A meta-analysis of 148 studies involving 308,849 participants found that stronger social relationships are associated with a 50% increased likelihood of survival compared to those with weaker relationships. The effect size was consistent across age, sex, initial health status, cause of death, and follow-up period. The strongest association was found with complex measures of social integration (OR = 1.91), while the weakest was with binary indicators of residential status (OR = 1.19). The study concluded that the influence of social relationships on mortality risk is comparable to well-established risk factors. The analysis also found that social relationships may influence health through both structural and functional aspects, with structural aspects showing a stronger association. The study highlights the importance of social relationships in health outcomes and suggests that future research should focus on understanding the causal pathways and developing interventions that account for social relationships. The findings emphasize the need to consider social factors in public health and clinical practice.A meta-analysis of 148 studies involving 308,849 participants found that stronger social relationships are associated with a 50% increased likelihood of survival compared to those with weaker relationships. The effect size was consistent across age, sex, initial health status, cause of death, and follow-up period. The strongest association was found with complex measures of social integration (OR = 1.91), while the weakest was with binary indicators of residential status (OR = 1.19). The study concluded that the influence of social relationships on mortality risk is comparable to well-established risk factors. The analysis also found that social relationships may influence health through both structural and functional aspects, with structural aspects showing a stronger association. The study highlights the importance of social relationships in health outcomes and suggests that future research should focus on understanding the causal pathways and developing interventions that account for social relationships. The findings emphasize the need to consider social factors in public health and clinical practice.