Researchers suggest that feeling unhappy, depressed or lonely could speed up the aging process.
Everyone has an age based on their date of birth, but they also have abiological age, which is influenced by genetics, lifestyle and other factors The higher the biological age, the higher the risk of diseases.
Researchers say they have created a digital model of aging.
Fedor Galkin is a co-author of the study and lead scientist at the Hong Kong startup Deep Longevity.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong and researchers at Deep Longevity wrote in the journal Aging-US about how they built an "aging clock" based on data collected from 4,846 people.
Cholesterol and glucose levels, as well as participants' sex and information such as their blood pressure, body mass index and measures of lung function, were included in the study.
New Nice guidelines on depression.
The team compared the predicted age of individuals with their actual age. The results suggested a difference of more than five years over or under the actual age of the participant.
When the model was applied to 2,617 Chinese adults with aging-associated diseases, those with a history of stroke, liver disease and lung conditions were predicted to be older than 4,451 healthy adults matched to them by chronological age, sex.
The effects of these conditions did not change the age by more than 18 months. The pace of aging was influenced by other factors.
They show that psychological factors, such as being unhappy or lonely, add up to 1.65 years to a person's biological age.
The study shows the importance of psychological state in how fast we age, as the model assumes that different feelings are independent of each other.
He said taking care of your psychological health is the best way to slow down your pace of aging.
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People who smoke are expected to be 15 months older than their non-smoking peers, while being married reduces their biological age by seven months. People in rural areas are expected to be five months older than their urban counterparts.
Andrew Steptoe, professor of psychology and epidemiology at University College London, said the study is one of a number in recent years to use blood-based and biometric data to calculate a "biological aging clock".
He said that feelings of depression, loneliness and unhappiness are associated with more advanced biological aging.
He said it is unlikely that isolation and loneliness are worse for health than smoking is.
He said that the researchers didn't follow up on people with psychological distress. It will be important to repeat testing to see if the predictions are fulfilled.
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