Revealed: An Unexpected Factor That Accelerates Body Aging

A lack of social interaction and feelings of loneliness can accelerate biological aging and significantly increase the risk of premature death. The most alarming consequences await those who face both factors simultaneously.

As reported by TUT.AZ with reference to the journal Health Psychology, a large-scale study was conducted by Chinese scientists who analyzed data from more than 309,000 participants in the British UK Biobank project. The average age of the volunteers was 56 years, and the observation period spanned nearly 14 years.

The results proved quite telling: among people with the highest degree of social isolation, biological age was on average four months ahead of chronological age, while for those suffering from loneliness, the gap was three months. When both conditions overlapped, the signs of accelerated aging became even more pronounced.

The mortality figures are no less striking: each additional point on the social isolation scale increased the relative risk of death from any cause by 13.9%, and on the loneliness scale — by 8.9%.

At the same time, the researchers discovered an encouraging trend: attending sports clubs, gyms, and participating in religious life were associated with more favorable biological aging indicators.