Loneliness is more damaging for your health than smoking, a new study has concluded.
People who are socially isolated or are depressed or have feelings of hopelessness or sadness have a biological age that is 20 months older than their actual age. By comparison, regular smokers are 15 months older biologically.
Researchers from the Chinese University in Hong Kong analysed the biological profiles of 4,451 people by taking blood samples before profiling their psychological well-being.
Social isolation and feelings of depression are bigger risk factors for faster biological ageing than smoking, living conditions and marital status, the researchers found. And their findings question the rural idyll: people living in a small village, where there may not be much social interaction, increases biological age by 0.39 years.
Earlier studies have suggested that social isolation is a risk factor for premature death, increasing the risk 14 percent, and can also shrink the brain, increasing the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
The Chinese researchers have estimated in previous studies that people with a biological age greater than their chronological age are more likely to develop ovarian cancer, irritable bowel disease (IBS) and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Aging, 2022; doi: 10.18632/aging.204264
