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.