Social Determinants of Health and Survival in Humans and Other Animals

Overview

Journal Science

Specialty Science

Date 2020 May 23

PMID 32439765

Citations 245

Authors

Noah Snyder-Mackler

Joseph Robert Burger

Lauren Gaydosh

Daniel W Belsky

Grace A Noppert

Fernando A Campos

Alessandro Bartolomucci

Yang Claire Yang

Allison E Aiello

Angela ORand

Kathleen Mullan Harris

Carol A Shively

Susan C Alberts

Jenny Tung

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The social environment, both in early life and adulthood, is one of the strongest predictors of morbidity and mortality risk in humans. Evidence from long-term studies of other social mammals indicates that this relationship is similar across many species. In addition, experimental studies show that social interactions can causally alter animal physiology, disease risk, and life span itself. These findings highlight the importance of the social environment to health and mortality as well as Darwinian fitness-outcomes of interest to social scientists and biologists alike. They thus emphasize the utility of cross-species analysis for understanding the predictors of, and mechanisms underlying, social gradients in health.

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