Study: Depression and loneliness age faster than tobacco

Feelings of discontent, depression, or loneliness may speed up aging processes more than smoking or even some diseases. A recent study has reached that conclusion.

While all humans have an age based on the date of birth, so their chronological <x0-year age” They also have what is known as biological “ ”, based on aging of body functions influenced by genetics, lifestyles and other factors.

Studies earlier suggested that the older biological age, the greater the risk of various diseases and death. Researchers now say that they have developed a digital pattern of aging, revealing the importance of psychological health in this process.

Your body and soul are connected to each other. This is our main message”, " says Fedor Galkin, one of the coauthors of the study and chief scientist at the Deep Longevy company in Hong Kong.

Writing in “Aging magazine -US”, researchers at DeepLongevy University of Stanford and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, described how they built a “aging “ <xx4>, based on data collected by 4,846 adults in2015 as part of the China Health and the Longwood Study (CHARLS) programme.

It included 16 blood biomarkets, with cholesterol and glucose levels, participants' gender and information such as blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and lung function measurements. The team then compared the chronological age of individuals to the pattern that fit their age. The results suggested a change of nearly 5.7 years over or below the true age of participants.

The team found that when the model was applied to CHARLS data to another 2,617 adults with age-related diseases, those with a history of stroke, liver and lung diseases, were older than 4,451 healthy adults compared to them according to chronological age, gender and residential area.

The average effect of these conditions did not add more than 18 months to the projected age. But the team found additional effects on aging. “We confirmed that psychological factors, such as feelings of discontent or loneliness, add up to 1.65 years to someone's biological age” - they write.

Galkin points out that caring for psychological health is the best mechanism you can have to slow down the rate of aging. Meanwhile, the team reported that people who smoke are projected to be 15 months older than their peers who do not smoke. Being married, however, reduces him to about seven months of biological age.

Meanwhile, people living in rural areas are expected to be almost five months older than their urban peers. Researchers hope that understanding biological age can lead to new interventions to prolong life.