examine how social relationships “get under the skin” to affect physiological well-being as individuals age. By combining data from and harmonizing measurement across four large nationally representative, population-based, contemporary surveys using an innovative longitudinal life course design, this study provides previously unidentified evidence on the biological and life course mechanisms linking social relationship patterns with health. As such, our findings advance explanations of the emergence and progression of diseases across the human life span.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.1511085112

Cites

43 of 43 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 34 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingown data
    § Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span

    A higher level of social integration was linked to a lower risk of physiological dysregulation in a dose-response pattern in both early and later life.

    “We found that a higher degree of social integration was associated with lower risk of physiological dysregulation in a doseresponse manner in both early and later life.”
    • Also stated in: § Results · hedged
      “Our results indicate that social integration is related to better physiological functioning and lower risks of physical disorders in a dose-response fashion across life stage samples.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    In a middle-aged NHANES subsample, higher social integration was not protective against physiological risks.

    “Consistent with the MIDUS results, higher social integration among middle-aged NHANES respondents was not protective against physiological risks.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    More socially integrated people also had lower odds of clinically significant adverse physical outcomes.

    “In addition to lower risks of poor functioning, more socially integrated individuals also had lower odds of deleterious physical outcomes that are of clinical significance.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    After adjustment for age, sex, and race, social integration was significantly negatively associated with log CRP and systolic blood pressure in adolescence, young adulthood, and late adulthood.

    “Adjusting for age, sex, and race, the negative associations of social integration with poor physical functioning were statistically significant for log-transformed CRP [log(CRP)] and systolic blood pressure (BP) in all three life stages shown, including adolescence and young and late adulthood.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data
    § Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span

    In adolescence, social isolation raised the risk of inflammation by an amount similar to that of physical inactivity.

    “For example, social isolation increased the risk of inflammation by the same magnitude as physical inactivity in adolescence, and the effect of social isolation on hypertension exceeded that of clinical risk factors such as diabetes in old age.”
    • Also stated in: § Results · plain
      “additional analyses revealed that social isolation raised the odds of high inflammation (OR = 1.27,P = 0.05) to a comparable degree with physical inactivity (OR = 1.21,P = 0.05) (Add Health analyses).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • May combine two claims. 24
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 5

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The odds ratio estimates indicate strong protective effects of social connectedness against obesity in adolescence in the basic model and in old age in the NSHAP change models.

    “The OR estimates indicate strong protective effects of social connectedness against obesity in adolescence in the basic model and also at old age in the change models estimated for the NSHAP sample.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Social integration had especially large protective effects against abdominal obesity in adolescence (OR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.39-0.68, P = 0.000) and was especially salient against hypertension in old age.

    “The protective effects of social integration were particularly large in adolescence (OR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.39-0.68,P = 0.000) against abdominal obesity and particularly salient in old age against hypertension.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Most respondents in samples with quality-of-relationship information reported adequate social support and little strain.

    “Most respondents in study samples with available information on quality of social relationships reported adequate levels of social support and little strain.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Social integration gradients in waist circumference and body mass index appeared across samples but were significant only in adolescence.

    “Social integration gradients in waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) were also evident across samples, but the associations were significant only in adolescence.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The NSHAP results were similar to the HRS results and were omitted from Fig. 2.

    “The results from the NSHAP analyses were similar to those from the HRS and were thus omitted from Fig. 2.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In the late adulthood HRS sample, the association between social integration and BMI was in the opposite direction from expected but was not statistically significant.

    “The association between social integration index and BMI estimated in the late adulthood HRS sample was in the opposite direction as expected but did not reach statistical significance to warrant substantive explanations.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Social support and strain mattered more for physical health in midadulthood and continued to affect it in late adulthood.

    “In fact, this conclusion is supported by our finding that social support and strain, which measured qualitative characteristics of social connections that are distinct from relationship quantity, mattered more for physical health in midadulthood and continued to have impacts in late adulthood.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Social integration in adolescence, but not in young adulthood, is related to healthy metabolic and cardiovascular functioning in young adults.

    “The robust findings that social integration during adolescence (and not during young adulthood) matters for young adult metabolic and cardiovascular healthy functioning suggest that these early relationship contexts and connections play a role in predisease pathways into adulthood.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Those social support effects were moderate and mostly disappeared or were explained by adjustment for additional covariates.

    “Such effects were moderate in size and mostly eliminated or explained away by the adjustment of additional covariates.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The findings indicate that the physiological effects of social relationships emerge early and continue across the life course.

    “Our findings suggest the early emergence and continuity of the physiological impacts of social relationships across the life course.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Social embeddedness is linked to improved physical functioning and lower risks of clinically significant disease, and these links are very strong for most biomarkers studied.

