4. Conclusions
The social environment predicts health risks and mortality in humans and
many other animals. Thus, new advances in the biodemography of aging
require the consideration of social factors shaping the life course of
people. Because most human health and aging studies depend on
self-reports of health, several challenges to disentangle the role of
sociality on human life courses remain. Animal models for the social
dimensions of health and aging provide new perspectives on the evolution
of aging that can be exploited within the methodological framework of
evolutionary demography.