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In a nutshell
- Older adults with high social engagement had a 42% lower risk of death over four years compared to those with low social engagement.
- Specific activities like charity work, time with grandchildren, and joining sports/social clubs were most strongly linked to lower mortality.
- The benefits of social engagement work through two key pathways: increased physical activity (16%) and slower biological aging (15%).
SAN FRANCISCO — Want to live longer? You might want to join that book club, volunteer at the local shelter, or accept your neighbor’s invitation to game night.
A study published in The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reveals that staying socially active significantly reduces the risk of dying for adults over 60. Older adults with high levels of social engagement were 42% less likely to die over a four-year period than those with minimal social interaction.
“Higher social engagement in older adults is associated with reduced mortality risk possibly due to decreased biological aging and increased physical activity levels,” the researchers wrote after analyzing data from more than 2,200 participants.
The Aging Paradox
Social activity appears to affect the body at a cellular level. Participants with the most active social lives didn’t just feel younger—they were biologically younger. Their blood samples revealed that their bodies were aging at a slower pace, with a median biological age that was nearly four years younger than their chronological age.
While participants across all groups were roughly the same age (72–73 years), biological aging was accelerated in the low-engagement group and decelerated in the high-engagement group — suggesting that social activity may be more than just good company. It might also be good medicine.
The study was led by Ashraf Abugroun and colleagues from the University of California, San Francisco. They used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a long-running national project that tracks the health of older Americans. The team analyzed 2,268 adults aged 60 and up who completed social participation surveys and provided blood samples in 2016.
To measure social engagement, participants were scored based on how frequently they engaged in nine different social activities. These included volunteering, participating in sports or social clubs, spending time with grandchildren, joining educational courses, and playing games like chess or cards. Activities done alone—like reading or hobbies—were excluded to focus only on community-oriented interaction.
Each person’s participation was tallied and used to sort them into low, moderate, or high engagement groups.
Not all social activities had equal impact. The most protective were:
- Charity or volunteer work
- Frequent time with grandchildren
- Participation in sports or social clubs
These specific activities were statistically linked with lower death rates. In fact, participants who regularly did these scored significantly better not only in terms of survival, but also in markers like physical activity, mental health, and biological aging.
The study also examined why these connections might exist. Two main factors emerged as key mediators:
- Regular physical activity, which explained 16% of the reduced mortality risk.
- Decelerated biological aging, which accounted for 15%.
In other words, people who stayed socially engaged also tended to be more physically active, and their bodies showed signs of aging more slowly. These two factors combined explained nearly a third of the observed longevity benefit.
Researchers assessed biological age using blood biomarkers related to heart, kidney, immune, metabolic, and inflammatory systems. They also measured depressive symptoms using a standardized scale.
Participants in the high social engagement group had significantly lower depression rates (7.8%) compared to those in the low engagement group (15.7%). They also had lower rates of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart conditions.
A New Frontier in Healthy Aging
While medical treatments often focus on managing disease, researchers suggest that promoting social connection might be just as important—especially in an aging population.
With nearly 20% of the U.S. population projected to be over 65 by 2030, understanding what keeps people healthy—and alive—has never been more urgent. This study adds to a growing body of evidence that our connections to others are more than emotional or psychological perks. They may be key to living longer, healthier lives.
So go ahead—RSVP to that community potluck or call your grandkids. Your calendar might not just be getting fuller—it might be getting longer too.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The study used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), focusing on 2,268 participants aged 60 and older who completed Psychosocial and Lifestyle Questionnaires and provided blood samples in 2016. Social engagement was measured using nine items from the HRS Social Participation questionnaire, covering interaction with others, hobby groups, sports groups, and voluntary work. Participants were grouped into low, moderate, or high social engagement categories. The researchers calculated biological age using blood biomarkers and measured depressive symptoms, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. They followed participants for four years to track mortality.
Results
Higher social engagement was significantly associated with lower mortality risk. Compared to those with low social engagement, participants with high social engagement had a 42% lower mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.58). Those in the high social engagement group had a lower median biological age, with an average of 3.8 years of biological age deceleration compared to 1.5 years of acceleration in the low engagement group. Physical activity and decelerated biological age were the primary mediators, accounting for 16% and 15% of the mortality reduction, respectively. Charity work, engagement with grandchildren, and sports/social club attendance showed the strongest associations with reduced mortality.
Limitations
As an observational study, the research cannot establish causality or fully rule out reverse causation, where preexisting health issues might reduce social engagement and increase mortality risk. The sample demographics may limit generalizability to more diverse populations, as participants were predominantly non-Latinx White with higher educational attainment. Despite adjusting for numerous variables, there’s potential for residual confounding. The biological age measure was only available at one time point (2016), and the study couldn’t examine how dietary behaviors might influence the relationship between social engagement and mortality.
Funding and Disclosures
The research was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (K24HL141354) and the National Institute on Aging (K76AG074919). Dr. Sachin J. Shah reported funding from the National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Margaret Fang reported funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Publication Information
The study titled “Low Social Engagement and Risk of Death in Older Adults” was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in May 2025. The research was conducted by a team led by Ashraf Abugroun from the University of California, San Francisco, with collaborators from Harvard Medical School and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.