    “Extending previous research, we found that the links between social embeddedness and better physical functioning, as well as lower clinically significant disease risks, are exceptionally strong across most biological markers examined.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Better perceived quality of network ties helped for certain markers, with greater variation over the life course.

    “Greater perceived quality of network ties was also beneficial for some markers with more variation across the life course.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Higher social strain predicted mildly increased odds of inflammatory response and abdominal obesity in young to midlife and more substantial increases in overall obesity odds in both midlife and late adulthood that persisted after full covariate adjustment.

    “Higher social strain was predictive of mildly increased odds of inflammatory response and abdominal obesity in young to midadulthood and more substantial increases in the odds of overall obesity in both mid-and late adulthood that persisted after the adjustment of the full set of covariates.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Compared with low strain, high baseline strain was associated with significantly higher mean CRP at follow-up in midlife and higher mean waist circumference and BMI at follow-up in both midlife and late adulthood.

    “Compared with those with low strain, those with high (top quartile) strain at the baseline exhibited significantly higher mean values of CRP at the follow-up in midadulthood and higher mean values of WC and BMI at the follow-up in both mid-and late adulthood.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    After adjustment for age, sex, and race, people with high baseline social support had significantly lower mean values of three markers at follow-up: systolic blood pressure in old age (P = 0.038), waist circumference in young to middle age (P = 0.099) and old age (P = 0.031), and BMI in young to middle age (P = 0.003).

    “Fig. 3 illustrated that adjusting for age, sex, and race, those with high (top quartile) social support at the baseline show significantly lower mean values of three markers assessed at the follow-ups than those with lower social support, including systolic BP at old age (P = 0.038), WC at young to middle age (P = 0.099) and old age (P = 0.031), and BMI at young to middle age (P = 0.003).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Experimental laboratory work in rats showed that social isolation and hypervigilance increase mammary tumors and impair innate immune response to stress.

    “Laboratory research on rats using experimental designs demonstrated that social isolation and hypervigilance increase the incidence of mammary tumors (14,15) and compromise innate immune response to stress (16).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites [14] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [15] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [16] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The size of the social relationship effect on mortality is similar to that of smoking and larger than those of obesity or physical inactivity.

    “The magnitude of this effect is comparable to that of smoking and exceeds those of many other known risk factors of mortality, such as obesity or physical inactivity (2,3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [2] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [3] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    People who experienced early adversity have more and longer stress exposures and are more prone to inflammatory and stress-related diseases as they age.

    “Individuals who experienced early adversity are subject to multiple and longer durations of stress exposures and more prone to inflammatory and stress-related diseases as they age.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Early life social experiences may become biologically embedded, and childhood disadvantage and maltreatment are linked to exaggerated biological stress response and later inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

    “However, early life social experiences may be biologically embedded at that time, shown by an increasing body of research linking childhood disadvantage and maltreatment to increased likelihood of exaggerated biological stress response and, in turn, higher risks of inflammation and cardiovascular disease throughout adulthood (23)(24)(25)(26).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites (23)(24)(25)(26)

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Reducing social relationship deficits and their links to physiological risk could stop early chronic disease progression and delay onset or reduce late-life disease burden.

    “Disrupting various social relation deficits and physiological risk connections could directly arrest early progression toward chronic diseases and delay disease onset or lessen the disease burden in late life.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationcitation

    Using more than one kind of relationship measure may capture the several pathways linking social ties to health better.

    “A measurement approach including more than one type of relationship measure may better represent the multiple pathways by which social relations affect health (2).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [2] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductnone given

    The fully adjusted models controlled for every covariate known to strongly predict inflammation, metabolic, and cardiovascular dysregulation and possibly linked to social relationships.

    “full models adjusting for all covariates that are strong risk factors for inflammation, metabolic, and cardiovascular dysregulation and may contribute to their associations with social relationships.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    The study used longitudinal data from four nationally representative studies to test path C and cover all life course stages.

    “We used longitudinal data from four nationally representative studies to test path C and collectively cover all stages of the life course depicted in developmental trajectory D (Fig. 1).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The study connected paths A and B through path C and documented the life course process in which these paths unfold as trajectory D.

    “our study provided evidence that connects paths A and B through path C and, for the first time to our knowledge, documented the life course process in which these paths unfold as depicted in trajectory D.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductown data

    The longitudinal life course design used for trajectory D clarifies when and how social integration matters for health during aging.

    “The longitudinal life course design that we used in trajectory D elucidates when and how social integration matters for health as the aging process unfolds.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Common patterns across multiple measures of social exposures and biological outcomes strongly support the generality of the associations, indicating that social integration protects health and promotes longevity.

