Social Engagement and Epigenetic Age Acceleration in the Health and Retirement Study

This study investigated the relationship between social engagement and epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) in older adults in the United States.

Participants were selected from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Social engagement was assessed using the 15-item social engagement scale. Thirteen epigenetic clocks based on DNA methylation data were obtained from the 2016 HRS Venous Blood Study. EAA was calculated for each clock by regressing the residual clock values on chronological age. The association between various social activities and 13 EAA was analyzed using multiple linear regression models.

The average age of participants was 69.9 years, with 41.5% being male. In the fully adjusted model, more frequent engagement in social activities was linked to slower EAA in the Zhang, GrimAge, Weidner, and VidalBralo clocks. Specifically, more frequent community activities were significantly associated with slower EAA in the GrimAge clock after FDR correction. Unexpectedly, more cognitive activities were significantly associated with faster DunedinPoAm38. More physical activities were associated with slower EAA in the Zhang, PhenoAge, GrimAge, and DunedinPoAm38 clocks after FDR correction. Participants with consistent nonparticipation in overall social activities were associated with faster EAA in the Zhang clock.

The findings indicate that active engagement in social activities, encompassing community, cognitive, home-based creative, and physical activities, is associated with slower EAA, marked by several clocks in older adults, providing evidence for the benefit of social activities for health and offering valuable insights for promoting "Active Aging" initiatives.