Providing social support to others is associated with younger brain age in mid-to-late adulthood

Social connectedness is a robust predictor of health and longevity. While previous research has mainly focused on the benefits of receiving social support, the neuroprotective potential of providing social support to others remains underexplored. Using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, we tested whether total monthly hours spent providing instrumental and emotional support prospectively predict a brain age estimation gap (BrainAGE), a transdiagnostic biomarker of neurodegenerative disorders, psychiatric conditions, and mortality.

BrainAGE was estimated with a machine-learning algorithm trained to predict chronological age from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Combining hierarchical regression with bootstrapping and data-driven variable selection, we found that greater support provision was significantly associated with a younger-appearing brain for a given chronological age. This association persisted after controlling for a comprehensive set of covariates, including demographic characteristics, health conditions, lifestyle factors, and broader psychosocial contexts, including social support received.

Notably, the hourly measure of support provision explained incremental variance in BrainAGE beyond role-based indices such as caregiving status or grandparenthood. Exploratory analyses further indicated that emotional support was more strongly associated with lower BrainAGE than instrumental assistance. Our findings highlight everyday prosocial behavior as a potential neuroprotective pathway in mid-to-late adulthood, with implications for intervention and policies for healthy aging.

Yeeaun Archer Lee for their helpful feedback. The Since 1995, the MIDUS study has been funded by the following: the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network and the National Institute on Aging (P01-AG020166, U19-AG051426, U01-AG077928).

The MIDUS Neuroscience Project’s data collection was also supported in part by a core grant to the UW-Madison Waisman Center from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P50HD105353). C.K.B. discloses support for the research of this work from the National Institute on Aging [R00AG073617]; M.W. discloses support for the research of this work from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown University. S.M.S. discloses support for the research of this work from the UW-Madison Waisman Center, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [P50HD105353], and from the National Institute on Aging [U01-AG077928].

M.L. and J.K.R. declare no relevant funding. Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, Georgetown University, 3700 O St., NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, 12 Executive Park Dr., Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA Center for Population and Health, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20057, USA Institute on Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, USA The author declare no competing of interest. The authors confirm that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the Declaration of Helsinki.