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Aging Fast & Slow

Wired for Connection: The Health Impact of Social Ties

May 6, 2025
21:12

Episode Description

Social connection is more than a feel-good concept—it’s a cornerstone of community resilience and public health. In this episode of Aging Fast & Slow, Dr. Thomas Cudjoe of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
discusses the science behind social ties, how isolation undermines both
individual and community well-being, and what it takes to build stronger, more connected neighborhoods. Join us for a conversation that sheds light on the power of human connection to foster healthier, more resilient communities.

REFERENCES:

Cudjoe TKM, Boyd CM, Wolff JL, Roth DL. ⁠Advance care planning: Social isolation matters⁠. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 April.

Cudjoe TKM, Kotwal AA. ⁠Social distancing amid a crisis in social isolation and loneliness⁠. J Am Geri Soc 2020 May 20.

Cudjoe TKM, Roth DL, Szanton SL, Wolff JL, Boyd CM, Thorpe Jr., RJ. ⁠The epidemiology of social isolation: National Health &
Aging Trends Study⁠. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2020 Jan 1.

Cudjoe TKM, Selvakumar S, Chung S, Latkin CA, Roth DL, Thorpe Jr., RJ,
Boyd CM. (2021). ⁠Getting under the Skin: Social isolation and biological
markers in the National Health and Aging Trends Study⁠. Journal of
the American Geriatrics Society.

Golden SH, Cudjoe TKM, Galiatsatos P, Brownlee D, Flanagan E, Crews DC, Maruthur N, Brown M, Ashby A, Hellmann DB, Knox T, Anderson ME. ⁠A perspective on the Baltimore Freddie Gray riots: Turning
tragedy into civic engagement and culture change in an academic department of medicine⁠. Acad Med. 2018 December.

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