Psychological Factors Accelerate Biological Aging: New Evidence Shows

Researchers from some of the top global anti-aging institutions have published a new study in the journal, Aging, signifying that psychological factors play a key role in the rate of aging in older adults.

According to the study, chronic states of sadness and loneliness can add up to 1.65 years to your biological age. Biological age is essentially a measure of the intensity of the aging process, and it is influenced by factors such as genetics, life choices, and the environment you interact with. 

“Using data from the Chinese CHARLS database, we have demonstrated that organismal aging is not only determined by physical factors but also, to a certain degree, affected by mental state and social status,“ the researchers noted. 

To carry out the study, researchers developed a deep-learning aging clock that used blood test data from the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).  

The clock detected accelerated aging in people with lung, liver, and heart conditions. However, researchers also observed that cases with notable psychological factors such as loneliness and unhappiness had up to 1.65 years of additional biological age. In some cases, these psychological factors even exceeded the effects of common factors of biological aging such as smoking, biological sex, marital status, and living conditions.  

The researchers concluded that psychological factors have a strong impact on biological age. They also supported the need for companionship and the presence of a psychologically pleasant environment (feelings of hope, happiness, and safety) to promote health and longevity.  

“This study was carried out by researchers Fedor Galkin, Kirill Kochetov, Diana Koldasbayeva, Manuel Faria, Helene H. Fung, Amber X. Chen, and Alex Zhavoronkov from Deep Longevity, Stanford University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Insilico Medicine, and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.”