    “The common patterns that emerged from the study of multiple measures of both social exposures and biological outcomes strongly support the generality of the associations, indicating social integration protects health and promotes longevity.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The findings strongly and consistently support both the presence and causal character of path C.

    “They provide robust and uniform support for the existence and causal nature of path C.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
27 of 27

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Few empirical studies have depicted the lifelong process linking social relationships and longevity.

    “Little empirical research exists that depicts this lifelong process partly because data that extend sufficiently over long periods of the life course, as depicted in trajectory D, are exceedingly rare.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Data that span sufficiently long periods of the life course are very rare.

    “Little empirical research exists that depicts this lifelong process partly because data that extend sufficiently over long periods of the life course, as depicted in trajectory D, are exceedingly rare.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Important gaps remain in understanding the mechanisms, timing, and duration of the associations between social relationships and health and longevity.

    “important gaps remain in our understanding of the mechanisms, timing, and duration of these associations.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Before this study, no one knew how the relative importance of social integration versus support for physiological functioning varied across the life course.

    “This life course pattern of variation in the relative importance of social integration and support to physiological functioning was previously unknown and can have new practical import for policy intervention.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Mortality selection among older or frailer adults would weaken the observed associations, so the reported effects are conservative.

    “We cannot rule out the potential effect of mortality selection of older or frailer adults.The results are thus likely conservative regarding the full range of physiological effects of social relations.”
5 of 5

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Our findings could be integrated within current ideas on the biology of aging which suggest that aging rates, and consequently lifespans, evolve as a function of trade-offs with other characters including social, cognitive, and reproductive capacities.

    “Our findings could well be integrated within current ideas on the biology of aging which suggest that aging rates, and consequently lifespans, evolve as a function of trade-offs with other characters including social, cognitive, and reproductive capacities (Yang, et al. 2016; Giuliani, et al. 2018; Snyder-Mackler, et al. 2020).”

    From <i>DLX5/6</i> GABAergic Expression Affects Social Vocalization: Implications for Human Evolution (2021) · cites this paper as Yang, et al. 2016

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 1 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 1 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Maintaining positive social relationships with others predicts a lower risk for physiological dysregulation, whereas social isolation increases the risk of inflammation and hypertension.

    “Maintaining positive social relationships with others predicts a lower risk for physiological dysregulation, whereas social isolation increases the risk of inflammation and hypertension [1].”

    From The Neurobiology of Love and Pair Bonding from Human and Animal Perspectives (2023) · cites this paper as [1]

  • Evidence is increasing for links between social isolation and biological pathways that contribute to disease, including cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, metabolic, immune, and epigenetic mechanisms.

    “There is also a growing body of evidence documenting the association between social isolation and biological mechanisms that elicit the development of health conditions, including cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, metabolic, immune functioning [5], and molecular epigenetic underpinnings [39].”

    From Social isolation: an underappreciated determinant of physical health (2022) · cites this paper as [5]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Young-adult abdominal-obesity result is marked significant despite its confidence interval

    Major

    The table marks the odds ratio with two significance stars, but its reported 95% confidence interval includes the null value of 1. The significance mark and interval therefore disagree.

  • The paper disagrees about which study's Fig. 3 results are shown

    Minor

    The Results section says the HRS results are not shown, whereas the Fig. 3 caption says the figure presents the HRS results rather than the NSHAP results.

2 of 2

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. MJ Shanahan, Social genomics and the life course: Opportunities and challenges for multilevel population research. The Future of the Sociology of Aging: An Agenda for Action, ed L Waite (National Academies Press, Washington, DC), pp. 255–276 (2013).

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Authors
Yang, Y. C., Boen, C., Gerken, K., Li, T., Schorpp, K., & Harris, K. M.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • Renmin University of China (CN)
Corresponding author
Harris, Kathleen Mullan
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2016-01-04
Volume
113
Issue
3
Pages
578-583
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1511085112
PMC
PMC4725506
OpenAlex
W2226151665
Cited by
751
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 51 · 2025: 83 · 2024: 69 · 2023: 125 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 82 · 2020: 121 · 2019: 52 · 2018: 54 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 17
FWCI
71.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.pnas.org/preview_site/misc/userlicense.xhtml (vor)
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • HHS | NIH | National Institute on Aging (K01AG036745)
  • HHS | NIH | National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (T32 HD007168, R24 HD050924, P01 HD31921)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Keywords
interpersonal relationships, social integration, social support, social strain, social isolation, longevity, mortality, life course, adolescence, midlife, old age, C-reactive protein, inflammation, hypertension, blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, physical inactivity, physiological dysregulation
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Health, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Longevity, Middle Aged, Models, Biological, Social Support, Biomarkers, Odds Ratio, Young Adult

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