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Negative Social Ties as Emerging Risk Factors for Accelerated Aging, Inflammation, and Multimorbidity
Medrxiv : the Preprint Server for Health Sciences
|June 6, 2025
Summary
Negative social ties, or "hasslers," are common and linked to faster biological aging. Ambivalent relationships, offering both support and stress, accelerate aging more than purely negative ones.
Area of Science:
- Social epidemiology
- Gerontology
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Negative social ties, termed "hasslers," are understudied yet prevalent in social networks.
- These ties may accelerate biological aging and increase morbidity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between negative social ties and biological aging.
- To explore the impact of different types of negative ties on health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized ego-centric network data and DNA methylation-based biological aging clocks.
- Analyzed data from a representative Indiana sample.
Main Results:
- Approximately 25% of network members are identified as hasslers, with 60% of individuals reporting at least one.
- More hasslers correlate with accelerated biological aging, especially when comprising over 50% of one's network.
- Ambivalent ties demonstrate stronger aging acceleration compared to exclusively negative ties.
Conclusions:
- Negative social ties significantly contribute to accelerated biological aging and poorer health.
- Interventions targeting negative social stressors are crucial for promoting healthier aging.
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